The Yellowstone The wind has been howling this week, but those willing to battle the elements have caught good numbers of nice fish. Anglers have been doing well in riffle corners with rubber leg nymphs and baetis droppers. This time of year the rainbows tend to stack up together in riffles and foam eddies. Often there will be 20-30 fish podded up together. An angler can typically pick off 4 or 5 fish out of these spots before the pod gets too stirred up. If you're not in one of these good spots however, the Yellowstone can seem like a fishless ghost town. Wade fishing can be frustrating this time of year because most of these good riffles and holes can be miles from any of the FWP access points. Give us a call or stop by and we can point you in the right direction. If you float, you may want to consider doing your own shuttle since Toots (223-0626) is the only one doing shuttles right now and she is only covering Carter's to 89. This hasn't been a problem since that section has been fishing very well, but floating above or below town would be even less fishing pressure. In a couple more weeks the browns should be done spawning and looking to beef up for the winter. This is one of the best times to throw streamers at them again before the Winter slush and ice flows arrive. For any dry fly die hards don't forget to bring your midges - the baetis are slowing down now, but plenty of fish are still up looking at midge emergers and duns. One last thing, there's no rush to get out early, 10:00 to 2:00 seems to be the best time to be on the river.
The Madison The upper Madison has still been producing some fabulous fishing, especially if you like the option of wade fishing for a few hours rather than floating for five. Streamers have been working well close to Ennis, smaller nymphs have been best between the lakes or near Reynold's Pass. A hike into the Bear Trap or a float on the lower would also be fun.
The Spring Creeks With the water coming out of the ground at 52 degrees, the creeks are now your best bet for dry fly action. The baetis have still been hatching and the dun fishing has been decent, (provided the wind doesn't blow them off the water). Midge larva always seem to catch fish out there this time of year. Scuds and small streamers also will do the trick.
Local and Private Lakes You can still get in a slam dunk day of fishing before your weekends are consumed by the slopes. Burn's Lake is probably your best bet for catching solid numbers and 16-22 inch fish. There are a ton of big rainbows up there, plus the Brookies have gotten much bigger now. Give us a call and we can set it up for you!
The Bighorn Dry fly fishing continues with good hatches of small Baetis mayflies and midges. Most people are fishing nymphs like sowbug and Baetis patterns although midge larva and midge pupa patterns can be deadly. George caught the brown to the left on a size #18 Baetis dun. On the lower river, streamers are a good bet for a big brown too.
The Missouri The MO is truly fishing well right now. Big fish, looking for streamers in the morning, baetis in the afternoon. As long as the wind doesn't blow off the hatch, you can have some incredible dry fly fishing. Clouds are nice, but if you're stuck with sun, try nymphing a long leader with 5 or 6x and a combination of scuds, sow bugs, eggs, thin baetis nymphs, WD40's, SJW's, ect.
Local Hot Spots Places like these can't take a ton of fishing pressure, so we don't post them on line. For these places, it is best to come see us in person (and be very polite). The reality is that if you are nice, we'll hook you up. We'll give you a map, (ask you to keep it to yourself), and sell you a few flies for the day. We've been on the road before too, and know how cool it is to get pointed in a good direction by your local fly shop...
The Yellowstone
The Madison The upper Madison has still been producing some fabulous fishing, especially if you like the option of wade fishing for a few hours rather than floating for five. Streamers have been working well close to Ennis, smaller nymphs have been best between the lakes or near Reynold's Pass. A hike into the Bear Trap or a float on the lower would also be fun. 
The Spring Creeks With the water coming out of the ground at 52 degrees, the creeks are now your best bet for dry fly action. The baetis have still been hatching and the dun fishing has been decent, (provided the wind doesn't blow them off the water). Midge larva always seem to catch fish out there this time of year. Scuds and small streamers also will do the trick. 
Local and Private Lakes
The Bighorn Dry fly fishing continues with good hatches of small Baetis mayflies and midges. Most people are fishing nymphs like sowbug and Baetis patterns although midge larva and midge pupa patterns can be deadly. George caught the brown to the left on a size #18 Baetis dun. On the lower river, streamers are a good bet for a big brown too. 
The Missouri The MO is truly fishing well right now. Big fish, looking for streamers in the morning, baetis in the afternoon. As long as the wind doesn't blow off the hatch, you can have some incredible dry fly fishing. Clouds are nice, but if you're stuck with sun, try nymphing a long leader with 5 or 6x and a combination of scuds, sow bugs, eggs, thin baetis nymphs, WD40's, SJW's, ect. 
Local Hot Spots Places like these can't take a ton of fishing pressure, so we don't post them on line. For these places, it is best to come see us in person (and be very polite). The reality is that if you are nice, we'll hook you up. We'll give you a map, (ask you to keep it to yourself), and sell you a few flies for the day. We've been on the road before too, and know how cool it is to get pointed in a good direction by your local fly shop... 
