Montana Fly Fishing Archives - Page 3 of 7

On the Road Report: Political Refugee Edition.

Over the past few weeks, with the mercury on the rise, water across the state flat-lining and the political climate starting to resemble an episode of Jerry Springer straight out of a Kafka book; I’ve found myself more often than not, getting the hell away from everything. I’m already done with hearing the political talk at the bars and on the river. Combine the never ending political ramblings with the unavoidable heat, lets just say that Chewy needs a change of pace. But first, onto the fishing report.

Like our goofy grinned friend up the street says, fishing right now, is as good as you are. Crowds, weeds, high sun and ohh yeah picky fish. Still seeing a good trico spinner fall in the morning providing some good targets and the hopper bite throughout the day has been picking up. Try a More-or-Less Hopper or a Chubby in the riffles and seams with a split case or cray dropper.

Limited options right now if you’re looking at getting off the MO onto some freestone or small water. Hoot-Owl restrictions on lots of Western District and a handful of Central waterways. Check out the complete list HERE but just be ready for more to be added on as we push into the latter part of summer. Even with a lot of big name rivers feeling the sting, still loads of options if you’re looking into something different. Our buddies at Lakestream Fly Shop in Whitefish have been posting some good reports from the Flathead & Swan as well as a handful of guides reporting good action on the Yellowstone. If you’re looking for something a little more local, you’ll have to work for it, but the options are still out there. Alpine lakes, and the higher reaches of rivers not being affected as much by low flows and high temps are a good place to start looking.
As for me, I’ll be loading up a cooler and hitting the high country in search of cooler temps, less crowded water and a total lack of political discourse. Not to mention the backcountry brookies and cutthroat. Jason will be manning the shop for the next few days while I claim refugee status in the greater Bob Marshall Wilderness Complex. Bourbon, Beer & Bear Spray, a solid recipe for a weekend if you ask me. If you don’t see me in a few days, don’t worry about it, something tells me I won’t be missing much.

~Cheers, Chewy.

By Zach King|2016-10-25T16:15:33-06:00August 1st, 2016|Categories: Fishing Report, Montana Fly Fishing, Shop Life, Uncategorized|Tags: fly fishing, Missouri River, Montana, Wolf Creek Angler|0 Comments

On The Road Report: River Closure Edition.

Few less options for the week ahead if you were thinking of hitting the road. Montana Fish Wildlife & Parks have announced the first of this summer’s Hoot-Owl Restrictions. Meaning NO FISHING FROM 2 P.M – MIDNIGHT, that is if you find yourself on any of these stretches of water….

The Big Hole from Saginaw Bridge on Skinner Meadows Drive to Dickie Bridge & from Notch Bottom f.a.s. to the mouth.
The Madison from Ennis Dam to the mouth.
The Beaverhead from Anderson Lane to the mouth.
The Jefferson; Entire river.
The Ruby from Duncan District Road to the mouth.
The Gallatin from Shed’s Bridge f.a.s. to the mouth.

Just a friendly reminder that this is not a suggestion from F.W.P. its’s mandatory and you can be ticketed for fishing during the closure. The official list this year is still pretty short, so far. We’ve still got a lot of summer ahead of us and things probably wont improve anytime soon. Forecast for July is above average temps, and below average precipitation. Bottom line is the summer of 2016 isn’t shaping up to be a banner year. With that said, I’m going to jump on my soapbox for a minute. Just because F.W.P. hasn’t listed your favorite stream, or where you planned on fishing this week, doesn’t mean it’s in good shape. Take for example the Smith River, temps at Camp Baker have been peaking at over 70 and temps at Eden Bridge have been close to 80. I’m no scientist, but that seems pretty warm not to make the list. And that’s just one example. What I’m trying to get at is this; common sense and decency go a long way this time of year to protect fisheries across the state. Take a few minutes to do some research on where you plan on fishing, if the water temps are in that upper 60 degree range(65-67), move on. Seriously, don’t be a @$$hat about it. I know it sucks to have to pass up on your favorite water but I assure you there are other options at this point. You may have to put some effort in or deal with the crowds like Matt did yesterday, but it’s better than screwing up a fishery for everyone.

~Cheers, Chewy.

Don’t be these people

By Zach King|2016-10-25T16:15:34-06:00July 3rd, 2016|Categories: Fishing Report, Montana Fly Fishing|1 Comment

On the Road Report: Five Days With Dad Edition.

