Big Hole River Fly Fishing Report
Latest Big Hole River Reports
- Big Hole River Skwala Hatch
The Big Hole River Skwala Hatch has started this week. We have seen the adult stoneflies from Melrose down to the lower end of the river. Some afternoons have been better than others on the dry fly bite. In the morning we have been getting fish on the stonefly nymph and then switching to the dry fly in the afternoons. Water clarity remains at around 3 feet and the river remains stable. Look for the slow grassy banks for the Skwala dry flies.
The weather looks quite pleasant for the next several days. A good Spring fishing window is upon us, time to get out and fish! We still have some availability for our Spring Special.
Recommended Flies:
- #8 Bullet Head Skwala
- #10 Chubby Chernobyl Olive/Tan
- #10 Double Stack Chubby Black/Olive
- #10 Pat’s Rubber Legs Olive/Brown
- #8 San Juan Worm Red
- #14 Jig Spanish Bullet
- #6 J.J. Special
- Big Hole is Back In Shape
The Big Hole is back in shape after the ice off event on the upper river. Flows are around 1,300 cfs and stable. The river is very cold at the moment. Looks like day time water temperatures are only hitting 42 degrees today. The river clarity is good. I was seeing 3 feet down off the banks today. We are going to fish it tomorrow and it should be good. You will want to fish the inside corners tomorrow with nymphs. Slow, deep water on the inside corners will be the ticket since the water temperature is in the upper 30’s to lower 40’s. Air temperatures are increasing throughout the week so we should get better water temperatures by Wednesday or Thursday. It is time to get your Spring Big Hole fishing on!
- Spring Sprung on The Big Hole River
The Big Hole River had good fishing earlier this week before Spring sprung on the upper Big Hole and the winter ice broke off the river. This is an event that happens every year and starting last Wednesday the ice broke and continued throughout the week. Needless to say the entire river is not fishable right now due to muddy water. We think sometime this coming week the river will be back in shape for fishing. We will let you know as soon as conditions get better on the river. For now I would suggest heading to tailwaters such as the Beaverhead below Pipe Organ or the Missouri River.
These high flows you see on the hydrograph is not high elevation runoff. This event is just the upper Big Hole valley floor and river ice coming down. It will clear up soon and we will be back to good Spring fishing.
