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2010 SEASON FISHING RE-CAP

Photos by: Marcus McGuire, Eric Paulson, Doug McKnight, Bob Bergquist, Dave Bryan,

Brian Sienkowski, Hank Bechard, James Anderson, Justin Bolduc, & clients.

   As many of you who fished with us this season know, 2010 was an incredible year to be fly fishing in South West Montana! As usual, our clients caught good numbers of fish - most guide boats averaged about 20 trout a day with the occasional “native” slipping into the net. Hey, the tug is the drug right!? The impressive and somewhat surprising factor this year was how many large fish over 20" were caught. One thing’s for sure, there are some big nets to fill next year if we are to come close to catching as many hogs.

Our winter in started out relatively mild, which was great for fly fisherman.  At one point it looked like our snow pack was going to be only 70% the 10 year average. Worries of possible “hoot owl” closures quickly dissipated however as the spring cut-off lows dumped a ton of new snow and extra moisture through April. 

Robert Kovich kicked our spring streamer fishing off with a bang in late February, landing a 26 inch “boat ramp brown” while waiting for Marcus and Doug to do the shuttle. Using an 8 weight rod, a 300 grain sinking line, and a slower “cold water strip” Robert enticed this monster on one of his big articulated streamers.  Luckily Marcus and Doug returned to the scene and were able to get some great pics - nice work Marcus!

Later, on the last day of April James caught another monster boat ramp brown in town! After looking at the spot pattern and talon scar, is was clearly the same brown that Erik Severson had caught a year and a half ago during the Fall. If that’s not living proof of the benefits catch and release fishing has on the river I don’t know what is! The big hen ate a Gold Tomb Raider, basically a flashy twist off of Doug’s Home Invader pattern.  The best part was an older guide from a different fly shop in town was checking out the fly at the boat ramp and laughed, "Ha - that ain't gonna work."  Politely I answered, "Well, you never know..."  200 yards later I had barely gotten enough line out to hit the bank when I thought I had hit bottom.  No jumps, but the big hen rolled on the surface like a porous and everyone as the boat looked on with astonishment.  The fight wasn't as long as you'd guess, only a few minutes but the fish did make it in and out of the net a couple times.  She taped out at 28” long by 17” girth.  Thanks to Marcus and Hank for taking some great pics!

As usual, the end of April kicked off the start of the Yellowstone’s fabled Mother’s Day Caddis Hatch. We actually had a few days caddis dry fly fishing around the 25th, but as soon as the cold front hit the caddis hatch stopped dead in its tracks. The good news was that the fish were up and gobbling up March Browns left and right. The streamer fishing through and below town was also red hot with very few anglers on the water. We always try to get our clients to come out and fish in the spring but for some reason everyone seems to imagine themselves fishing Montana during their summer vacation. Oh well, I guess this is just more elbow room for the rest of us who know that spring in Montana is the best time to catch a big fish…

As soon as the Yellowstone was too muddy (and dangerous) to fish, we starting focusing on local and private lakes. Doug caught a huge buck rainbow early in our lake season on his Pig Pen Leech. Later in June, Gerry Lenzen caught two 24” plus fish – a massive 7.5 pound cutbow and two days later an 8 pound rainbow. The callibaetis were thick and the damsel nymphs were just starting. This was a great time to site fish for big cruising trout, as most of the big pigs hadn’t seen flies since last year.  Gerry also caught a fat 20" brown out of Burns lake, along with numerous 18-20 inch rainbows and cutthroat.  The "Forbidden Palace" fished awesome again this year which was no surprise. Jeff Carder and Mike Warnic each caught 22" plus browns one day on small nymphs.  Alain Bouchard caught one of the memorable fish at the palace - an 8 pound purebred cutthroat!

The Lower Madison was was the place to be during late June. Caddis and streamers were the ticket for the most part, although dead drifted crayfish sure caught there fair share of fish as well.  Another river that was red hot, despite the abnormally high flows was the Missouri.  Guides were nymphing with long leaders trying to get as deep as possible with small scuds, hot bead nymphs, worms, and streamers.  While the style of fishing wasn't as fun as headhunting a vortex trico, PMD, or caddis hatch there were a lot of big fish caught over there... 

Salmonfly Fever this year was not as epic as it has been in the past, at least on the Yellowstone. The Upper Madison actually fished quite well, with several 20 inchers to the boat. Only a handful fish bigger than that came up and ate the huge fluffy dry flies. The Yellowstone was dangerous in late June and it wasn’t until early July that we got our classic “green is good” water. The salmonflies were thick from Loch Leven up, especially above Emigrant and near Carbella. The bushes were also loaded with big dark chocolate caddis, goldenstones, and yellow sallies. The trick was getting the fish to see your dry fly, some days it just made more sense to nymph or throw flashy streamers, especially in town and below. For a while there a green rubber legs followed by a green copper john was unstoppable!

We had some great early summer fishing in Yellowstone National Park as well. Slough Creek was the main contender, but the Lamar, Soda Butte, and other smaller rivers fished as well as they ever had. The Green and Gray drakes in the Lamar Valley were thick, as were the PMD’s. Shortly after that the hoppers were kicking around and more than a big cutthroat made their way to the net. 2010 was a big year for the Park, with more visitors than ever. As things became more crowded near the road, a lot of our guided trips headed to “secret” hike in spots with far less pressure and excellent fishing. Clients willing to hike 3-5 miles (round trip) had some very memorable fishing. That being said, we re-order more bear spray this year than we ever have…

The bulk of our summer fished very well, especially for those who were willing to get down deep with nymphs for part of their day. Most all the 22” plus browns we got to the boat this were caught on either nymphs or streamers.  Theo's Biot Stone was a good new stonefly pattern, but of course the rubberlegs reigned supreme once again.  Some fished it as a dropper below a hopper, others chose to use it for a lead nymph.  Popular smaller droppers nymphs included P.T.'s, Morrish's Anatomays, hotwires, Delektable CDC princes, iron sallies, epoxy golden stones, copper johns, and others.  For dry droppers we sold a lot of ants in both black and cinnamon.  Small attractor droppers were also popular, especially up high in the valley.  A small #14 Fat Albert got a lot of play as did Lime Trudes, Potter's spruce moth, and various PMX patterns.

