Big Hole River August Fishing Report

by sunriseflyshop

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Fishing remains good on the Big Hole River.  The hatches are a bit in a transition period on the Big Hole River.  PMD’s are waning and we are moving into Trico’s and Hoppers.  We are starting to see Trico’s on the lower Big Hole River and below Melrose.  Hopper fishing has also started to pick up on the lower Big Hole River.  Hatches in the Maiden Rock Canyon have been bleak.  We have done very well on nymphs in the Canyon but dry fly fishing has been poor.  Look for the dry fly fishing to pick up this week.  We should see more trico’s around and the hoppers are starting to bounce around the grassy banks.  We have not seen any Spruce Moth’s yet.  If we are going to get a Spruce Moth hatch we should see them in the next ten days.  Our Big Hole River Guides will will keep you posted.

A lower Big Hole River Rainbow

Flies:  #10 Chubby Chernobyl Yellow/Purple/Black; #8 Rogue Stone golden, #10 Purple Haze; #16 PMD Cripple; #16 Rocky Mountain Mint, #18 Trico Spinner, #18 Trico Comparadun, #10 Pat’s Stone #12 Red Copper John #16 Bat Man Nymph orange/brown: #8 RL Stone; #6 J.J. Special #6 Coffey Bugger; #4 Bad Boy #  10 Copper/Pearl Zonker

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Big Hole River Montana Fishing Report

by sunriseflyshop

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We are back to clear blue skies and the fishing continues to be very good.  We have PMD’s, Yellow Sallies, Nocturnal Stone flies and caddis hatching.  Your best dry fly fishing with the clear skies will be in the morning with PMD’s.  Mid day we have been doing very well in the riffle runs on #8 Pat’s Stones and #14 Copper John’s and Batman Nymphs.  We have a nice cool down from the summer heat tomorrow.  The Big Hole River flows remain excellent and our guides have been coming back each day with great success.

Scott Lewis with a nice 20 inch brown caught on the Big Hole Yesterday

Flies:  #10 Chubby Chernobyl Yellow/Purple/Black; #8 Rogue Stone golden, #10 Purple Haze; #16 PMD Cripple; #10 Rocky Mountain Mint, #10 Pat’s Stone #12 Red Copper John #16 Bat Man Nymph orange/brown: #8 RL Stone; #6 J.J. Special #6 Coffey Bugger; #4 Bad Boy #  10 Copper/Pearl Zonker

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Big Hole River Montana Fishing Report

by sunriseflyshop

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The Big Hole River is in perfect July shape.  We have great water flows and the hatches have been stellar.  The morning PMD fishing has been fantastic.  Fish have been looking up from daybreak till about 2 o’clock.  #10 Purple haze’s and Rocky Mountain Mint’s have been the dry flies our guides have been knocking them out with.  In the afternoon after the hatches taper off we have done well with a Golden stone dry and either a #10 Pat’s Stone dropper or a #10 Kyle’s PMD nymph.  You will have PMD’s, Drakes, and Golden Stones on the water.  We are starting to see some nocturnal stonefly shucks so we are not far off from some fantastic dawn fishing on big Chernobyl dry flies.

Big Hole River Nocturnal Stone Fly Shucks above Melrose

Flies: #8 Golden Cat Puke, #8 Rogue Stone golden, #10 Purple Haze  #8 Chubby Chernobyl #16 PMD Cripple black/gold#10 Rocky Mountain Mint, #10 Pat’s Stone #12 Red Copper John #16 Bat Man Nymph orange/brown: #8 RL Stone; #6 J.J. Special #4 Coffey Bugger; #4 Bad Boy #4 Yellow Zonker

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Dry Fly Smorgasbord

by sunriseflyshop

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The Big Hole River has dropped below 2500cfs and the river temperatures are bumping up into the low 60’s.  These river conditions are ideal for July dry fly fishing.  PMDs, Drakes, Yellow Sallies, Caddis and Golden Stones are currently hatching, and the dry fly fishing has been really good.  You may not see all of the those bugs on every stretch every day, but with such a variety of bugs out, you can expect to find something hatching.  Also, now that the Salmonfly hatch has ended, the massive crowds we were seeing in mid to late June are all gone.  So if you are looking for great dry fly fishing to help you celebrate the 4th of July, come on over to the Big Hole River.

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Hatches, hatches and more hatches.

by sunriseflyshop

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Hatches, hatches and more hatches.  The Salmonflies are tapering off but we have great dry fly fishing right now on the Big Hole.  Our hatches consist of Golden Stones, PMD’s, Caddis, and Drakes.  The dry fly fishing during the overcast days has been excellent.  Our Big Hole River guides have been on the upper Big Hole, Canyon sections, and the lower river.  We have had good reports on all sections of the River.  The flows are stable and the fish are looking up.  The Golden Stones dry fly fishing has been great in the Canyon.

