Category: Big Hole River Fishing Report

October fishing on the Big Hole River is here and we are excited for the month of fall foliage and active trout. Fishing has been very good lately on the lower stretches of the Big Hole River. We have had guide boats out from Brownes to Glen and Glen to Notch Bottom and the fishing has been excellent. You will find blue winged olives and mahogany duns hatching during the day. Dropper fishing with a blue winged olive nymph has bee very good. The streamer fisherman have been pleased with the activity from large brown’s chasing the sculpins and minnow imitations.

Reminder: Maiden Rock (BLM) to Brown’s Bridge is closed from October 1st through March 31st. You can fish above Maiden rock BLM and below Brownes Bridge. Please call us if you need any clarification (406) 835-3474.

Recommended Flies:

• Spanish Bullet (Olive) (Black) #16
• Psycho May (Olive) (Brown) #16
• Jig Blowtorch (Black) #16
• San Juan Worm #8
• J.J. Special #6
• Barely Legal #6
• Split Wing Blue Winged Olive #16
• Hot Spot Para Wulff #16 #14

The Big Hole River Fall fishing has remained good this week. Flows have come up on the Big Hole and section 4 of the river is now open to fishing. Section 4 is from Maiden Rock (FWP) down to Notch Bottom (Tony Shoonen access). We have seen good hatches of Blue Winged Olives and Mahogany Duns lately. Streamers have also been working in the tail outs of the runs. Nymphing has remained consistent in the slow tail outs of the runs and near the riffles.

Open Section of the Big Hole:

Currently from Dickie Bridge down to Notch Bottom (Tony Shoonen access) is open to fishing. Please call us if you need any clarifications. (406) 835-3474

Recommended Flies:

• Spanish Bullet (Black) (Olive) #16 
• Lucent Tag Perdigon – Olive #16
• Jig Iron Lotus #16
• Green Machine #16
• Micro Mayfly #16
• Psycho Mayfly (Olive) #16
• Split Wing BWO #16
• Purple Haze #16
• Mahogany Dun #14
• J.J. Special #6
• Lil Kim #6
• Mini Loop Sculpin #6

The Big Hole has been tough some days for our guides and fishing well on other days. We are still seeing good Trico hatches in the mornings. You can hunt sipping trout on the surface during the spinner fall. After the trico hatch we have been prospecting the riffles with a spruce moth, hopper or ant pattern with a paragon dropper nymph off the back. We are seeing a tremendous amount of hoppers in the valley this August. Flows remain low and well below average for this time of the year. We have some hoot owl closures on sections and some full fishing closures on some sections of the Big Hole. Below is all the information on fishing restrictions. Section 3 remains open all day. This section is from Dickey Bridge down to Maiden Rock FWP (Lower Maiden Rock).

Recommended Flies:

• Spruce Moth #12
• YFG Spruce Moth #12
• Bloom’s Spruce Moth #12
• Comparadun Trico #18
• Trico Spinner #18
• Chernobyl Ant #8
• Morrish Hopper #8
• Fat Albert #8
• Pat’s Rubber Leg #10 (Black)
• Spanish Bullet #16 (Black)
• Thread Frenchie #16 (Black/Olive)

Fishing Restrictions/Closures:

• Section 1 Closed – Saginaw Bridge on Skinner Meadows Road to North Fork Big Hole River mouth
• Section 4 Closed – From FWP’s Maiden Rock FAS (Lower Maiden Rock) to Tony Shoonen FAS (Notch)
• Section 5 Closed – Tony Schoonen FAS (Notch) to confluence with Jefferson River

Hoot Owl restrictions prohibit fishing each day between 2 p.m. and midnight in the following sections of the Big Hole River:

• Section 2 Hoot Owl – From the North Fork of the Big Hole to Dickie Bridge FAS

Section 3 Dickie Bridge down to FWP’s Maidenrock FAS (Lower Maiden Rock) is open to fishing all day. Even though this section is open all day please take water temperature readings and if the water temperature exceeds 68 degrees please stop fishing for the day. If these restrictions confuse you, please give us a call and we can clarify the locations. 406-835-3474.

Fishing continues to be ok on the Big Hole. The Big Hole Valley is still seeing higher than normal temperatures, but with strong trico hatches we have had good dry fly fishing in the mornings. After the trico spinner fall ends, we have been using spruce moths and hoppers with a variety of different droppers. Black Spanish Bullets and Pat’s Rubber Legs have been the most consistent droppers. With the hot weather continuing, the river temps are getting quite warm in the afternoon and Hoot Owl restrictions are still in place. Also, because of low flows, two sections of the Big Hole are closed for fishing until the reopen criteria is met.

