Tag: Montana Flyfishing

June 1st – 14th | Madison River Fishing Report

 

The season is really upon us now! As we watch the snow come down the mountains with the rain and hot weather, the river comes up.  And up. And up. We can’t help but be our trout bum selves and get in the muddy water anyway! The water is a little mirked up higher on the Madison and pretty muddy everywhere else north of the West Fork and Indian Creek. The bigger bugs and streamers have been the ticket as usual for this kind of spring weather. Don’t be afraid of a little color, the fish can see and/or feel just fine with that lateral line. Streamers and big nymphs make a little more commotion in the water and help the fish key into them a little easier. There is also a fine line of mud after the West Fork if you would like to play that game. The game of Good vs Evil, Dark vs Light, Clear vs Mirk…That will be going on for a while yet.

Some of the flies that have been working are as follows:

Dries:

  • March Browns (sz 14-16)
  • Caddis (Bomber sz 10)
  • Black caddis (sz 16-18)
  • Various Brown and Black beetles (sz 10-16)

Nymphs:

  • Pheasant Tail (sz 12-16)
  • Delektable Pheasant Tail Lil’ Spanker (sz 14-18)
  • Delektable Prince Brandon (sz 14)
  • Shop Vac (Sz 14-16)
  • Brown and Black Pat’s Rubber Legs (Sz 6-10) …mostly 8 though
  • Delektable Mega Prince Standard (Sz 4-8)
  • Delektable Stonefly Candy (Sz 8) in a few darker colors including the Bitch Creek
  • Curved hook Caddis Beadhead (sz 10-14)
  • Delektable Worm (sz 10) in red, pink and wine

Streamers:

  • Delektable Double Screamer Spawning
  • Delektable Double Screamer Black and Olive
  • Delektable Single Screamer White
  • Delektable Single Screamer Badger
  • Bow River Bugger (Sz 6)
  • Copper Zonker (Sz 4 and 6)
  • White Streamers
  • Black Streamers
  • Olive Streamers
  • Big Streamers

We hope to see you all soon, please swing in and say hello to us, the crew, for any of your flyfishing needs. Happy Fishing!!! -DANG

May 13th – 19th | Madison River Fishing Report

It sure feels like spring time these days with this past week spending most of its time in the 70’s and the upcoming forecast showing mostly 40’s and low 50’s for daytime highs. The creeks are on the drop at the moment after a few days of kicking in some dirty water which should be good for the fishing.It’s been mostly nymphs and streamers that are doing the bulk of the catching. Delektable Double Screamers, Trevor’s Sculpins, Sparkle Minnows and Buggers have seen their share of success out there.We’ve been fishing a good variety of nymphs as the conditions are changing almost every day. Delektable Lil’ Spankers, Copper John’s and Pheasant Tails are good for the March Browns in size #10 or #12. Smaller bugs like Delektable Ranch BWOs, Lightning Bugs, Serendipities and Princes are the Baetis/BWO lineup. Pat’s Rubberlegs, Delektable Stonefly Candy and Worms are working for the other stuff.The drop in temp seems to be keeping the March Browns and Caddis under the surface once again. Shop Vacs and other Caddis Emergers will work. If you’re dying to get some dry fly fishing in you can still find some fish eating Midges and Baetis here and there. Sipper Midges and small Adams should be all you need or try a Purple Haze.

May 6th – 12th | Madison River Fishing Report

The Project Healing Waters group was in for the week and their trip was a great healing adventure! There were three different days of fishing and the group was with different people guiding them each day and at different places on the Madison. Thank you to those who helped them access the wade areas. Big Dan started the week with Brandon and Bob Frey guiding the boys. Gunnar, David Kern, and Marty helped during the rest of the week. Thank you to the guides for your help. All the boys caught fish and each had different and remarkable adventures! There were rainbows mostly, a few browns, and even a cutthroat and whitefish. They were great guys and a pleasure to be with. Our neighbor Michael donated his time as chef with his friend Mark. Thank you Michael. It was great eating and great added stories about the food and all kinds of adventures.

The water is at an all time color (a touch of murk) and VERY steady flow right around 2,100 cfs since the beginning of the month, so if you are thinking of going….you should. The west fork has just started to kick in a bit of dirty water. This is once again your chance to throw the big bugs and get funky, because the trout are just on a feeding frenzy in the spring. The weather has been cooperating and the snowpack is slowly coming down giving us a little bit of an idea as to how the outlook on the big bugs this summer is going to be. The March Browns and Caddis have started to work their way out of the depths down towards town and dry fly fishing has followed.

