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Madison River Fishing Report 3/19/18

Posted on by Eric Adams

 

MFG guide Jeff Welke and angler Mike W., who took advantage of our Spring Special, had some solid fly fishing on the Madison River this weekend.

About a dozen fish made it to the net, primarily on nymphs. Most productive were larger copper & brown zirdle bug flies trialed by hot head nymphs. Various squalls made any dry fly fishing tough, but a lot of midges were out. Fishing was consistent throughout the day, but early starts certainly aren’t necessary.

Weather was cool and overcast with small squalls coming through. Temperature were in the 40s, so basically good early season conditions.

No biggies on the day, but who’s going to shrug at several cookie cutters, a 16″ Rainbows and an 18″ Brown? All aboard couldn’t have been happier, plus Mike got a jump on some early season fishing and saved a few bucks with the Spring Special.

Yellowstone River Fishing Report 04/25/13

Posted on by Eric Adams
Montana Fly Fishing Tripschoose All Inclusive Inset

Eric Adams had the fortune of  fishing with Doug MacDonald and Darcy Cook of Granite Sports Medicine in Livingston who both took advantage of our Spring Fling Guide Rates.  We spent our day on the Yellowstone River and overall we landed a mixed bag of  about 25 Rainbow, Brown and Cutthroat trout with several in the 16 inch range. All of the trout looked as though the wintered well and appeared extremely healthy.  Overall a great spring day of uncrowded fishing.

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Weather & River Conditions:

The past couple weeks have seen some crazy weather from highs in the 60’s nearly two weeks ago to highs in the teens as little as 5 days ago. Mix in a couple white-out blizzards and you’ve got a typical Montana Spring. The weather cooperated as the highs were in the mid-50s with overcast skies until early afternoon.  The wind was present, but tolerable at about 10 mph from the WSW. The Yellowstone River is low and relatively clear with a couple feet of visibility.  The current flow is about 1,400 cfs which is low for this time of year, but mostly due to the recent cold conditions.  Keep this low flow in mind as many of the usual foam holes are not in place with the lower water levels.  Water temperatures yesterday reached 50 degrees and the trout were very feisty.

Fishing Strategy:

Baetis and midges where the ticket yesterday and we did see several caddis hatching in the afternoon, but the trout didn’t focus on them as the numbers weren’t there.  Our most effective strategy was short-leash nymphing dropping a CDC Pheasant Tail Nymph (sz 16) below a Tungsten Zebra Midge (sz 18). Concentrate on the areas behind corners and point barbs where the foam collects and get ready to hook up.

Yesterday we did not work streamers very hard, but have heard some very good reports in the past few days of some very big fish being caught.

Yellowstone River Caddis Update:

As we mentioned we did see about a dozen of the Mother’s Day Caddis, so they are getting ready to pop. the magic water temperature to see full emergence is usually 54 degrees. With the warm weather predicted we predict a good hatch by this weekend.  Stay tuned we’ll keep you posted as we’ll be on the river over the next several days.

Upper Madison Fishing Report 5/24/2012

Posted on by Eric Adams
Upper Madison Fishing Report 5-24-2012

It’s become an annual tradition of mine to head to the Upper Madison River for opening weekend. Opening weekend on the Madison occurs on the 3rd Saturday of May every year allowing access to certain sections that close for crucial spawning habitat during late winter. It can be an exciting and frustrating time up there, battling the crowd on Saturday is more entertaining to watch from the parking lot with a cool beer than standing in water with anxious anglers pounding every piece of good water. I tend to wait out the crowd and start fishing late in the day when the fish have had time to settle down.

The real fishing starts on Sunday and Monday when most of the excitement of the opening day has passed. Large sections of un-fished water lay ahead and big, hungry trout move in tight to the banks and start feeding on whatever happens to be around. I’ve always had good success with Stones, San Juan’s, and variety of smaller flashy nymphs depending on whats been hatching recently.

This year was no different than the last few, a large crowd on Saturday had me retreating for the cooler and lawn chair to sleep off the hangover from the night before. Once the parking lot cleared out it was time to head to my favorite holes and fish till dark. This year some big browns were found in shallow water eating small streamers (Buggers, Bow Rivers, Stoneflies). I’m not sure if it was the cool weather or the water clarity that kept the crowds small, but Sunday and Monday we basically had the river to ourselves. The standard flies were the ticket and much large fish were landed and released. It was another great opening weekend in the books.

