Those of you planning an early July trip might just be in luck this year. The
Yellowstone River is dropping fast and starting to show signs of clearing up. The bottom appears to have dropped out of the
Lamar River which is currently running at 2,750 cfs and is one of the major sources of mud for the Yellowstone. The river in Livingston is running at 11,500 cfs, and the water is just starting to change from a dirty brown to a green hugh with about 4-6 inches of visibility. If this trend continues it has the makings for some good clear water
salmon fly action! Keep you fingers crossed and we’ll keep you updated.
Summary:
Armstrong spring creek fished very well yesterday as midges and PMDs were hatching. It’s pretty rare to have the entire creek to yourself, but that’s exactly what we had – bonus! Fortunately the weather and fish were both in a cooperative mood.
Hatches:
There was a solid midge hatch in the morning and then PMDs around 10 am, which have just started to trickle off. Look for those PMDs to really start going by this coming weekend.
Best Technique:
Nymphing with small emergers and nymphs was most productive, but they did see a few trout sipping Pale Morning Duns in the flats. Their nymph rig was about 2.5 to 3 feet long with a small Palsa Pinch-on for a strike indicator.
Weather & Water Conditions:
Weather was one of the prettiest days of the year so far – 60 degrees, sunny and light winds from the West. As always with the spring creeks the water was in pristine condition.
Best Bugs:
The Zebra midge in a size 18-20 was most productive, unweighted Pheasant Tails and PMD Splitcase Nymphs in size 14-16, and PMD CDC emergers size 12-14.
The Yellowstone and surrounding rivers are at peak run-off, but there is still great fishing to be had on some private lakes!
12 boats headed out for great lake fishing
Today we were out with Matson Rodgers’ Anglers West Fly Shop. A group of 50 great Aussie’s were celebrating one of the groups 50th birthday. Celebrating in style we might add – two days in Las Vegas, private jet to Montana and staying at Mountain Sky Guest Ranch complete with horseback riding, catered outdoor dinners, music, fly fishing, white water rafting and supposedly more to come in the next couple days. Anyway a great group of folks who braved the unseasonably cool weather – yeah that’s fresh snow in the mountains over Zach’s shoulder!
Summary:
We were one of 12 boats scattered to one of the many private lakes in Paradise Valley for the morning. Eric Adams and fellow guide Zach Pleshar hit the lower lake at Story Ranch and in 2 hours caught about a dozen trout and missed numerous others. We caught several rainbows from 12 inches to 19 inches and even 2 Brook trout between 16 & 18 inches.
Zach holding Mike's 19" Story Lake Rainbow
Best Technique:
Nymphing was the best course of action for the day with two relatively novice anglers, but there were trout rising on small Callibaetis adults and would likely have been effective. Our nymph rig was 2 to 4 feet in depth.
Weather & Water Conditions:
Cold, snowy and rainy – yes it’s June in Montana! Air temps were in the lower 50’s and water was about the same. We are seriously ready for some flip-flop weather!
Best Bugs:
As there were a few Callibaetis on the water we immediately tied on Trina’s Bubble Back emerger in size 12-14. I don’t know about Zach, but that’s the only fly I tied on all morning, with good results.
If you’re interested in learning more about some of the private lakes in the Paradise Valley please contact us.
USDA 2010 Hopper Prediction
We thought we’d re-post this article again as it’s gotten a lot of attention from all those anglers looking forward to their late July and August fishing trips. So here it is again…
Original Post from May:
Great news for those planning your Montana fly fishing trip for late July and August. The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) has just reported that this summer is in for a severe grasshopper infestation. Charles Brown of the USDA stated that based on recent federal surveys many western states, including Montana, may see the most severe hopper outbreaks in the last 30 years. See image.
The Yellowstone River runs through some of the prime ranch land in Montana near Paradise Valley and toward the eastern plains. The ranch land bordering the river are mostly hay fields where hoppers can grow prolifically in both size and numbers. A perfect August hopper fishing day would include temperatures in the 80’s, a 10 to 15 mph downstream breeze and a sunny day. The heat gets those hoppers moving and the breeze knocks them into the water, where trout eagerly wait for their afternoon meal. Some of the best hopper fishing on the Yellowstone River occurs east of Livingston where the bigger Rainbow and Brown trout reside.
So while ranchers and farmers prepare for the massive infestation, fly fishers should rejoice and make sure to tie up some Chaos Hoppers and Chubby Chernobyl’s. There’s only one catch you have to be in Montana this summer to fully appreciate it!
Steve G. with a 22" Missouri River Rainbow
Summary:
We just got back from a 5 day Missouri River fly fishing bonanza. Obviously, the fishing was great but we also caught a 20″ fish every day. The dry fly fishing is just starting, but the nymphing was spectacular for the first several days.
We are heading back up this coming weekend so we’ll keep you posted.
Best Technique:
Nymphing is still the most effective technique until the water temperatures come up a bit. However we did see some Baetis, PMDs, and a few caddis are starting. Your rig should be 6 to 7 feet deep weighted heavy.
Weather & Water Conditions:
The weather was mostly over cast and gusty winds through out the week. Water temps were in the low-fifties. The water was flowing at 4,600 cfs and have started bumping 500 cfs every day for the next few days. The water color is great until the Dearborn River which is kicking up some mud, bug still fishable.
Hatches:
Light Baetis, some PMDs and a few Caddis. All starting around 11 AM.
Best Bugs:
Our flies were a small orange San Juan worm (sz 14), Bett’s Micro May (sz 16 18), and a Zebra midge (sz 18).
2010 Montana Snow Pack
The recent cool weather and precipitation has increased our Montana snow pack in the upper and lower Yellowstone river valleys. About this time of the year we stop looking at the snow pack levels and start looking at SWE or Snow Water Equivalent. SWE is a measure of the the amount of water left in the snow.
Currently the Upper Yellowstone is at 86% of normal levels. The Lower Yellowstone is at 128% of normal. What does this mean to anglers, tourists and Montana travelers? Good water conditions for trout and conditions that lower our chances for major forest fires in the late summer and fall. All-in-all it’s looking like a positive start to our summer fishing season. We’ll keep you posted.