Recommended Flies:

• Spruce Moth #12
• YFG Spruce Moth #12
• Bloom’s Spruce Moth #12
• Comparadun Trico #18
• Trico Spinner #18
• Chernobyl Ant #8
• Morrish Hopper #8
• Fat Albert #8
• Pat’s Rubber Leg #10 (Black)
• Spanish Bullet #16 (Black)
• Thread Frenchie #16 (Black/Olive)

Full Fishing Closures on the Big Hole River

• Section 1 Closed – Saginaw Bridge on Skinner Meadows Road to North Fork Big Hole River mouth
• Section 5 Closed – Tony Schoonen FAS (Notch) to confluence with Jefferson River

Hoot Owl restrictions prohibit fishing each day between 2 p.m. and midnight in the following sections of the Big Hole River:

• Section 2 Hoot Owl – From the North Fork of the Big Hole to Dickie Bridge FAS
• Section 4 Hoot Owl – From FWP’s Maiden Rock FAS (Lower Maiden Rock) to Tony Shoonen FAS (Notch)

Dickie Bridge down to FWP’s Maidenrock FAS (Lower Maiden Rock) is open to fishing all day. Even though this section is open all day please take water temperature readings and if the water temperature exceeds 68 degrees please stop fishing for the day. If these restrictions confuse you, please give us a call and we can clarify the locations. 406-835-3474.

Fishing has been good the last few days and should continue as we are seeing good hatches. We have Spruce Moth’s from Jerry Creek down to Maiden Rock (BLM). We also have been seeing tricos hatching around 10:00 in the morning from Maiden Rock (BLM) down to Glen. You can hunt rising fish with Spruce Moth’s and then switch to Trico’s in the morning. The Spruce Moth’s have been hitting the water throughout the entire day from Jerry Creek down to Maiden Rock (BLM). On the Lower River we are starting to see hopper activity in the afternoons. We have been catching nice trout against the grassy undercut banks. Remember on the lower Big Hole you have to be done fishing at 2:00pm due to Hoot Owl Closures.

Recommended Flies:

• Spruce Moth #12
• YFG Spruce Moth #12
• Bloom’s Spruce Moth #12
• Comparadun Trico #18
• Trico Spinner #18
• Chernobyl Ant #8
• Morrish Hopper #8
• Fat Albert #8
• Spanker #16
• Spanish Bullet #16 (Black)
• Thread Frenchie #16 (Black/Olive)

• Hoot Owl restrictions prohibit fishing each day between 2 p.m. and midnight in the following sections of the Big Hole River:
  • From Saginaw Bridge on Skinner Meadow Road to Dickie Bridge FAS
  • From the confluence of the Beaverhead River to FWP’s Maidenrock FAS (Lower Maiden Rock) 

From Dickie Bridge down to FWP’s Maidenrock FAS (Lower Maiden Rock) is open to fishing all day. Even though this section is open all day please take water temperature readings and if the water temperature exceeds 68 degrees please stop fishing for the day.
If these restrictions confuse you, please give us a call and we can clarify the locations. 406-835-3474. 

The Big Hole River has been fishing fantastic lately. The hatches on the Big Hole River consist of PMD’s, Caddis, Golden Stone’s and Nocturnal stoneflies. Sculpin patterns have been working well in the fast riffles. We are focusing our fishing from morning hours till about 3:00pm for the prime fishing. Sections that have been fishing the best are from Jerry Creek down to Melrose.

Recommended Flies:

• Chubby Chernobyl #10 (Yellow, UV Tan)
• Purple Craze #14
• Brindle Chute #14
• PMD Cripple #16
• Bloom’s Caddis #14
• Jig Thread Frenchie #14
• Jig Duracell #14
• Pearl Lightning Bug #16
• Pat’s Rubber leg #10
• Lil Kim Olive #4
• Mini Loop Sculpin #4

Fishing on the Big Hole River has been fantastic lately. We have had great dry fly fishing and tremendous hatches throughout the day. You will find Golden Stones, PMD’s, Caddis, Green Drakes and Yellow Sallies throughout the river system. River flows are at ideal levels right now for float fishing. We have been fishing a golden stone dry fly with a PMD cripple behind it and the rod has stayed bent. Stretches of the river that have been the best are as follows: East Bank all the way down to Notch Bottom on the Big Hole has been our best float sections. Look for the fishing to continue to be great through the weekend.

Recommend Flies:

• Chubby Chernobyl (Orange) (Yellow) (Cinnamon) #8, #10
• PMD Cripple #14
• PMD Comparadun #14
• Purple Craze #14
• Brindle Chute #14
• Yellow Sallie #14
• Jig Duracell #14
• Jig Hot Spot #14
• Jig Blowtorch #14
• Copper John (Red) #14
• Lil’ Kim #4
• Sparkle Minnow J.J. #6

Summer dry fly fishing on the Big Hole River has been good lately. We have hatches of Golden Stones, PMD’s, Caddis, drakes and summer stones. Pick your dry fly hatch and run with it. The evenings or early morning dry fly action on golden stones has been fantastic this week. The nymph fisherman have been hanging fish all day in the fast shallow riffles and are having opportunities in deeper seems. We have had good reports with the streamer anglers with J.J. Sparkle minnows, Lil’ Kim’s in olive and Mini Loop Sculpins in natural. Water flows are hovering just under 2,000 cfs here in Melrose. Our best fishing stretches have been from Jerry Creek down to Notch Bottom.

Recommend Flies:

• Chubby Chernobyl #8 (Gold) (Purple) (UV Tan)
• PMD Comparadun #16
• Purple Craze #12, #14
• Comparadun Purple #16
• Brindle Chute #12
• CDC Caddis #12
• Bloom’s Caddis #14
• Copper John Red #14
• Lightning Bug Pearl #14
• Pat’s Rubber Legs #8
• Mini Loop Sculpin
• J.J. Sparkle Minnow #4
• Lil Kim #4 Olive/tan
• Barely Legal Olive