9/13/2019 Big Hole River Fishing Report – Fall feels great!

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September 13th, 2019 – Big Hole River Fishing Report – Flows up, fish happy.

Apologies for the tardiness on a river update, we have been cranking away with lots of activity. After our first blast of fall weather last weekend, we are now back into a more comfortable flow on the Big Hole. Anglers on foot are still getting around easily, and the floaters, especially the raft community are happy as well. Hard boats are best suited Maiden Rock down at the moment.

Blue winged olives are beginning, and reports indicate that in the right spot, at the right time there are good trout looking up. Keep an eye on foamy areas below riffles and runs. Mahoghany duns have also started. The fall weather in the forecast will have those mayflies intensifying river wide. Dry fly anglers will want to check the river out upstream of the canyon for consistency, with sub-surface techniques proving themselves daily on the lower portions of the river.

We have seen fish spread out of the riffles, and into the runs and pools that dot the Big Hole up and down. A stripped streamer still continues to be the best technique for a big brown, and it also allows anglers to cover all the nooks and crannies they like to hide out in. Double dry fly rigs with a modest parachute upfront and little blue wing off the back is going to be a solid rig for the next week or too.

Our fall special offers folks 50% off lodging and $50 off your guide boat when paired together. Minimum two nights, one day guided fishing. October til the season is over. Book now!

Guides, shuttles, and reports. Anytime. 406-835-3474

-Dan Soltau

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#4 Mini Boogie Man – Black
#4 Lil Kim Copper
#1 King Rat
#14 Flashy Frank Purple
#12 Gummy Worm Hot Bead
#12 Fish Finder Worm Burgundy
#12 Rocky Mountain Mint Adams

#18 Sparkle Dun BWO
#18 Psycho May BWO
#18 Missing Link
#14 Quigley Cripple

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Big Hole River Fishing Report

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The Big Hole is finally coming into decent fishing shape from the ice flows we had last week. Water clarity here in Melrose is 2 feet and we are starting to have consistent fishing. We have not seen much for dry fly fishing but that should improve towards the end of the week as air temperatures are going to improve. The Big Hole is currently running at 1,610 cfs in Melrose and the water temperatures are reaching the mid 40’s during the heat of the day. The skwalla nymphs are moving around and we are mostly catching fish subsurface on Pat’s stones, and San Juan worms. Currently the river is a nice stable flow. Spring fishing should be heating up!

Book your Spring Special Package Today!

 Eric with a nice Spring trout on the Big Hole

Recommended Flies: #16 Shop Vac; #8 San Juan Worm Pink/red/Wine; #8 Mr. Beam Skwalla; #10 Chubby Tan/Olive; #4 Yellow Yummy; #4 Sparkle Minnow; #6 Flash Minnow; #8 Prince Nymph; #8 Pat’s Stone

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Winer Update: Spring Special

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We just got another blast of winter here in Southwest Montana. We woke this morning to -20 degree air temperatures. Our snowpack for the Big Hole drainage is hovering around 95% for this date in time. We still have plenty of winter left but we are all itching for spring trout fishing. Depending on when the ice gets off the Big Hole our Spring season is about 7 weeks away. We will have hatches of Skwalas and Blue winged olives to start the season. Our spring special packages are available again. We are excited to have our lodging to offer for the spring packages. Click here for more information on spring fishing packages.

February 7, 2019 Sunrise Fly Shop

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Fall is in full swing on the Big Hole River.

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Fall is in full swing on the Big Hole River. This is an amazing time of year. We are currently seeing the peak foliage of the cottonwoods lining the banks. If you are lucky you can see elk along some of the Big Hole River meadows, moose and plenty of water foul. As far as fishing, we have some of our best days this time of year. The brown trout are packing on the pounds before the spawn. Streamers are working in full force. Flash minnows, J.J.’s, Little Kim’s and Home Invaders are all doing well with the streamer fisherman. Some of the warmer overcast days we have had Blue Winged olives and mahogany duns keeping the dry fly enthusiasts happy. Nymphing has been active with Pat’s stones, micro mayflies and psycho mayflies.