Over the past five days I was lucky enough to get my pops out of his office in Bellingham Washington, convince him to drive 12 hours and close to 700 miles with a few pounds of smoked salmon and a couple growlers for a weeks vacation checking out some Montana freestone streams. Considering he and my mom are busy with their own business and the shop is in full swing here, we were both pretty lucky to find some time in our schedules that matched up. He crushed the 12 hour drive in record time, more like 10, even after stopping in Missoula to load up on some big bugs from our buddies at Kingfisher Fly Shop (thanks guys) and after a good nights rest, we hooked up the raft and got back on the road. The plan was to get four solid days of floating and car camping in before I had to get back to the shop to give Jason a break from one of our busier weeks on the books. Things didn’t turn out quite as planned, but looking back on it, I think we’re both glad they didn’t.

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By Zach King|2016-10-25T16:15:34-06:00June 18th, 2016|Categories: Fishing Report, Montana Fly Fishing|1 Comment

Across the Road Report 6/11/16. (Hey its the same forwards as backwards!)

Been a while since my last O.T.R Report, been like that for a reason. Shop is kicking into high gear and honestly, I just haven’t had enough time to really get on the road to report back to everybody. However, I have been spending a good amount of time Across the Road. Pretty easy to grab the 4 weight, handful of flies for the evening hatch and a spare cold beer, cross the road and see what I can get into. Low effort, big rewards; after a long day in the shop, I’ll take it. Just to clarify, despite what you may have seen, heard or participated in, the Little Prickly Pear is closed to fishing from Labor Day to the third Saturday in May, for a reason. It’s one of the most popular spawning grounds for Rainbows and Browns alike. We’re lucky enough to have this little gem flow past the front door just a few steps away and it makes a great alternative to the MO if you’re looking it mix it up a little bit after a day floating.

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By Zach King|2016-10-25T16:15:34-06:00June 12th, 2016|Categories: Fishing Report, Montana Fly Fishing, Shop Life, Uncategorized|1 Comment

On The Road Report: Secret Spots.

April has faded into May, which will give way to June in a few weeks and before we know it, Tamaracks in the high country will go gold. I don’t want to think that far ahead just yet though, so lets talk about the time in between. Specifically the latter part of spring and summer. As runoff subsides and the swollen banks fade to friendlier wading levels, loads of us ditch the boats for packs, 4 wts, bear spray & back roads. How do I know this? Because I do it (obviously) and because I, along with every other shop dog around, get asked on a pretty regular basis to divulge, my spots. If you just rolled your eyes, thinking this is going to be a post telling everyone off and to find your own damn water, well you’re sort of right, but hear me out. Especially if you’re reading this shortly after it is published, there’s a good chance you inspired it.

Inevitably the calls start coming in from guys planning summer excursions to the Missouri and surrounding areas looking for that, ya know, off the radar, next level shi….(whatever that is). If you’re one of those people, you know I am a master of ambiguity, to an infuriating level to some, at points. Most think I just do it out of spite or selfishness, but I promise that is not my motivation. Okay, it’s a little bit of me being selfish, but it serves a purpose. I’m apprehensive to share a handful of spots for just as many reasons. First and foremost, many places I consider to be even remotely secret are in fact no secret at all, lets just get that out of the way. Some of them were shown to me by close friends, usually under the pretense of silence on my part; and just as many were the end result of a few hours shooting between Google Maps and Montana Cadastral then putting rubber on road.

The main reason I hold back revealing some of the spots I frequent is I’d like to think I’m fostering some sense, minuscule as it may be, of exploration in someone who would rather just have the answer given to them. Ideological of me? Yeah, but I can’t understand why people want to be told where to find the most beautiful trout stream they’ve seen, instead of stumbling across it themselves. With that said, if you call or swing by the shop and you’ve been looking into River X and wondering if I knew anything about it, I won’t lie. It’s not covered in rattlesnakes, bears aren’t around every corner and the rancher won’t chase you off with a shotgun if he see’s you fishing through his property. Though I will tell you if that’s the case, because places like that do exist. But I promise I won’t draw you a map either. I’m not trying to hoard these spots for the simple fact that the spots I try to keep quiet are in fact, not my spots. They’re all of our spots, I just happen to believe you should take the time to find them.

~Cheers, Chewy.

By Zach King|2016-10-25T16:15:35-06:00May 10th, 2016|Categories: Fishing Report, Montana Fly Fishing, Shop Life, Uncategorized|Tags: fly fishing, Montana|0 Comments

On the Road Report: Spring Sting Edition.

