River’s are Blown, But Lakes are Great – 06/11/10

The Yellowstone and surrounding rivers are at peak run-off, but there is still great fishing to be had on some private lakes!

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.

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.