Despite all the hype on the hopper infestation, it seemed to be an average hopper year, at least for the rivers in our area.  After taking a closer look at the USDA's hopper map, it was mostly Eastern Montana which had such high numbers.  So while hoppers weren't exactly falling out of the sky, we still a blast like every other normal summer. I'd say the peak this year was around mid August.  Once the word on the "hot fly" got out you would have been hard pressed to find a pink Morrish hopper anywhere in the state! Doug’s Sweetgrass hopper was another hot pattern, particularly down low where we had shots at less but larger trout.  The Grand hopper was hot in the valley and above Yankee Jim canyon.  Sold quite a few Carnage hoppers too. 

Hopper fishing late in the season was good for anglers who could get long drifts.  With the help of the guides, most clients were able to figure this out quickly and had fantastic fishing even through September and into early October.  Sometimes the fish that had already been caught on hoppers started to nose and bump the fly without actually eating it. Some fish would even float or swim down stream to re-align themselves on your hopper.  As long as the fly kept it’s natural course it often passed the test and got sucked in!  I can still imagine the visual of some of the more spectacular eats - all of them were subtle and could have easily been missed if you weren't watching closely.  Towards the end, smaller hoppers seemed to work better in general, however it was the larger #6 and #8's that caught the largest fish.  This was most likely because the fish were able to see them easier in the dominant wave trains and heavier riffles.  

We had some nasty weather roll in during mid September which made for some awesome dry fly fishing. Giant greenish / yellow Hecuba mayflies were coming off thick, and those who were on the river came piling back into the shop looking to restock their boxes. One gentleman who was fishing near Sheep Mountain described it as the single greatest hatch he had ever experienced.

In terms of beautiful weather and foliage, we had one of the nicest Falls I can remember. Last year we lost most of the vibrant colors in one early snow fall, but this year the leaves stayed bright for about a month! The mild temperatures made it a joy to float down the Yellowstone without your hat, gloves, and windbreaker. Unfortunately since it was so bright the fishing was slow, especially for any kind of fall baetis dry fly fishing. As always it was a whitefish fest out there in late September and October. Those in know sized down their nymphs to target the trout. A size #20 copper john or spitfire in your hands looks like it could never be seen in a large river, but for the pig 17 and 18 inch rainbows, this was the hot dish on the menu.

For those who have been paying their dues, the fall streamer fishing was truly incredible. Doug hooked into one of the most gorgeous 24 inch browns I've ever seen.  The big buck crushed his Home Invader on Armstrong’s Spring Creek! The shape of the fish was distinctly a big fish from the Yellowstone but the colors on it were as vibrant as one could imagine. From the bright red dots on it's side to the iridescent purple and green hues on its cheek, this fish was a natural painting... and an obvious choice for Doug's canvas work!  (Check back in the shop next year - we should have it hanging and waiting for you to purchase it).  Great job behind the lens Dave Bryan!

Guides Brian Sienkowski and Eric Paulson turned up the heat this Fall, each catching a couple browns in the twenty-two plus category. Without question, the largest fish of the year goes to Paulson, who caught the beast of brown on his custom zonker pattern. Talk about adipose envy, this fish looks so strong it could have been slapped in the face by a grizzly and swam off like nothing happened! While the Yellowstone is a great spot to catch a big brown there are plenty of other places with an even better chance at a monster. You may recognize some of these spots, if so you’d probably thank us for not mentioning where! If you don’t recognize the spots… well that’s one more reason to book a trip through the shop next fall!

November fishing has been average so far. Plenty of midges in the foam eddies (when the ice chunks aren't flowing by), but most anglers are streamer fishing.  Typically this means that you'll catch one really nice fish a day and not a whole lot more than that.  Justin Bolduc caught a nice brown on his second day of work during lunch.  I caught a couple browns around town on streamers but nothing big.  White and yellow were my two best colors, although Hudi, from the Henry's Fork Angler caught a 24" brown in town on a tan Home Invader.  Jesse Lassley caught a fat 23” brown on one of Granato’s Brown Trout Sasquatch patterns while fishing with guide Marcus McGuire. They caught a couple other nice fish that day too with a slow retrieve, and while they tried hucking a little of everything, yellow was the hot fly. As with hoppers, whatever fly you stick and fish with confidence usually ends up being the hot fly - not matter what color it is.

The year’s far from over yet and there’s bound to be a least a couple hogs out there waiting for a juicy, slowly stripped streamer to wiggle across their snouts. You might as well be the one to get it to the net!  Looks like we have a cold spell here for a while, but things should heat up sooner than later.  When the coast looks clear, give us a call to make sure the “W” is cooperating.  Sometimes the warmer temperatures mean higher winds, which unfortunately is par for the course over here. Best to pick a shorter float and stick with areas that have warmer water coming into the river like the spring creeks or hot springs.  Wade fishing often makes a lot of sense this time of year too.  That way you don't have to second guess yourself about possible ice jams or icy pullouts.  When in doubt, give us a call and we'll gladly guide you to some of our favorite winter hot spots...

We're Already starting to book trips for next year! To ensure a day with your favorite guide, it's never too early to give me a call at the shop - 406.222.7130.  Or drop me a line at james@yellowstoneangler.com  

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