Fly Fishing River Reports Archives - Page 4 of 20

Missouri River Fishing Report – 04/16/12

Posted on April 16, 2012June 2, 2022 by Eric Adams

Weather/Water/Fishing Conditions:

Saturday ended up being a much nicer day than forecast, instead of 50 and broken clouds, we had 60+ and sun all day. Fishing Saturday was pretty good, but not great. The deep nymph was the ticket in the bright sun. When the wind would lay down a but, and a cloud rolled over, fish would be up instantly on midges. But once the sun came back, down they went. We did see a fair number of Baetis that day, although the fish weren’t really keyed in on them. If the fish were up though, a midge cluster would get them, or perhaps an Adams. To really get them, you could drop one of many things off the back; zebra, green LB, etc. The short leash to rising fish is lethal. If they are rising, this will get em. 12-18″ to the first fly.

What a difference a day makes! Woke up Sunday morning to a trace of snow, 28-degree temps, light snow and light wind. Didn’t see a single beatis on Sunday, but there were plenty of fish up on midges. Again, the short leash was the way to really wreck shop. But we hunted up plenty of heads. Best dry was a 16 or 18 beatis cripple, which most fish would pick up on the first good cast. We tried the streamer for a bit as well but only moved a few fish.

Hatches:
Midges are definitely out and about, the Baetis fishing should be cranking up this week – especially on the overcast days.

Thanks to one of our great guides Jeff Johnson for this updated report.

Yellowstone River Fishing Report – 04/12/12

Posted on April 12, 2012June 2, 2022 by Eric Adams

Fishing/Weather/Water Conditions:

We had a couple of guides on the Yellowstone River yesterday and both had similar reports – upstream wind and bright sun. The bright sun limited the Baetis hatch (as they prefer cloudy days). The upstream wind made fishing a bit tougher as it tends to blow the foam out of the good holes and the fish just don’t quite stack up. However, we did catch several fish on short leash nymph rigs (indicator 2 feet above flies) and streamers we also fairly productive. It was also about 65 degrees with no other boats on our section so it did make for a good overall day to fish in Montana.

HEADS-UP:

The Lamar River spiked from 200 cfs to over 1,000 cfs in the past couple days. The Yellowstone River near Emigrant is already rising and has more color. The cooler weather should bring it down quickly, but the next day or so could be challenging fishing.

Hatches:

Baetis (BWOs) and Midges were out and about, but not prolific. We also saw several March Brown spinners and even a few Mother’s Day Caddis. Keep your eyes peeled for that magic 52-degree water temp and the Caddis will pop!

Flies & Fishing Strategies:
Nymphs – Black Copper John’s (14-16), BH Hare’s Ear (12-14), CDC BH Prince (12-16), Partridge & Pheasant Soft Hackle (12-16), Tungsten Zebra Midge (16-18).
Dries – Hi Viz Griffith’s Gnat (16-18), Hi Viz Parachute Baetis (16), March Brown Cripple (12-14), Parachute March Brown (14).
Streamers – J.J. Special, Black/Olive Zonker, Olive/Black Sex Dungeon, or your favorite darker streamer pattern.

Concentrate on the slower water for both nymphing and streamer fishing. Several of our dry fly fish have been caught inches from the banks so keep your eyes peeled for slow confident rises which will indicate a larger more confident trout.

Yellowstone River Fishing Report – 04/11/12

Posted on April 11, 2012June 2, 2022 by Eric Adams

Spring fly fishing in Montana doesn’t get much better than this on the Yellowstone River. Unlike the past several years where Spring has brought us nothing but cold and snow, this season has basically been a fly fishing paradise. Our weather has been warm and the snow levels are near normal, making for some great early season conditions. The water levels are about 2,300 cfs and holding steady with good clarity. A. Hurt is pictured here with a beautiful 24″ Yellowstone River Brown caught on a J.J. Special from this weekend.

Hatches:
Baetis (BWOs) and Midges are prolific on cloudy days and fish are starting to group up in the foam holes and long the rip-rap banks. The Lower Yellowstone, below Springdale, has seen some early March Browns and as the water temps heat up to the 52-degree mark later this month start looking for the Mother’s Day Caddis to start popping in the late afternoon. On the Upper Yellowstone above Livingston, we should start seeing the full mix of Baetis, Midges, March Browns and Caddis in the next couple weeks. Obviously, we’ll keep you posted.

The weather forecast for the week looks like overcast and drizzly – perfect for good Baetis weather, so make sure to get out there!

Yellowstone River 2/25/2012

Posted on February 25, 2012February 20, 2017 by Eric Adams

Its almost springtime here in Montana which means its time to pull the boats out of storage and get ready to start floating the rivers again. Personally, i cant wait to row the Yellowstone dragging streamers while waiting for signs of rising fish. Spring has become my favorite time to fish in Montana. The lack of crowds and surplus of hungry trout makes for an exciting time on the water. The only thing you have to worry about is choosing warmer days and the right sections of river to float.

Last spring i was fortunate enough to float several times in March and April and we sure had some awesome days! Big fish were our target and streamer fishing was the answer. Anyone interested in doing some early season fishing on the Yellowstone should give us a call!

Here is a little taste from last years spring season…