Fall is here and we just had a blast of rain in the valley and snow in the high country.

by sunriseflyshop

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Fall is here and we just had a blast of rain in the valley and snow in the high country. Foliage is at it’s peak on the Big Hole right now. Fishing has been very good lately. You will find hatches of Blue Winged Olives and Slate Drakes on the river. Streamers have been working well and the nymphing has been solid. Look for the flows to rise with this Fall storm we are having. The Brown trout are staging to spawn so please do not walk on spawning beds or fish over the spawning areas. We have a large Fall sale going on in the shop: 20% – 40% Off clothing. Please stop in or give us a call if you are interested.

The Wares with a 20 inch brown on their 20th wedding anniversary!

Recommended Flies: #16 Split Wing BWO : #16 BWO Cripple #14 Purple Craze; #14 Comparadun Yellow; #12 Bloom’s Caddis; #12 Purple Chubby; #14 Para Wolf; #14 Psycho Mayfly; #12 Prince Nymph; #10 Pat’s Stone; #14 Pearl Lightning Bug; #14 Red Copper John; #18 Silver Lightning Bug #16 Micro Mayfly;  4 Mini Loop Sculpin; #8 Trevors Sculpin

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Fall is in the air and the trout are responding to the change of the seasons.

by sunriseflyshop

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Fall is in the air and the trout are responding to the change of the seasons. We got a nice bump in flows due to valley rain and mountain snow. Fishing has been very good lately. The brown trout are looking to pack on the pounds for the spawn later this month. Streamer fishing has been very good. Natural and olive color streamers have been the best ticket lately. You will find fish eating the streamers in the shallow riffles and deeper pools. We have also done well with a #10 black or olive/brown pat’s stone. You will find Blue Winged Olives hatching around 2:00 in the afternoon.

The Big Hole River is open without any restrictions from Dickey Bridge down to FWP Maiden Rock. Please note Maiden Rock FWP is the lower Maiden Rock, which is out of the canyon a few miles upstream from Melrose. Here is a map to help you with the closures http://www.bhwc.org/fish-water/river-conditions/

rank with a colored up Fall Big Hole brown from this week

Recommended Flies: #16 Split Wing BWO : #16 BWO Cripple #14 Purple Craze; #14 Comparadun Yellow; #12 Bloom’s Caddis; #12 Purple Chubby; #14 Para Wolf; #14 Psycho Mayfly; #12 Prince Nymph; #10 Pat’s Stone; #14 Pearl Lightning Bug; #14 Red Copper John; #18 Silver Lightning Bug #16 Micro Mayfly;  4 Mini Loop Sculpin; #8 Trevors Sculpin

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Mid Summer fishing has been solid on the Big Hole River.

by sunriseflyshop

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Mid Summer fishing has been solid on the Big Hole River. You will need a variety of flies since one day they are keyed into a certain bug and the next day they want something completely different. You will find some PMD’s, caddis, and sallies on the water. We are about to move into Trico season on the Big Hole so be ready to have some Trico’s with you on the water. Dry flies of choice have been #12 Chubby chernobyl’s; #16 Para wolf’s; #16 comparaduns; #16 PMX’s. Our nymphs of choice have been changing daily. I would have some streamers; Pat’s stone’s; #16 super flash pheasant tail’s; #16 psycho mayflies; #16 Batman nymphs. We have no closures to report to you. Warm weather is in the forecast so please pay attention to water temperatures. If trout get stressed keep em’ wet.

Sunrise Guide Shawn Bechtol getting clients on some nice Big Hole trout

Recommended Flies: #14 Purple Craze; #14 Comparadun Yellow; #12 Bloom’s Caddis; #12 Purple Chubby; #14 Para Wolf; #14 Psycho Mayfly; #12 Prince Nymph; #10 Pat’s Stone; #14 Pearl Lightning Bug; #14 Red Copper John; 4 Mini Loop Sculpin; #6 Sculpzilla

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The Big Hole has had an increase of flow due to widespread rain.

by sunriseflyshop

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The Big Hole has had an increase of flow due to widespread rain. The river has remained running clear. We have had hatches of PMD’s, Caddis and drakes. Fishing was tough during the flow increase but today that should improve with the dropping water conditions. More good news to announce the Hoot Owl closures are off the upper Big Hole but the lower Big Hole River below Notch Bottom is still under Hoot Owl closure after 2:00pm. We look forward to seeing everyone at the Big Hole River Day this Saturday in Melrose. We will be putting on the annual casting competitions. Come join the fun and we have great prizes for the competition. Here is a link to see a map of the Hoot Owl Closure http://bhwc.org/fish-water/river-conditions/

Recommended Flies: #14 Purple Craze; #14 Comparadun Yellow; #12 Bloom’s Caddis; #12 Purple Chubby; #14 Para Wolf; #14 Psycho Mayfly; #12 Prince Nymph; #10 Pat’s Stone; #14 Pearl Lightning Bug; #14 Red Copper John; 4 Mini Loop Sculpin; #6 Sculpzilla

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A pleasant change in the weather pattern lately has made for some great fishing.

by sunriseflyshop

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A pleasant change in the weather pattern lately has made for some great fishing. Cooler air temperatures has water temperatures staying in great shape. Hatches are starting around 9 am with PMD’s and then yellow sallies and caddis in the afternoons. Below Melrose we are seeing some nocturnal stoneflies. You will be able to fish the entire day with success with the cooler weather we have had lately. Remember the Hoot Owl closures are on the very lower river and upper river. Here is a map of the area closed after 2:00pm. http://bhwc.org/fish-water/river-conditions/