Sorry to confuse you folks out there buts it’s Spring Sting not Springsteen. I can understand the confusion, especially when you say it fast enough. Needless to say we won’t be talking about The Boss, New Jersey’s favorite son. Instead I feel the need to address a feeling I’m sure many of you are sharing with me at this time. It took W.C.A guide, beer slinger and all around bearded, flannel clad ~~hippie~~ trout-bum Matt Hargrave to put to words that I’ve been battling with internally for the past two or so weeks. It’s the Spring Sting, that feeling you get when you’ve been pent-up in the canyon for close to eight months, the weather is reminiscent of my time in Southeast Alaska, it’s cold, my waders still leak and fishing options are limited because gauges across the state look a lot like, well sort of what you would expect with the warmer weather last week, crap. The good news my friends, looks can be deceiving.

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By Zach King|2016-10-25T16:15:35-06:00April 28th, 2016|Categories: Fishing Report, Montana Fly Fishing, Uncategorized|Tags: fly fishing, Montana, spring fishing, Wolf Creek Angler|0 Comments

Mark Your Calendars: Bugs & Suds Tying Night with Vince Wilcox.

If you’ve fished the Missouri in the last 4 or so years you’ve probably heard of a little mayfly nymph named Wilcox’s Little Green Machine. If you haven’t heard of it, I don’t know what to tell you except you should probably reconsider your choice of fly shop. The LGM is pretty much a must have for your box and is now a standard, go-to Missouri River fly once the smaller techy bugs start getting some attention. The man behind the Green Machine, Vince Wilcox will be joining us all the way from his home in the Adirondack Mountains of New York for a relaxed evening of fly tying and food during his yearly pilgrimage to Western trout waters. The grill will be cranking out burgers and dogs and we’ll supply some beverages to go along. Bring your tying vice, materials, tools and pull up a chair along side on the most creative tiers of our time. The fun begins on May 5th at 6 p.m. at the shop with a ~~sit down, question and answer period~~ fish stories and other lies, probably. In all seriousness folks, this is not an instructional course, all skill levels are welcome to attend and share techniques, tips and just enjoy some, what I would imagine to be, decent company and good beer at the least.

~Cheers, Chewy.

By Zach King|2016-10-25T16:15:36-06:00April 20th, 2016|Categories: Montana Fly Fishing, Shop Life, Uncategorized|Tags: fly tying, Montana, montana fly shops, Wolf Creek Angler|0 Comments

On The Road Report: Well, Sort of Edition.

I know I promised everybody another installment of OTR but I failed. I failed and I’m sorry. It’s just between getting the shop ship shape for Spring, a phone that doesn’t seem to stop ringing, moving myself into the summer cabin, crappy weather and two couch surfing trout bums over the past few days I just couldn’t manage. It’s really just the combination of the latter two, I blame the hippies and wind. Either way, I was able to make it out with two good buddies of mine Will from Bozeman who just needed an excuse to get off the Gallatin and Bill, guide at large getting in some spring fishing before the season really kicks off . So it’s sort of an On The Road Report, for those two guys at least. Between the three of us we did two pretty similar floats, Mid-Cannon to Pelican and Mid to Mtn. Palace, with two very similar results. Not sure they were the ones any of us expected, but whatever, that’s fishing.

First float was with Will from Mid to Pelican. Looking back on the weather report from that morning and the overall length of the float, it was ambitious. Roughly 11 miles with wind and rain moving in later that afternoon. In hindsight we should have taken out at Prewett Creek. Wind was haneous, to the point that I considered dawning my p.f.d. after one particular gust of wind. Despite the hostile weather later in the day we managed to pull in a few on nymphs and got some great chases and hook ups on streamers. B.W.Os were out for a while before the rain rolled in, but we had a pretty short window to fish to risers podded up in the soft water.

Second trip was with Bill from Mid to Mtn. Palace. Lessons learned from the day before we stuck to the shorter float. Lots of wind throughout the canyon but the skies were clear this time. Didn’t see as many baetis as the previous day, likely because of the bluebird conditions. Still saw a few coming to to surface on clusters of midges. I was able to pull a few decent bows’ to the boat on nymphs but Bill stole the show with a pair of back to back Browns on the streamer. Kid hasn’t been in town 24 hours and hangs 40″+ of buttery Missouri River goodness. Probably had a lot to do with the fly though, hand tied by your truly, articulated with just the right amount of flash.

Like I said before, two similar floats with two similar outcomes, and not what we were expecting. Over the course of the two days between the three of us, we got more chases, hits and hookups from big streamers off hard banks and in deep trenches. Coincidence? Maybe, but my thought is that the bigger fish lower in the system are HUNGRY! I’m talking HANGRY, charging out of the depths with a vengeance and just crushing the fly. What I’m getting at is that in might be worth your while to dedicate a day to throwing some big junk and trophy hunting. Ditch the bobber for float or ten and you may surprise yourself. If you do decide to play the streamer game, here’s five for your box I think will drum up some beefcakes. Okay and some dries and nymphs too…

Streamers: Circus Peanut, Sex Dungeon, Cat Toy, Articulated Sparkle Minnow & ZK’s Mercenary.