Check out our Sunrise fly Shop Lodging Here. Call for availability 406-835-3474

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Recommended Flies:

#4 Smokin’ Mirrors
#4 Little Kim Copper
#4 Sparkle Minnow
#6 Pat’s Stone
#6 Flash minnow
#6 Pat’s Stone
#8 Chubby Chernobyl (UV) (Gold) (Purple)

#12 Mahogany Dun
#12 Bloom’s Caddis
#12 Purple Rooster
#12 Silver Lightning Bug
#12 Red Copper John
#14 Purple Haze
#16 Split Winged BWO
#16 Blue Winged Olive Comparadun

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Late summer fishing has been holding up pretty well on the Big Hole River.

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Late summer fishing has been holding up pretty well on the Big Hole River. With the cool crisp mornings and pleasant afternoon warm up, we are seeing trico hatches in the mornings and some great hopper fishing on the Big Hole in the afternoon. On some of the damp overcast days you will find fall baetis hatches and the opportunity for trout to take streamers rather aggressively. Flows remain above average and the entire Big Hole River is in great shape for September fishing. Our Big Hole River guides have been floating from the Jerry Creek stretches down to the Notch bottom stretches of the Big Hole. It’s time to get the last of the hopper fishing before fall fishing takes over.

Check out our Sunrise fly Shop Lodging Here. Call for availability 406-835-3474

Recommended Flies:

#4 Smokin’ Mirrors
#4 Sparkle Minnow
#4 Little Kim Copper
#6 Pat’s Stone
#6 Flash minnow
#8 Chubby Chernobyl (UV) (Gold) (Purple)
#10 Rogue Golden
#10 Rollin’ Stone Sally

#12 Spruce Moth
#12 CDC Spruce Moth
#12 Red Copper John
#12 Silver Lightning Bug
#12 Purple Rooster
#14 Purple Haze
#16 PMD Comparadun
#18 Trico Comparadun
#18 trico Spinner

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Fred with a fantastic brown caught on the Big Hole River

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Fishing on the Big Hole is starting to heat up again.

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Fishing on the Big Hole is starting to heat up again. We have been seeing the first signs of Spruce Moths on the water. The Spruce Moth is not widespread on the river but several banks in the canyon are seeing activity on the surface. Besides spruce moths we are seeing PMD’s, Yellow Sallies, and some caddis. The best fishing is from about 8:00 am – 3:00pm. If you have a warm afternoon please watch the water temperature. If temperatures reach 68 degrees please give the trout a break. Flows remain pretty good for this time of year on the Big Hole. The Maiden rock gauge is 762cfs and the Melrose gauge is 634cfs.

Check out our Sunrise fly Shop Lodging Here. Call for availability 406-835-3474

Recommended Flies:

#4 Smokin’ Mirrors
#4 Sparkle Minnow
#4 Little Kim Copper
#6 Pat’s Stone
#6 Flash minnow
#8 Chubby Chernobyl (UV) (Gold) (Purple)
#10 Rogue Golden
#10 Rollin’ Stone Sally

#12 Spruce Moth
#12 CDC Spruce Moth
#12 Bloom’s Caddis
#12 Silver Lightning Bug
#12 Purple Rooster
#12 Red Copper John
#14 Purple Haze
#16 PMD Comparadun

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A fantastic trout caught in the Big Hole Canyon this week

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Pick your bugs, pick your float and you will find what your looking for on the Big Hole River this week.

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Pick your bugs, pick your float and you will find what your looking for on the Big Hole River this week. We have hatches of Golden Stones, PMD’s, Yellow Sallies and Caddis right now on the Big Hole River. Water flows are remaining above historic average. Dry fly fishing has been fantastic the last few days on the Big Hole. Streamer fishing has been solid, with darker colors working the best. Sumer fishing is here and it’s time to get out and enjoy Southwest Montana.