Recommended Flies: #14 PMX; #12 Purple Craze; #12 Comparadun Yellow; #12 Copper Cripple; #14 Bloom’s Caddis; #10 Chubby UV; #10 Pat’s Stone; #12 Pearl Lightning Bug; #12 Red Copper John; #14 Psycho May brown; #12 Pheasant Tail; McCunnes Sculpin; Mini Look Sculpin; #6 Sparkle Minnow 

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Feels like the coastal Northwest here lately.

by sunriseflyshop

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Feels like the coastal Northwest here lately. We have received several inches of liquid precipitation in the valley and mountain snow lately. The river has taken a steep rise lately. The clarity in the the river has remained good @ around 2 feet of visibility. The wet weather has put an end to the caddis hatch. You will find some drakes and Blue Wings hatching in the moist weather. Mostly subsurface action right now. We are fishing streamers, stone fly nymphs and worms. Our Big Hole River guides have been able to catch fish even in the rising water volume. Look for the soft inside bends on the river to catch fish right now. All of this wet weather bodes well for our water flows this summer.

Recommended Flies : #6 San Juan Worm; #12 Pheasant Tail #12 Prince Nymph; #10 Pat’s Stone Brown/Green; #12 CDC Caddis #14 Caddis Pupa; #14 X Caddis; #10 Mr. Beam Skwala #10 Bullet Head Skwala #8; #4 Smoking’ Mirrors; J.J. Special #10 Sparkle Minnow; #4 Sunrise Sculpzilla  #6 Yellow Zonker

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After a week of really warm weather

by sunriseflyshop

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After a week of really warm weather, we were hit with a very powerful winter storm on Monday and Tuesday that brought several inches of snow to the upper river and below-freezing temp to the entire valley.  The drop in temperature helped to stop the increase in flow that we had been seeing because of the melting snowpack caused by the record-breaking temps.  During the last few days we have seen decent fishing, but now that the river has crested, the clarity is back to around 2 feet, and overcast skies in the forecast, we should really start to see the fishing take off.  Expect Streamers, San Juan Worms, and Stone Fly Nymphs to be your best flies. Caddis are hatching from Dewey all the way down to the Notch. The fish are not eating the adults since we have too much flow along the banks.  As the water temp increases over the next several days, we will probably see the start of the Mother’s Day Caddis Hatch on the upper river. 

Recommended Flies : #6 San Juan Worm; #12 Pheasant Tail #12 Prince Nymph; #10 Pat’s Stone Brown/Green; #10 Mr. Beam Skwala #10 Bullet Head Skwala #8 J.J. Special #10 Sparkle Minnow; #4 Sunrise Sculpzilla  #6 Yellow Zonker

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You can’t ask for better April weather then this.

by sunriseflyshop

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You can’t ask for better April weather then this. Grab the flip flops and maybe leave the waders at home. The Big Hole River is still holding with 18 inches of visibility and no dramatic rise in water flows yet. This could all change but we will have to wait and see. It is always hard to predict what will happen in the next few days in the Spring. I can tell you right now the river is fishing ok and it is producing some nice fish lately. Mainly subsurface action. You will find some March brown mayflies out and some Skwalas. We have been sticking subsurface with nymphs and streamers. Our our guide trips have been up river around East Bank and down in the Maiden Rock Canyon lately. Grab the sunscreen and your favorite pair of shades and have fun on the river. 

Our Client caught this brute on the Big Hole this week

Recommended Flies : #12 Prince Nymph; #10 Pat’s Stone Brown/Green;  #6 San Juan Worm; #10 Mr. Beam Skwala #10 Bullet Head Skwala #8 J.J. Special #10 Sparkle Minnow; #4 Sunrise Sculpzilla

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April Fishing Report

by sunriseflyshop

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Fishing has been pretty tough on the Big Hole lately. We had a boat on the upper Big Hole River today. Clarity was only good around the creeks entering the Big Hole. We managed to get some fish but it was not easy. We are hoping the cooler temperatures will drop the river flow and we will gain some clarity. The upper river is leveling off but we need it to drop and clear. Our Big Hole River guides are on our rivers daily with reports. Once we get to about 2 feet of visibility the Big Hole will fish very well. More reports will come as things get better.

Larry with a nice 20 inch brown caught on the upper Big Hole this week

Recommended Flies : #12 Prince Nymph; #10 Pat’s Stone Brown/Green;  #6 San Juan Worm; #10 Mr. Beam Skwala #10 Bullet Head Skwala #8 J.J. Special #10 Sparkle Minnow; #4 Sunrise Sculpzilla

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Spring has arrived and fishing has been alright.

by sunriseflyshop

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Spring has arrived and fishing has been alright. We just finished our first two guide days on the Big Hole River. We had a spectacular 50 degree day and today the high was 35 degrees with snow. Both days fished well and in fact the best fish we caught were in the snow and cold temperatures. the Big Hole is in great shape clarity wise and flow. Your main hatch on the river right now are midges. When I say midges I mean tons of them. We had several hours where the river was blanketed with midges. You will find a few fish up and eating them but not many. Our best flies were sub surface; Micro worms, and #18 micro mayflies, #18 zebra midges, #18 pheasant tails. Fish are still in their winter holes, lets remember it is still March and water temperatures are hovering in the upper thirties and some days getting into the mid forties. Things will pick up dramatically during our next warm spell. When that warm up will be is still a mystery. Winter is back for the next several days according to the weather man. The Big Hole Basin snowpack is over 110% and still gaining. We are currently fishing from Maiden Rock down to the Notch. We are running shuttles, guiding Spring Specials and 2016 inventory is arriving daily.  Give us a call for all of the above information 406.835.3474.

Rob with a nice brown caught today on the Big Hole River

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