Nymphs: Tung. Split Case BWO, LGM, Psycho May, BWO Wondernymph & Rainbow Czechs.

Dries: Q’s Cluster Midge, WCA Trude, Prachute Adams, Buzzballs & Sprout Baetis.

~Cheers, Chewy.

By Zach King|2016-10-25T16:15:37-06:00April 8th, 2016|Categories: Fishing Report, Montana Fly Fishing, Uncategorized|Tags: baetis, brown trout, fly fishing, Montana, spring fishing, Streamer Fishing, Wolf Creek Angler|0 Comments

Weekend Outlook 4.01.16

April Fools Day here in Central MT, lots of you fools missing out on some awesome fishing, I pity you. If you’ve been calling or swinging by the shop over the last week you’ve probably noticed a strange absence. No joke, someone is missing. Not to say that we miss him, I’m getting along just fine; but with that said, single handing the shop has had one major drawback: It’s really cutting into my fishing time. In case you’re wondering, the big boss is on Spring Break somewhere in Michigan getting some family time in and of course fishing. So while Jason is having a blast chasing Great Lakes Steel, drinking, what I’m told is some of the best beer in the nation and cruising around in a wicked awesome mini-van (rental), I’m at the shop finding new homes for flies, booking lodging, pimping trout guides and generally, just making sure the place doesn’t burn down. It’s all fun and games until you get a #22 trico spinner buried in your finger, alone, bleeding on the floor. Hopefully the weekend will treat me better.

Weekend ahead is looking good as far as the weather is concerned and based on the reports we’ve been getting, the fishing should follow suite. Still waiting to see the blue wings in mass but I did get into a few yesterday in the canyon. Nothing to go crazy for just yet, but soon. Midges have been out consistently and the dry-fly fishing is picking up. Small, make your eyes bleed size midges have been getting it done when the wind permits. Nymphing is still the main game for now with lots of success being had on a multitude of patterns. Transitional water and the slower runs have been fishing well but remember to keep an eye out for the Redds! Streamer fishing has been hit or miss depending on the stretch and time of day but is still a viable option. Hard banks and deep slower water paired with an intermediate sink tip has been fishing best for me. Leeches, buggers and bait fish all doing getting some attention.

Boss man will be back Monday so keep an eye out for another On The Road Report from, well, wherever the hell I decide to go. I’ll be checking fishing reports over the next few days in between spring cleaning and fly slinging. As for the self impalement with the trico, it was successfully removed and the bleeding was stopped before the situation became dire. As far as a workman’s comp claim, I think some of that fine MI oat-soda and few days fishing with the boys will do, that’s fair right?

Flies to get your fourth month of 2016 off right….

Dries: Q’s Cluster Midge, Baetis Sprout, WCA Trude, Parachute BWO, Cripple Thorax BWO, Black Sippers & Q’s Hackle Stacker BWO.

Nymphs: Amex, Pinkalicious, Firebead Sow, Firebead Rays, Zebras, Split Case Blue Wing, LGM, Olive Psycho Mays & Rainbow Warriors.

Streamers: Polar Leeches, Sparkle Minnows, Ganagas, Kreelex, Iced Out Grills, & Skiddish Smolt.

~Cheers, Chewy.

By Zach King|2016-10-25T16:15:37-06:00April 2nd, 2016|Categories: Fishing Report, Montana Fly Fishing, Uncategorized|Tags: dry fly fishing, fly fishing, midge, Missouri River, Montana, spring, Wolf Creek Angler|0 Comments

On the Road Report: Bugs & Suds Edition.

It’s the fifth official day of spring here in Montana which means a few things. 1) The weather is unpredictable. Like a drunk stumbling home after a weekend bender, it’s puking snow one minute, pissing rain the next or warm enough to pass out in a field on the way home. 2) Bugs. With water and air temps on the rise Spring marks the beginning of the hatches that are (for most people) a welcome end to a winter of frozen hands and following bobbers all day. And 3) It’s the only opportunity I get before summer sets in to fish with friends of mine whose careers keep them busy all season long. So when my buddy Eric, a wild land firefighter for the USFS, wanted to hit up some freestone west of the divide before a summer of chasing lightning strikes, I didn’t hesitate. Also his awesome wife Val is expecting their first child, so needless to say, time is very limited.

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