The bugs that have been in the queue all week are as follows:  Gray Paradrake Sz 10; Purple Haze Cripple Sz 10; Parachute Adams Sz 12; Delektable CDC Elk Hair Caddis Tan Sz 16; Goddard Caddis Sz 16; Delektable Mega Prince Olive Flash Back Sz 8; Delektable Mega Prince Standard Sz 8; Pat’s Rubber Legs in all the colors Sz 8-10 (Squalla still); Delektable Lil’ Spanker Pheasant Tail Sz 14 and 18 (BWO); Delektable Lil’ Spanker Silver Sz 14 and 18 (BWO); Delektable Prince Brandon Sz 14 and 16; Delektable Red Worm Sz 12; and Delektable Screamer Black/Olive.

The streamer bite has been on for some people who are addicted to it but for the most part they have been lethargic with the weather being a little chilly but it has been warming up and should stay in the 70’s for most of the upcoming week so hopefully we’ll be able to start speeding up the retrieves and seeing fish be more aggressive.

September 17th – 23rd | Madison River Fishing Report

Water flow has dropped a tad since last week’s report, below Hebgen we’re running at about 940 c.f.s. and the gauges at Kirby and Varney are both reading right around 1,000 c.f.s. The small Baetis and Blue Wing Olives have become the name of the game as fall has begun to set in, along with the streamers of course.

Early mornings have been tougher so most of us have been starting the day around 9 or 10 o’clock. Small Baetis and BWO nymphs have been the most productive. Delektable Lil’ Spankers, Flashback Pheasant Tails, Copper Johns, Lightning Bugs, Hogan’s S and Ms, Micro Mays, and Princes are our top flies for the week, all in sizes #18 and #20. Occasionally #16’s too. Try trailing one behind a streamer.

The streamer fishing is getting better by the day and we’ve seen some quality fish come on the meaty flies. Stuff like Delektable Screamers, Sparkle Minnows, Circus Peanuts, JR’s Coneheads and Trevor’s Sculpins are all good choices to look for that big brown we’re all after.Dry fly fishing has been tougher to find but keep an eye on the slack waters for fish taking BWOs. It will be tough to beat a #18 Purple Craze or Parachute Adams to match that hatch and you may be able to coach a couple fish up with October Caddis patterns like Delektable Twisted Xs or a PMX. If that’s the type of fishing you seek, the upper wade section would probably be the place for you.

For any other tips or advice call or stop by the shop anytime between 8:00am and 6:30pm, we’re always glad to help!

July 28th and 29th | Montana Hope Project

 

  Thank you to all who joined us at our Montana Hope Project event. We had a great time eating good food, visiting with friends, relaxing, casting, and tying. We are excited to share that we exceeded last year’s totals and have more funds to help the Montana Hope Project Families. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This is our favorite weekend of the year at Beartooth Flyfishing and it will always be. Thank you everyone for being part of this special event.

The Delektable Crew

 

 

July 9th – 15th | Madison River Fishing Report

  

Man, it’s tough to believe it’s already the middle of July. It’s almost as tough to believe that almost 3 weeks after the word got out about salmon flies and goldens hatching we are still getting them on the big dries on the upper end of the river. Flows are still way above historic average; in fact we saw an increase in flow out of Hebgen Dam just yesterday. She’s moving at about 1,400 cubic feet per second below Hebgen, just under 1,600 at Kirby and by the time you get to the Varney gauge we’re reading just under 2,000 c.f.s.

The dry fly fishing continues to impress as PMD’s, Caddis, Yellow Sallies and Flavilineas have been hatching consistently. It’s been best earlier and later in the days but if you work hard enough you can get some fish on top throughout the day. We’ve had good luck on a variety of the small Delektable Chubbyness’ as well as Delektable Twisted Babies, Delektable CDC Elk Hair Caddis, Purple Hazes, Lil’Hotties, Trudes and Wulffs.

Most days the nymph bite is of course, fantastic. Delektable Lil’ Spankers, Delektable Sure Strikes, Serendipities, Prince Nymphs, Two-Bit Hookers, Lemon Drops, Pat’s Rubberlegs and Psycho Princes have all caught their fair share of fish as of late. Fish any of those in tandem under a bobber, on a tight line or under a dry fly and you’re bound to get into a few fish.

We’ve had some success on streamers, especially first thing in the morning when the water is nice and cold. Our favorite flies have been Zonkers, McCune’s Sculpins, Sheila’s, and Delektable Screamers. The fish are hanging out around the boulders waiting for a good meal, just make sure you’re ready to set the hook!

 

Our annual Montana Hope Project fundraiser is less than two weeks away and we’re looking forward to seeing everyone come out. As always, Captain Marty will be making his famous Gumbo and Dan will have his Elk Chili along with all the snacks and deserts you could ask for. Mark your calendars now for July 28th and 29th to have a good time for a great cause.

June 17th – July 1st | Madison River Fishing Report

  

We saw a 1,000 c.f.s. increase in flow out of 

Hebgen on the 19th  which made things tough for a few days but the bite only improved from then till now. We’re down to about 1,200 c.f.s. below Hebgen and 1,500 c.f.s. down at Kirby. It looks like we’re seeing the light at the end of the tunnel with all the wet weather and Summer should be setting in any day now.

