Category: Big Hole River

We were lucky to have three rowers on the Big Hole River float. Some call it R and D; I call it a day off with my buddies. Marty, Jamie, and I decided to dump the raft in at Melrose and float over 20 miles to Bottom Notch. We spotted some Salmon Flies in the air so we went to the big dries with stonefly nymph droppers and the pictures tell the story. Jamie caught the big fish of the day with a 23″ Brown Trout while Marty was rowing.

Dan

Our Big Hole River float was from Jerry Creek Bridge to Divide.

One of my favorite trips is taking a father and son who enjoy flyfishing together. We fished a variety of streamers, nymphs, and dry flies but, the #12 Chubby Chernobyl in Royal and Purple caught the bigger fish. A variety of dropper nymphs worked but the strikes on the big dries were vicious.

Dan

Tim and Brian on their tour of Montana rivers with me. The Big Hole gave up Rainbows, Browns, Cuttthroat, Grayling, and Whitefish to us on a variety of dry and wet flies. The hatches included PMD’s, Caddis, Golden Stones and Drakes.

Dan

As predicted, the big-water year has produced great fishing throughout all our river systems, sustaining strong dry-fly action on many rivers well into the season. One of those rivers continues to be the Big Hole.

We have made a number of trips recently to the Big Hole River, and the storied waters have been stellar every time.

Our most recent trip was with a wonderful family from Utah. Mom, dad, son and daughter all had a wonderful time floating through the breath-taking scenery; and, of course, the fishing was great. Eager fish rose to dry flies all day, giving consistent action for the happy anglers. The choice of the day was Spruce Moths, with a variety of patterns working. As was the case on other recent days, there was a strong Mayfly hatch early in the day, with a more modest one later in the afternoon, making standard patterns like the Parachute Adams and Purple Haze excellent choices, especially in size 16. A small caddis hatch in the late afternoon also had fish taking #18 Delectable CDC Caddis.

At one point on the most recent trip, father and son in Dan’s boat caught four species of fish within a 100-yard stretch of the river. During a trip a few days earlier, I had a client catch six species of fish during the course of the day.

There are many things in my life that I am thankful for, and the Big Hole River is one of them. It’s a wonderful, special place.

CLEARING SKIES, GREAT FISHING

The drive over to the Big Hole on Friday was dark and stormy, with some rather ominous weather lurking ahead of us. Though concerned, we pressed on over the hill. The weather hadn’t changed when we arrived at Great Divide Outfitters, so we took advantage of the shelter of the fly shop to put on our waders and rain jackets, and headed to the river.

It was the right decision.

When we got to the launch, the clouds were still hanging low, dark and heavy; but the rain had stopped. It was chilly, in the low 50s, but not unpleasant. By the time we had rigged our gear and got the raft in the river, the clouds were looking less threatening. Within the first half-hour of the float, there were patches of clearing sky, and we were greeted by full sunshine within an hour.

But this isn’t a weather report, it’s about the fishing.

From the get-go, the bite was on. We were fishing nymphs, and at first, the majority of catches were big, strong whitefish, with the occasional trout mixed in. But the trend soon turned, with only trout coming to the net … One after another after another …

A variety of small nymphs produced fish, including Delektable Little Spankers in silver, red and pheasant tail; Copper Johns in copper and red; Lightning Bugs; Micro Mayflies in olive and brown, Bead Head Pheasant Tail Tungsten Flash Bugs; and Tungsten Studly Nymphs in olive; all in size 14 and 16. But the real kicker, which brought in nearly all the better trout, was Pat’s Rubberlegs, in black, and large; size 6 and 4.

Get out and fish!

The fishing and flows have been fabulous over the last two weeks. August is looking good, still have PMD’s, Caddis, Hoppers, and the hope of Big Time Spruce Moth action. Water temps and flows are the best I’ve seen since the late 90’s. I know I’ll be fishing on the Big Hole August, September, and October this year.

Dan

September 23, 2010

On Thursday, I enjoyed a day of fishing on the famous Big Hole River with my fishing partner and buddy Steve. We were led by my friend and Beartooth guide Marty.

As is usually the case this time of year, the water in the Big Hole was low, but that made for good dry fly fishing. I was fishing my normal double bead-head nymph rig, while my partner threw a double dry-fly rig all day.

The two first fish I caught were Whitefish and, ironically, they were the only whites I caught all day. The rest of the day was about Brown Trout and Rainbows for both of us, with the bigger trout taking Steve’s dry flies.

It was another great day of fishing in Montana.

