September 26, 2005

Local Fishing Report: Posted Sept 26, 2005

Where are you going to be when the fall fishing goes nuts?  What are you waiting for? You could be here to experience this fishing for yourself. Don't miss out. EMAIL US TODAY!

Yellowstone River: Gardiner to Big Timber

What a place to cast a fly!  The entire river has been fishing well given the right conditions.  Big trout are definitely on the prowl for bigger dry patterns as well as nymphs and streamers down under.   For the dries: Green Machines, Rainy's Grand Hopper (It's Gumbie, dammit!) PMX's in royal, as well as peacock in sizes from 8 to 12, red Turck's Tarantula's, Black/Tan chernobyls, and rubber leg Kaufmann's Stimis continue to be SOLID choices on the warmer bright sunny days.  It's also the time of year for the fall Drakes.  Fishing bigger size 10 and 12 Wulffs and H&L Variants has become money.    It's also Baetis time!  Get the Para Adams (just when can't you fish this pattern and NOT catch something?) and other trusty blue wing olive patterns and tie them on as GO-TO smaller dropper dries behind the biggies.   If you are nymphing you should be fishing FB Pts, small Princes, copper john's, and lightening bugs.  Most droppers have been in the smaller sizes like 14-18.  Drag these (OK, don't actually drag them....) behind either an olive or brown bugger, natural bunny fur zonkers as well as brown and pumpkin colored girdle bugs. 

The Madison River: Is this river fishing well or what?  We're getting very good results top to bottom.  Fly selections have been very similar to what we're whacking 'em with on the Y'stone.  Picking something from the list above won't set you back at all.  Although it seems that fishing dries right down the middle of the river has become a bit passe.  You can still find some dandies looking for bigger bugs from midday on to mid afternoon.  However, running the nymph rigs in all the clearly defined slicks, eddys, and classic Maddy structure has proven its worth over and over.  You should be fishing with brown and/or pumpkin colored rubber leg stonefly varieties as well as big ugly black on black and throw a little trout candy on the back .  Our best dropper flies have been copper johns in red and black, FB PTs, black soft hackles, lighting bugs, and mangy caddis.  All in smaller sizes like 18s and 20s.   Also try fishing bunny fur Zonkers trailed with the same small beadheads on a near tight line dead drift.  Some days it's been really good(check out the fella on the right. That's 22 inches of Madison Love on a bunny fur zonker!)    

The Missouri River:  Solid fishing can be had as long as the bugs show and the wind isn't blowing silly.  Baetis and Psuedos during the afternoon through evening hours are the big trout festy. Look for the baetis thing to draw the attention of hungry trout on the dark overcast snotty days like we had this past weekend.    From 2PM on to dark every fish in the river was chowing. Doesn't mean they were easy to catch, but they were eating!  During late morning hours through about lunchtime on the brighter sunny days, nymphing has been good in the deeper slots  and off the backsides of the riffles and shelves.  Best bet has been a RED JUAN with a dropper consisting of zebra midges (20), FB PT (16-20) love bugs (18), smaller caddis pupas- the mangy has worked very well (16-20).  Following lunch and as the hatch progresses and you start to see a few fish up feeding, switching to what I call the spring creek emerger rig has paid off.  Run your first fly as a small beadhead and put another unbeaded emerger behind it on another chunk of 4 or 5X.  Add a small stick on strike indicator about 16 inches up from the first beadhead and you're ready to slay!  The whole rig shoud be no more than 3 feet from indy to last emerger.  That first beadhead will sink things down 4-6 inches and the emerger drifts deadly slightly less deep than that.  Happy fishing until the heads really poke up and then switch to dries.  You may find the spring creek rig so deadly yo don't switch!  

The Gallatin River: A great place to fish in the fall!  The flow  levels are in the very wadeable fishing range at  just a smidge under 400 cfs.   Fishing para Adams, wulffs, and the like have been very good.  Team that with a BH Copper John, FB PT, or FB Hare's Ear on a longer dropper and it's good to go.  Baetis are definitely showing.  Especially on the cooler cloudy fall like days.  The venerable hi-vis Para Adams has once again come to the forefront of every serious flyfishers go-to choice.   If you're finding yourself with a bobber on the line, rubber legged stonefly nymph patterns in brown as well as smaller  brown and olive buggers along with your choice of smaller beadhead dropper du jour and you'll find some slabs.  The fish are eating if you can get the drift.

Spring Creeks: Milesnick Ranch property- Ben Hart and Thompson creeks and the Skinner Ranch's East Gallatin have had very solid Baetis and Psuedos showing daily.  Fish are looking for the bugs from the midday hours with the emergence of the first bugs through the late afternoon unless it's really cold.  Nymphing with smaller beads and emerger patterns will be your best bet until the activity  on the surface really ramps up around 1 PM.   We've been doing quite well with very small hi-vis para Adams (20), Griffiths Gnats, rusty spinners, double wing spinners, and very small FB PTs.  I love CDC on the creeks here and so do the fish!   Nymphing has been the best bet with the usual array of  bugs. Sticking to the smaller sizes of 18 and down, midge pupa, miracle nymphs, very small san juans, pts and micro princes have all worked well.  You don't always have to have them under an indy 5 feet up the leader.  Try the indy about 16 inches to 2 feet above the fly with either no extra weight or a very small size #8 or 6 split shot.  Go rock 'em!

Keep checking In.  I love to hear from all of you with comments of your own.  Keep it coming.

 
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