Continued from Fishing Report

Salmon Fly Fever

Mention the “Salmon Fly Hatch” to any angler that has hit it right, and you’ll see his eyes light up.   Thoughts of big trout clobbering big nymphs and slurping in huge dry flies will get anyone excited!  This hatch of giant stoneflies occurs on several of our big rivers here in Montana, but we concentrate our efforts on both the Yellowstone and the Madison.   The hatch starts a little earlier on the Madison, often in the middle of June in the Beartrap Canyon and then moves into the upper river near Ennis in late June and early July.    Here on the Yellowstone, we look for the “Salmonflies” just as the river clears from runoff, at the end of June and early July.   The hatch normally progresses upriver so we often get as much as two weeks to chase around the big bugs, starting here close to Livingston and then later in the water from Gardiner down to Yankee Jim canyon.  

Fishing the salmonfly hatch is no guarantee of great fishing though.   You need to be in the right spot on the river at the right time.   Often this means fishing above the main hatch of insects and hitting the river in a stretch where all the big stoneflies are crawling across the bottom in order to crawl out on the bank, where they will break out of their nymphal shucks on the rocks, willow branches or other bushes along the river.  Big trout move into these areas, especially along willow lined banks and feed until they are gorged.    The guides have a good feel for where they need to be on the river to take advantage of this great nymph fishing, and if you hit this right it can be simply incredible fishing.    

Fishing the big drys often means fishing a few miles behind the main hatch, as it often takes a couple of days for the fish to start feeding hard again after pigging out on the nymphs.   By then the adult stoneflies begin their mating flights and you’ll see lots of flies dropping back into the water, laying their eggs and then falling dead in the water.  This gives the trout an ideal opportunity for another easy meal and produces some exciting dry fly fishing.  

Here on the Yellowstone, along with the big salmonflies, you’ll find golden stones hatching, as well as brown caddis, PMD’s, and even some green drakes.  Often you’ll have great fishing on some of these other hatches even if you are not catching a lot of fish on the big bugs.