Check out our Sunrise fly Shop Lodging Here. Call for availability 406-835-3474

Anne with a nice Big Hole trout caught on a Golden Stone dry fly

Recommended Flies: #8 Chubby Chernobyl (UV) (Gold) (Purple) ; #10 Purple Haze; #12 Bloom’s Caddis; #10 Rogue Golden; #Rollin’ Stone Sally; #12 Purple Rooster;#6 Pat’s Stone; #12 Silver Lightning Bug; #12 Red Copper John; #4 Smokin’ Mirrors; #6 Flash minnow; #4 Little Kim Copper; #4 Sparkle Minnow

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The Big Hole River has crested from the recent flooding rainstorms.

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The Big Hole River has crested from the recent flooding rainstorms. The clarity remains good @ around 3 feet of visibility. Fishing should get quite good over the next few days due to the dropping water flows. We have been seeing PMD’s, Green Drakes, Yellow Sallies and golden stones. Streamer fishing has also been good over the last several cloudy days. It has been a banner few months for large fish on the Big Hole.

Check out our Sunrise fly Shop Lodging Here. Call for availability 406-835-3474

 Dan with a tank caught on streamer on the Big Hole River

Recommended Flies: #8 Chubby Chernobyl (UV) (Gold) (Purple) ; #10 Purple Haze; #12 Bloom’s Caddis; #10 Rogue Golden; #6 Pat’s Stone; #12 Silver Lightning Bug; #12 Red Copper John; #4 Smokin’ Mirrors; #6 Flash minnow; #4 Little Kim Copper; #4 Sparkle Minnow

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Big Hole River Salmonflies

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The famous Salmonfly hatch has started on the Big Hole River. We have dropping river conditions and clarity of 4 feet on the river. Yesterday we spotted some adult salmonflies on the Big Hole River. We have been fishing #4 Pat’s stones under a salmon fly  dry and the fish have been crushing the salmonfly nymph fished tight to the willows and banks. Yesterday we had a few fish looking up for the dry. We think that the hatch will progress the next few days in the Melrose area. Get ready to throw #4 dry flies and watch explosions on the surface!

Sunrise Fly Shop lodging is completed: Call for your next Big Hole lodging reservation 406-835-3474 

Salomflies spotted yesterday on the Big Hole River

Recommended Flies: # Cat Puke; #4 Rogue Stone; #10 Gray Drake; #12 X Caddis; #4 Pat’s Stone (Brown/Orange); #8 San Juan Worm; #6 Flash Minnow (Olive); #6 Smokin’ Mirrors (Black); #6 Sparkle Minnow; #4 Little Kim; #6 Screamer (Yellow) (Olive)

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The Big Hole River looks like it peaked from runoff.

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The Big Hole River looks like it peaked from runoff. The entire river is on the drop, which is great news! River clarity remains around 4 feet and the flows around Melrose are on a steep decline. We have seen a few early hatching golden stones. Our prediction is that we will be throwing Salmonflies by this weekend. Fish are keyed into the salmonfly nymphs subsurface. Once the flows get to 6,000cfs around Melrose we will be floating the Maiden Rock canyon and south of Melrose. Currently we are still staying above the Wise River due to high flows. This should change in the next few days since the river is dropping in flow by the hour. Stay in touch…..salmonflies soon!

Sunrise Fly Shop lodging is completed: Call for your next Big Hole lodging reservation 406-835-3474 

Tracy Range with a Big Hole River brown trout

Recommended Flies: #10 Gray Drake; #12 X Caddis; #4 Pat’s Stone (Brown/Orange); #8 San Juan Worm; #6 Flash Minnow (Olive); #6 Smokin’ Mirrors (Black); #6 Sparkle Minnow; #4 Little Kim; #6 Screamer (Yellow) (Olive)

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