If you’re considering heading up there don’t let the water clarity fool you. This river can fish great in the off color water you just have to keep fishing different types of water and change up flies till something works. Shouldn’t be too long before we start seeing Salmonflies and Goldenstones up here. Here at MFG were excited that summer is finally here so give us a call at 406.223.2488 to book your trip. Check out our great guide staff at https://www.montanaflyfishingguides.com/montana-fly-fishing-guides.htm

 

Montana Spring Fishing Report – 05/21/12

Posted on by Eric Adams
Montana Spring Fishing Report – 05-21-12

Spring fishing in Montana is always pretty exciting with unpredictable weather each new day is an adventure.  This Spring has been particularly good fishing as the weather actually feels like Spring with warm air temperatures and very few spring snow storms.  The Yellowstone River fished quite well with the Mother’s Day Caddis Hatch making it’s best showing in the past few years.  We had a number of anglers take advantage of our 25% off Spring Discount.  These anglers were not disappointed as we routinely landed 30 to 40 fish a day with a few gems including Mac’s 22″ Yellowstone River Brown trout (pictured here).

As is typical with any Montana Spring fishing season the inevitable Spring run-off is upon us.  Run-off is our annual event where the mountain snows melt with the warm weather and flood the rivers and make them unfishable for about 4 to 6 weeks.  This doesn’t mean there isn’t any good fishing to be had.  The local spring creeks of Armstrong, DePuy, and Nelson start to fish well and the Missouri River is currently on fire – at least on the nymphing side of things.  In fact, one of our guides Jeff Pavlovich has been on Missouri for the last week and reports good to excellent nymphing with bright caddis pupa and emergers, along with the ever-present scuds and sow bugs.  The caddis on Missouri are nearly ready to explode so the dry fly fishing is certainly within days of getting really good.

We’ll continue to keep you posted so stay tuned…

ENTIRE RANGE

BOULDER RIVER

We describe our Boulder River fly fishing trips as half fishing half raft trip – in other words exciting fly fishing.

While your guide expertly rows the raft through class I, II & III rapids you’ll be hitting the pocket water in this fast paced fly fishing adventure. The Boulder River is a Blue Ribbon trout stream with quality rainbow and brown trout. This may be one of the best dry fly small streams in all of Montana. It has unusual purity giving it a unique clarity and beauty. Fly fishing the Boulder River depends on water levels and is typically floatable between late July and early August.

BEST TIME TO FISH THE BOULDER RIVER

  • Jan
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  • May
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GALLATIN RIVER

The Gallatin River, near Bozeman Montana is small in size, which to many means little fish, but not so on this hidden gem.

This is a classic small Montana stream with shallow riffles leading to long runs and deep pools with undercut banks. Typically this is a hunting ground for large brown and rainbow trout using streamers and large crawfish patterns. We typically float the Gallatin River in a raft or drift boat due to the many braids and channels – it’s a long day of fishing, but it can be very rewarding for those anglers looking for that 20+ inch trout.

BEST TIME TO FISH THE GALLATIN RIVER

  • Jan
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MADISON RIVER

Want a famed Madison River fishing trip?

The Madison River originates in Yellowstone National Park and flows nearly 150 miles before joining the headwaters of the Missouri river. The Madison river fishing is divided into the upper stretch and lower stretch each of which seems to be completely different waters. Both the Upper Madison and Lower Madison are some of Montana’s premier wild trout rivers and it has been classified as a “Blue Ribbon” trout stream. Every foot of the river is capable of producing rainbow and brown trout eager to rise to a dry fly, grab a drifting nymph or a swinging streamer.

BEST TIME TO FISH THE MADISON RIVER

  • Jan
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  • Apr
  • May
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  • July
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MISSOURI RIVER

Missouri River Fly Fishing

Join Us for a Missouri River Fishing Trip

A Missouri River fishing trip is a truly unbelievable home for trout below Holter Lake through the town of Craig and downstream to Cascade, Montana. It boasted the highest trout population in the state of Montana in 2012 with over 8,000 fish per mile and 20′′ fish are common. Obviously, chances of having a good day while Missouri River fishing are high. Not only are the fish numerous, but like most tailwaters the Missouri river is abundant in aquatic bug life, making for exceptional sight and dry fly fishing. We offer this trip only during the best fishing time of the year which is from April until early July and then again in late September into November.