A Big Hole Golden Stone

Flies: #4 Cat Puke, #4 Rogue Stone, #4 Fluttering Stone, #10 Purple Haze  #8 Chubby Chernobyl #16 PMD Cripple black/gold#10 Rocky Mountain Mint, #8 San Juan Worm; #4 Pat’s Stone #12 Red Copper John #16 Bat Man Nymph orange/brown: #8 RL Stone; #6 J.J. Special #4 Coffey Bugger; #4 Bad Boy #4 Yellow Zonker

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The willows were drooping over from the weight of the Salmonflies yesterday.

by sunriseflyshop

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The willows were drooping over from the weight of the Salmonflies yesterday.  It is going to be a great day out there.  We have Salmonflies, Golden Stones, Caddis, PMD’s and Drakes hatching.  The best Salmonfly hatch on the Big Hole is currently from Jerry Creek all the way down to Melrose.  We have had good reports today in the Maiden Rock Canyon and the Dewey Canyon with great success on the Salmonfly dry flies.  With the dropping water, and warming trend the river will continue to fish very well. 

Guide Rick Rossi and Rob Ware with a fabulous Big Hole Brown

Flies: #4 Cat Puke, #4 Rogue Stone, #4 Fluttering Stone, #10 Purple Haze  #8 Chubby Chernobyl #16 PMD Cripple black/gold#10 Rocky Mountain Mint, #8 San Juan Worm; #4 Pat’s Stone orange/brown: #8 RL Stone; #6 J.J. Special #4 Coffey Bugger; #4 Bad Boy #4 Yellow Zonker

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Salmonflies are Back!

by sunriseflyshop

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Just getting word from the guides that were out today on the river that the Salmonfly Hatch is back.  All of our guides (fishing in 4 different locations between East Bank and Melrose) said the Salmonfly Hatch is back on. 

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Its Raining…a lot

by sunriseflyshop

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It has been raining for the last 36 hours, and the forecast is calling for a 90% chance of rain today and tomorrow.  It got cold enough last night that the precipitation that fell in the mountains actually came down as snow.  The river in Melrose has already come up about 600cfs, and it is continuing to rise.  Having said all of this, the dry fly fishing in the Maiden Rock Canyon was epic yesterday.  We had guides put in at Maiden Rock as well as Divide, and they both reported one of the best dry fly fishing days of the year.  They said that they only saw a couple salmonflies and golden stones, but the fish were really keyed into them.  Hopefully the amazing dry fly fishing will continue through this pattern of wet weather.

 

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Father’s Day Salmonfly Hatch Update

by sunriseflyshop

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When I got into my truck and came to work this morning I had to scrape off the frost on my windshield.  You don’t expect that on June 15th.  Reports were very good yesterday in the morning on Salmonflies and then the temperature dropped in the afternoon and the fishing tapered off.  We have had a very slow moving Big Hole River Salmonfly hatch due to the cool weather.  Look for the bugs to fly in the warmer afternoons.  It is going to stay cool and then warm up nicely in the middle of the week.  You may have to keep the droppers on below the Salmonflies and Chubby Chernobyl’s today and tomorrow.  We have been fishing the upper river and the canyon sections of the Big Hole.  Our Big Hole River guides were on late in the Dewey Canyon last night and did very well on dries.  Everything is continuing to fish well and look for the weekend crowd to taper off and it’s time to call in sick to work tomorrow and get on the Big Hole. 

Guide Chuck Page with a fabulous brown during the Big Hole  Salmonfly hatch

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Big Hole River Salmonfly Hatch Update

by sunriseflyshop

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The overcast weather today has produced excellent dry fly activity this morning.  We have been waiting for the big bugs to move in the canyon and they are here!  We have had great reports from the Maiden Rock Canyon and Dewey Canyon.  With the overcast cool weather and the dropping water flows we are having a dream of a Salmonfly hatch.  The bugs are coming off slowly and making for some excellent dry fly fishing.   Salmonflies are hatching up in the Maiden Rock Canyon and we have good reports from the Dewey Canyon as well. The Salmonfly madness has begun, come join us in Melrose and bring the chaos.   

Flies: #4 Cat Puke, #4 Rogue Stone, #4 Fluttering Stone, #10 Purple Haze  #8 Chubby Chernobyl black/gold#10 Rocky Mountain Mint, #8 San Juan Worm; #4 Pat’s Stone orange/brown: #8 RL Stone; #6 J.J. Special #4 Coffey Bugger; #4 Bad Boy #4 Yellow Zonker

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