Category: Big Hole River Fishing Report

The Big Hole River Hoot Owl Fishing Restrictions have been lifted by FWP. Section 2,3,4 are all open to fishing with no restrictions. The shorter days and cooler weather have the fish healthy and feeding well. Our best fishing has been in the morning and early afternoons. We are seeing tricos, nocturnal stoneflies and plenty of hoppers. In the morning you will find some nice trout eating trico spinners. These fish are technical but catchable. In the afternoon we have been prospecting with Chernobyl ants and hoppers.

Next week, August 23rd & 24th we will be closed for our employee appreciation days. Normal hours will continue Tuesday August 25th. 7:30am – 3:00pm daily.

Recommended Flies:

• Plan B #8 Peacock
• Chubby Chernobyl #10 Olive
• Trico Spinner #16
• Pat’s Stone #10 Black/brown
• Spanish Bullet #16

We have been in a cooler weather pattern lately and the fish have been responding well to the favorable conditions. Heat is back on the horizon for the next week but the overnight low temperatures have been dipping into the upper 40’s to lower 50’s, which has made for good morning fishing. You will find clouds of tricos hatching around 10:30 am. After the tricos we have switched to hoppers and ant patterns for dries. The deep nymphing has produced good fish lately. Our shop is open daily for all of your fishing needs and river shuttles.

The Big Hole water flows have been average for this time of the year. We still have Hoot Owl conditions on the entire Big Hole River, this means you can’t fish past  2:00pm. Our guide trips have been leaving early in the morning and wrapping up our fishing @ 2:00pm.

Recommended Flies:

• Spanish Bullet #16 Black/olive
• Thread Frenchie #16 Black
• Pat’s Stone #8
• #16 trico Spinner
• #16 Comparadun trico
• #10 Chernobyl Ant

We have updates for the Big Hole Fishing Report. Flows remain average for this time of the year. We are enjoying the great floating season on the Big Hole River. We are starting to see Trico’s and a few Spruce Moths. Look for these hatches to start getting thick. The afternoon hopper fishing has been picking up on size #10 chernobyl ants. Nymphing has remained solid on nocturnal stonefly nymphs and caddis nymphs. 

Recommended Flies:

• #12 Bloom’s Spruce Moth
• #18 Trico Spinner
• #16 High Visibility Trico
• #10 Chernobyl Any (Peach) (Peacock)
• #8 Pat’s Stone Black/Brown
• #14 Spanish Bullet (Black) (Olive)
• #14 Flamethrower

We are in a bit of a heat wave in Southwest Montana. The good news is that the Big Hole has been fishing well from around 7:00 am to 2:00pm. The flows have remained great for this time of year; the Melrose gauge is currently 830 cfs. We have hatches of Tricos, Caddis and nocturnal stoneflies. Dry-dropper set ups have been working well and dragging streamers in the riffles has produced very nice fish. When focusing on placement, look for the three- to four-foot sections of riffle chop. Make sure to carry a thermometer out there. You will notice a steep drop in fishing when the water temperature hits 68 degrees. We suggest hanging the rods up when the water temperature exceeds 68 degrees. The fish around Melrose are starting to key into hoppers in the afternoon hours. We suggest small #10 chernobyl ants.  

From Dickey Bridge down to Notch bottom is open with NO restrictions. Hoot Owl restrictions are on Section I,2 and 5 of the Big Hole. From Saginaw Bridge to Dickey Bridge is under Hoot Owl Restrictions. Section 5 from Tony Shoonen Access down to the Beaverhead River confluence is also on Hoot Owl Restrictions. Please call us if you have any questions, as these restrictions can be confusing.

Recommended Flies:

• Chubby Chernobyl tan #8
• Brindle Chute #14
• Purple haze #16
• Plan B #10
• Chernobyl Ant #10 Flesh
• Pat’s Stone #10 Brown/black
• Spanish bullet #14
• Jig Hot Spot #16
• Flamethrower #16 tan

The Big Hole River fishing report has been consistently good lately. We are experiencing good water flows but watch for afternoon water temperatures increasing on the hot days. We are supposed to remain in the monsoonal moisture pattern for the next 6 weeks. You will find hatches of PMDs, Caddis, and nocturnal stoneflies. Our guides have done well in the mornings and early afternoons. We are fishing from Jerry Creek down to Melrose. You will find the coldest water in the Dewey and Maiden Rock Canyon stretches. 