SALMON FLIES are here and the fish have been eatin’ ‘em pretty well. Along with the big bugs came the Yellow Sallies, PMDs, Golden Stones, and the Caddis are still all over the place. Dry Fly fishing has been better and better as the days go by. Our favorite patterns have been Delektable Secret Stones in Royal, UV Salmon and UV Goldenstone, Delektable Mega 2-Tone Chubbyness and Delektable Twisted X’s in yellow have been great for the Sallies. Half-Down Stones have also been fishing well along with Stimulators, Bloom’s Parachute Caddis and Lil’ Hotties. It’s shaping up to be a dry fly season for the books so take advantage!

The nymph fishing has been outstanding. We’ve had lots of success on soft hackle stuff lately like Delektable Hammerheads, Soft Hackle Hare’s Ears and Soft Hackle Copper Johns. Along with those the standard Mayfly and Caddis patterns have been successful. Things like the Delektable Lil’ Spankers, Lightning Bugs, Prince Nymphs and Psycho Princes are good bets. Any of them can be fished under a big dry or in tandem under an indicator. Some folks have scored with two small nymphs while others have used a larger Stonefly Nymph up top and a small nymph behind. Depending on the flows, a B or BB shot might be needed above the first fly.

The streamer bite has been a bit more inconsistent as of late but with other techniques being so productive I guess we’ll have to be okay with that. With that being said we have picked up a fish here and there on smaller sculpin patterns.

What a great time to be out on the Upper Madison, we hope you’re all enjoying the excellent fishing and if there are any other tips we may have to offer don’t be afraid to call or stop by the shop to ask 406-682-7525.










June 8th – June 16th | Madison River Fishing Report

 

 

 

 

 

The river has continued to drop throughout the week, it’s down from 1,650 to 1,240 c.f.s. below Hebgen and at the Kirby gauge she’s running at about 1,600 c.f.s. Night time low temperatures have been pretty darn cold so there’s no reason to rush out too early in the morning as the fish have been waiting for water temps to come up a bit later in the morning to start biting.

The best fishing has been sub-surface over the past week. Nymphs have been doing the most work out there with Shop-Vacs, Rubberlegs, Princes, Delektable Hurless Stones, Psycho Princes, and Wire Worms being some of our top picks.

We have continued to have a pretty good dry fly bite in the evenings with the caddis and expect salmon flies and PMDs to be playing a part in the surface action any day now. For the time being we’ll continue to fish stuff like Goddard Caddis, Delektable Twisted Babies, Delektable Halos or Bloom’s Parachute Caddis.

Streamer fishing has been a bit inconsistent but persistency pays when the timing is right. We’ve been able to pick a few good fish up on some smaller tan or olive sculpin patterns including Sculpzillas, Delektable Screamers, McCune’s and Sparkle Minnows.

If there are any other tips we might be able to give call or stop by the shop, we’ll be here from 7am till 7pm every day.  

September 11th-17th | Madison River Fishing Report

 

Well it felt a lot like winter when I woke up  yesterday morning and that was a blessing after such a dry couple of months. With predicted rain and highs in the mid 50s and low 60s the forecast is looking good for everyone’s favorite fall festivity, STREAMER FISHING! Flows are at 861 c.f.s. below Hebgen Lake and 970 c.f.s. down at Kirby.

 

Speaking of streamer fishing it has been  pretty good as of late, best in the mornings and evenings but I expect it to be an all day affair with the upcoming weather. The fish are in their normal hiding places (undercuts, boulders, logjams, etc.) feeding on their usual prey (whitefish and sculpin). Some of the bigger flies are starting to get more attention like the Delektable Double-Screamer, Circus Peanuts, Silk Kitty, and Sundell’s Bad Boys as well as the go to smaller stuff like Double Bunnys, Delektable Single Screamers and Sheila’s Sculpins. 

The recent snow probably put down some of the hoppers but it usually takes a couple cold spells to get rid of them for the season. Good news is the water temp is right down to Calabaetis and BWO levels so keep an eye out for those to start hatching. The bigger caddis are lingering around the banks in the evenings but we’re still waiting for them to show up in any numbers which shouldn’t take long at all.

Nymphs are still the best option if you’re out there looking for hook ups. Mornings have been most productive but that may change with the water temps. They’ve been taking some of the bigger soft hackles and/or caddis emergers like Delektable Hammerheads and soft hackle Copper Johns as well as the smaller bead-heads such as tungsten Studlys, Delektable Lil’ Spankers, Formerly Known as Princes, and Shop Vacs.

Keep checking in for more up to date fishing reports and as always call or stop in the shop for any other tips you may need!