Big Hole River Fly Fishing Report
Latest Big Hole River Reports
- Big Hole Montana Snowpack Update
We have great news for the Big Hole Montana snowpack update. Last week we received a tremendous storm that dumped over 3 feet of extremely wet snow into our valleys and high country. Currently our snow water equivalency is sitting at 102% of normal for this date in time. You may wonder what all of this information means. The measurement of snow water content is the amount of water in the snowpack. So when the snowpack melts in the spring we are left with the amount of water that seeps from the snowpack into our rivers. Currently, we are 102% in this category. We are rather thrilled about this current situation. We have 32 more days to increase the snowpack due to more storms that will drop snow into our high country drainages. The next 45 days are critical for us to accumulate more snow and not have the snowpack melt. The more water we can store in our mountains result in better water flows during the summer months.
The Big Hole River opens April 1st for the 2026 season. Don’t miss out on the early season fishing. The fish in the Big Hole haven’t seen imitation flies since last September! Book your Spring Special packages today. We are expecting great fishing in the April and May time period this season.
The below graph shows the % of median snow water currently in the Big Hole drainage. We are currently showing 102%. The green line is the 25 year average and the black line is the 2026 snowpack. In the next 30 days we have a chance to exceed the long term average snowpack, which is fantastic news!
Screenshot - Big Hole River Spring Special Fishing
The Big Hole River Spring Special fishing packages are available for the 2026 fishing season. The Big Hole River opens April 1st and we are gearing up for the upcoming season. These fish have not seen flies since last September, so you have the chance to catch incredible fish in April. Low pressure and eager trout sums up our Spring fishing on the Big Hole River. We have the first stonefly hatch in April, which brings trout to the surface to eat your flies. The skwala stonefly hatch starts around April 10th and lasts about 3 weeks. You can read about the Skwala hatch here.
The snowpack in the Big Hole is hovering around 90% of normal and we have three more months to add to our water content. It is looking like we should have an average – above average water year if we continue to get precipitation. The low to mid elevation snowpack is weak this winter due to warmer than average temperatures in the valleys. Typically when we have poor low elevation snowpack the April and May fishing is excellent due to less runoff at these elevations. You can expect good water conditions this spring, which will make for great fishing. Check out the details to our Spring Special here.
- Spruce Moth Hatch On The Big Hole
The Spruce Moth hatch on the Big Hole has been heating up lately. The hatch is between Jerry Creek and Maiden Rock. You can find fish rising to the natural moths in the morning hours and into the afternoon. We have had fish in the 14-20 inch range rising to the Spruce Moth. Tricos are also hatching on the river but the fish seem to be more keyed into the moth lately. Some of the best technical dry fly fishing is had during this time period.
The nymph anglers have been doing well with #14 Spanish bullets, and small stone fly nymphs. Trout have been taking hoppers in the afternoon hours below Melrose. The river is easy to wade right now at these lower flows and the float anglers are still getting down the river in the Jerry Creek and Maiden Rock zones.
Sections 2-4 of the Big Hole River (from the confluence with the North Fork of the Big Hole River to the confluence with the Beaverhead River) are open to fishing from Midnight until 2:00 p.m. for any other up to date FWP fishing restrictions that have been placed on many Montana rivers please check out this link.
Recommended Flies:
- Spanish Bullet Black #14
- Spruce Moth #12
- Widow Maker Moth #12
- Panty Dropper Hopper #10
- Thread Frenchie #16
- Pat’s Stone #10 (Black/Brown)
- Duracell Copper Top #16