From Dickey Bridge down to Notch bottom is open with NO restrictions. Hoot Owl restrictions are on Section I  and IV of the Big Hole. From Saginaw Bridge to the Confluence of the North Fork of the Big Hole is under Hoot Owl Restrictions. Section IV from Tony Shoonen Access down to the Beaverhead River confluence is also on Hoot Owl Restrictions. Please call us if you have any questions, as these restrictions can be confusing. 

Recommended Flies:

• Chubby Chernobyl tan #8
• Brindle Chute #14
• Purple haze #16
• Chubby Chernobyl purple #10
• Pat’s Stone #10 Brown/black
• Spanish bullet #14
• Jig Hot Spot #16
• Flamethrower #16 tan

The Big Hole Fishing report has been great lately. The river is in fantastic shape and we have been having dry fly and sub surface action. The Salmonflies have just about wrapped up on all sections of the river. You might find some hatching on the warmer days on the upper river but for the most part they are finished. 

We are seeing Golden Stones, PMD’s, Caddis and some Green Drakes. Prospecting with a chernobyl and a PMD dropper has been working well. You can also find some fish sipping PMD’s in the flats around midday. Streamers on the lower Big Hole have been working well. The weather and conditions look perfect for the upcoming week.

Shop hours are 7:00am – 5:30pm daily.

Recommended Flies:

• Chubby Chernobyl #8 (Golden)
• Double Stack #8 (Purple)
• Pat’s Stone #8 (Brown/tan)
• Thread Frenchie #14
• Spanish Bullet #14
• Duracell #12
• Pancora #4
• Jig Sparkle Minnow J.J. #6

The Salmonflies on the Big Hole River have started to hatch. Currently we have seen them from Glen to the Divide fishing access. Today we had great dry fly fishing from Melrose down to Brownes Bridge. The fish should key in on the dry fly more as the week progresses. Dropping flows and clearing water have created prime conditions for the hatch. We have been fishing a salmonfly dry with a stonefly dropper and certain times of the day the fish have looked up for the Salmonfly dry fly. This is the best time to get out and have fun throwing massive dry flies.

Recommended Flies:

• Chubby Norman #6
• Half Down Salmonfly #6
• Double Stack Salmonfly #6
• Pat’s Stone (Orange/Brown) (Black) #4
• Double Bead Stone #4

Anticipation builds as we await the Salmonflies on the Big Hole River. The flows on the Big Hole have recently increased due to rain and snowmelt. It appears that the upper river flows have crested and we should see the river drop and clear. Once we get a significant warmup in water temperatures we should see Salmonflies on the lower river near Glen. Currently we are catching fish subsurface with streamers, worms and Salmonfly nymphs. Conditions will change daily as we approach the famed hatch.

It’s time to call in sick to work, drop family obligations and pick and choose your friends wisely. Salmonfly madness is about to start on the Big Hole River. The fly shop is open daily 7:30am – 6:00pm

Recommended Flies:

• Pat’s Rubber Legs #4 Black, orange/brown
• Depth Charge Worm #8
• Double Bead Stonefly #4
• Yellow Yummy #4
• Ebony #4

The fishing report on the Big Hole River has been good the last few days. The entire river has been dropping in flows and the clarity is fantastic. We have hatches of caddis, BWO’s and some march browns on the upper river. The water temperatures are staying chilly but this weekend we should see warmer weather to bring clouds of caddis back on the river. Streamer anglers have had good fishing lately with yellow, white and brown streamers. Nymph fishing has been excellent with stonefly nymphs on the lower river and worms in the mornings river wide. Conditions are prime for the holiday weekend. We expect good dry fly fishing on caddis on the upper river this weekend and strong streamer fishing on the lower river.

The fish in the Big Hole have been very healthy this spring. You can see in this post a 24 inch brown that was caught a few days ago. We are expecting a great Salmonfly Hatch in June, which should be fishable and bring enormous trout to the surface.

Recommended Flies:

• Pat’s Stone #8 (Black)
• San Juan Worm #8 (Pink/Red)
• Zonker (Yellow) #6
• X Caddis #14 (Tan/Olive)
• Sparkle Minnow #6
• Flamethrower #12 (Tan/Olive)