Big Hole River Fishing Report

The fishing remains lights out on the Big Hole.

by sunriseflyshop

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The fishing remains lights out on the Big Hole. We have several hatches to discuss on this report. You will find Golden Stones, PMD’s, Green Drakes, and Caddis from Jerry Creek all the way down to the lower end of the Big Hole. If you are still wanting to chase some Salmonflies head up river. We still have Salmonflies from Sportsman’s down to the Jerry Creek area. Along with Salmonflies on the upper river you will find PMD’s, Green Drakes, and Caddis. Flows have bumped a little bit due to some overnight rain. This will not put the fishing off. Clarity remains around 3 feet on the river. We have also had stellar streamer fishing lately. In the fast shallow riffles we have been fishing mini loop sculpins, #4 Lil’ Kim copper, and #6 sparkle minnows.

Recommended Flies: #8 Chubby Chernobyl; #12 Purple Haze; #12 Film Critic; #14 Comparadun; #14 Cripple Copper; #12 Pearl Lightning Bug; #12 Red Copper John; #8 Pat’s Stone Black; #4 Lil’ Kim; #4 Sculpzilla; #6 Sparkle Minnow; #6 Mini Loop Sculpin

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Beaverhead River

by sunriseflyshop

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The upper Beaverhead River has been fishing well. We have had our guides on the river this week. A tan S.J. worm, and #18 olive split backs have been working well. River conditions are great right now on the Beaverheread with an outflow @ 680 CFS. Dry fly activity has been limited and nymphing has been pretty good.

Recommended Flies: #18 Olive/brown Split back; #14 tan S.J. Worm; #18 Pheasant Tail #18 tan Scud; #18 Ray Charles; #18 Micro Mayfly #18 Psycho Mayfly

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Salmon flies are Here

by sunriseflyshop

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Let the best dry fly fishing of the year begin. Salmon flies have hatched in the Melrose to Glen section. We had our Big Hole river guides on most of the sections of the river today and we had great fishing. We spotted over 50 Salmonfly shucks on the Kalsta bridge between Brownes Bridge and Glen today. The hatch will slowly work up into the Maiden Rock Canyon the next few days. Today a Pat’s Stone under a Salmonfly kept us hooked up all day. We did not have a lot of Salmonflies up in the air today taking flight but that will change tomorrow. Dry fly fishing should be great the next several days.

 

Recommended Flies :  #4 Fluttering Stone; #4 Bullet Head Salmonfly; #4 Half Down Salmonfly; #12 Pheasant Tail #12 Prince Nymph; #4 Pat’s Stone Brown/Orange; #12 CDC Caddis #14 Caddis Pupa; #14 X Caddis; #4 Smoking’ Mirrors; J.J. Special #10 Sparkle Minnow; #4 Sunrise Sculpzilla  #6 Yellow Zonker  #6 Copper 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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Rain in the valley the last 36 hours and snow in the high country.

by sunriseflyshop

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Rain in the valley the last 36 hours and snow in the high country. We are going to have a moist week here on the Big Hole. Flows look like they are stabalizing for now but that can change quickly. Visibility has been around 18 inches. We have been guiding on the upper Big Hole the last several days and fishing has been ok. We have been able to catch some very nice fish. Some browns up to 24 inches have been caught by our clients. Streamers and worm droppers are the best recipe for the trout right now. You will find some blue winged olives and march brown mayflies but the fish are not really interested in them. The worm hatch should continue to get better this week with the amount of precipitation we are receiving. Things are busy in our Big Hole River fly shop. We are the exclusive dealer of Simms, Patagonia, Scientific Angler, Fishpond, Costa Sunglasses, Winston Fly Rods, Hatch Reels and Lamson on the Big Hole.

Sunrise Fly Shop Client with a 24 inch brown caught on the Big Hole three days ago with our guide staff

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  #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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The entire Big Hole river is dropping in flow and clearing.

by sunriseflyshop

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The entire Big Hole river is dropping in flow and clearing. We have about 18 inches of visibility on the upper Big Hole. You will have a nice opportunity the next several days for good fishing on the Big Hole. Subsurface fishing will be your best option right now. Slow moving streamers off the banks, almost a dead drift and nymphs. Our best nymphs have been pink S.J. worms, and red S.J. worms. Water temperatures today are pretty cold but that will improve Sunday and Monday. It’s a good springtime opportunity to get out there and fish the next several days.

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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Big Hole Ice Off

by sunriseflyshop

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Things changed quickly here yesterday. The ice is breaking up on the upper Big Hole which has increased the flow of the river and the clarity got really bad yesterday. We had a boat down in the notch bottom area and they saw several adult Skwalas on the water. Fishing was good for about 2 hours on dries. With the lack of clarity in the river today and the steep rise in volume fishing will be tough today. I would stay off the river unless you want to take a scenic float and enjoy the warm spring weather. We will let you know when things improve.

Recommended Flies : #12 Prince Nymph; #10 Pat’s Stone Brown/Green; #18 Shop Vac; #18 Micro Mayfly; #10 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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Warmer weather is coming tomorrow and into the weekend.

by sunriseflyshop

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Warmer weather is coming tomorrow and into the weekend. The warm up will get the fish moving and the bugs. We had a boat on the lower Big Hole River yesterday and we had more of the same action with midges ruling the day and a few surface eats late in the afternoon on the Skwala dry fly. We might get better Skwala activity this weekend as the water warms but there is no guarantee.  The fish have been slow to move to streamers but that can change during the next several days. We have Spring Special Big Hole guide trips out the next two days. Stop in the shop to check out our new fly patterns and advice on the fishing.

Recommended Flies : #12 Prince Nymph; #10 Pat’s Stone Brown/Green; #18 Shop Vac; #18 Micro Mayfly; #10 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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