BEST TIME TO FISH THE MISSOURI RIVER

  • Jan
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SMITH RIVER

Smith River fly fishing trips can be summed up in almost one word – secluded.

Our Smith River fly fishing trips take place on the upper section of the Smith River, between its origin and above the Smith River Fly Fishing Access Site, flows through gently rolling prairie, flanked by the tall peaks of the Big Belt Mountains and Little Belt Mountains. It is beautiful country, with sweeping wide­ open vistas and incredible views. Other than the small town of White Sulphur Springs, the area is also very remote. Agricultural fields surround the river in this section, with extensive brush along its bank. A number of pools are also found on this stretch. Generally, the Smith River flows at a slow to moderate pace in this section, depending on water levels.

BEST TIME TO FISH THE SMITH RIVER

  • Jan
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  • May
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SPRING CREEKS

The Paradise Valley Spring Creeks of Armstrong, DePuy and Nelson should be on every angler’s wish list.

These world famous creeks are a sight fishing wonderland – with consistent hatches of midges, baetis, Pale Morning Duns, and Sulphur’s anglers can test their skills against wary trout. Dry fly fishing, sight-nymphing and reach casts on 6X are useful tools to have in your angling arsenal, but don’t worry if you need a little more practice our guides will teach you these techniques and make you a better angler after just one day! Please make sure to plan ahead as these private locations have limited availability and in prime season reservations can book up to a year in advance.

BEST TIME TO FISH THE SPRING CREEKS

  • Jan
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STILLWATER RIVER

Don’t let the name fool you, our Stillwater River fishing trips take place on a wild and fast flowing river.

The beautiful Stillwater River begins in the Absaroka ­Beartooth Wilderness and flows north toward the town of Columbus, Montana where fishing access sites are good. Typically fishing this stream starts by mid July and August via rafts, but good wade fishing can also be had in the early spring with very good mayfly hatches starting around early March. This is definitely a dry fly fishing river and fishing this pocket water stream with a big hopper or stonefly pattern can be awesome.

BEST TIME TO FISH THE STILLWATER RIVER

  • Jan
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TROPHY LAKES

If you’re looking for trophy lake fly fishing trips then you need to check out a couple of the private trophy waters in the Livingston area.

They offer outstanding stillwater fly fishing for rainbows, browns and cutthroat trout. Fly fishing on these trophy lakes is more intense than most anglers realize. Stalking large trout and sight casting to gulpers can give even the most experienced angler the casting jitters. These trophy lakes have prolific hatches of damselflies, Callibaetis mayflies, midges and terrestrials. These lakes are also the ideal starting point for both beginner anglers and those younger anglers looking to bend the rod for the first time.

BEST TIME TO FISH THE TROPHY LAKES

  • Jan
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YELLOWSTONE RIVER

This is a classic western river and should be on every angler’s life list

Our Yellowstone River fishing trips include guiding on over 120 miles of blue ribbon trout water starting at Yellowstone National Park. The Yellowstone River is our home water and one of the great fly fishing trout streams of the world. It is the longest undammed river in the lower 48 states, and there is excellent trout water from its tributaries high inside Yellowstone Park, downstream through Gardiner, the Paradise Valley, Livingston, and on to well below Big Timber – a stretch of nearly 150 river miles. We float many different stretches of the prime water between Gardiner and Big Timber, depending on the Yellowstone River fly fishing conditions and water levels.

BEST TIME TO FISH THE YELLOWSTONE RIVER

  • Jan
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  • May
  • June
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YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK

Fly Fishing in Yellowstone National Park

Our Nation’s first National Park offers some of the most famous fly fishing waters in the country. Slough Creek, Soda Butte Creek, Lamar River, Yellowstone River and many other small streams are all within driving distance of Livingston, Montana. Our Yellowstone Park fly fishing guides have detailed knowledge of the waters in Yellowstone National Park and have spent decades learning these waters. They are pleased to show you some secrets to catching more trout in this amazing environment.

BEST TIME TO FISH YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK

  • Jan
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