Grandpa

Today was a rare and special day for Dan and Nancy. Everyone knows we put in the hours and work alot during the summer. It is a rare day for us to take time off, even more rare to take time together, and extremely rare to take time off fishing together with someone else rowing for the entire day. Yeah! Somehow it just all clicked that we were meant to go fishing. I was going to float with Grandpa but he chickened out because it wasn’t warm enough outside so I invited Dan to join me with Jim Morrison as our guide. Dan fished all day and did not row. We really had fun. The first two hours were slower. We were using streamers with small nymphs behind them. It was pretty cool out first thing then it warmed up. As it got warmer the bite turned on. We started getting some pretty good action on both the streamers and nymphs. When I added the sinking leader to my rig, it made a difference and really improved the results.

After lunch I caught a number of nice trout and despite the crazy weather which included big gusts and occasional light moisture, I wanted to try some dries. Roger shared a big goofy bug I put on the top and trailed it with a smaller fly behind. We got some action but after switching to either a Split Wing or Parachute Adams or a Delektable Royal or Purple Teaser as the trailer, we got more action. We caught and landed plenty and missed plenty. The trout colors were vivid and quite memorable. Jim did a great job of taking care of us. Thanks Jim.

We are now refreshed for more Beartooth fun. See you in the shop!

Nancy

It was Friday the 13th, and the weather report at the local fly shop was a winter-storm advisory for elevations above 6,000 feet. Despite the ominous skies, and the cold, wet air, our guys from Pennsylvania and Texas said, “Let’s fish.” It was the right choice.

We added layers as we geared up rods, with a cold, crisp breeze blowing downstream. Dark clouds were building around us. It’s the middle of August, and we’re wearing fleece and ski caps … hilarious. But the foreboding forecast didn’t pan out. Not long into the float, the sun came out, layers came off, and sunscreen went on. There were a couple patches of dark clouds during the day, dropping the temps and prompting the return of some clothing layers, but they didn’t stick. The sun kept returning, warming things up.

And boy, oh boy; were the fish happy!

Dan had the Pennsylvania boys in his raft. They fished a mix of dry flies and nymphs, with solid, quality bites the entire float. After a while, they stopped taking pictures of fish below 18 inches. It was that good.

I had the father and son team from Texas, and we drifted nymphs all day. We didn’t catch as many trout as Dan’s boat, but we also had a great day, with lots of fish. The highlight of our day was when 15-year-old Taylor caught a beautiful, pig of a brown trout; the biggest trout of his young fishing career. He couldn’t have been happier, and his dad couldn’t have been prouder … As guides, we live for moments like that.

The flies that worked for Dan were …

We scored our fish on Pat’s Rubberlegs in Brown, Olive/Brown and Black/Brown, in #8 and #10; Superflash Yellow #18; Tungsten Bead Pheasant Tail #16; and Pheasant Tail Tungsten Flash Bug #18.

Another memorable, beautiful day on the river!

We were off to a big adventure on the Big Hole River with Aunt Nancy, Uncle Dan, Drew, and Joe. En route we watched a golden eagle take a gofer off the road. It was a beautiful day, sunny, warm, light wind, with the natural tea colored water of the Big Hole. We visited our buddy Al at Great Divide Outfitters. We saw Rodger fishing on the banks that evening. We ran into friends on the river and had fun visiting. It’s really nice to enjoy a day off.

The river had been coming down for a few days and the conditions were nearly perfect. As of June 17th the river spiked abruptly up again. We floated from East Bank to George Grant. At first the fish were taking stone fly nymphs. The take slowed down during the heat of the sun. Late in the afternoon we tried some cripple dries including Dan’s new Delektable Squeezers in Royal and they turned on. Funny, around the same time the stone fly nymphs were working again too. The trout must have finished their siesta. We caught Rainbows, Browns, and Brook Trout.

We had a great time and really enjoyed the nice weather for a change.

Dan Delekta and Bernie Sundell embarked on a Big Hole adventure Sunday. It was either going to be a float from Melrose to Glen or the upper river from Wise River to Divide. On our dirve up the Big Hole, the Wind started to blow upstream as we approached Melrose. Easy decision, let’s go to Wise River. We put the raft in at Jerry Creek, no wind, perfect conditions.

The temperature was 30 Degrees at 10 A.M. but warmed up quickly as the trout started to bite from 11 A.M. to 4 P.M.

It was just a great day with one of my best friends. Browns and Rainbows from 12" to 17" ate #8 Delektable Mega Prince Flashbacks, #8 Delektable Olive Hurless Flashbacks, and #14 Delektable Sex Flies. The midge and BWO hatch never materialized but the nymphing was great.

Dan