Hello, Angie here from Bob Ward & Sons…get out your coolest BIG Streamers & hit the water!
BUTTE gives a shout-out to the LOWER BIG HOLE, the BEAVERHEAD & the JEFFERSON (shown in the picture above) as places you need to fish right now…solid Baetis hatches still going on, on the BIG HOLE, (try your Wulff patterns!) or Nymph a double rig with worms, lightning bugs or Mega Hares Ears….it’s Blue Winged Olives on the JEFF, with your Nymph choice as San Juans, Crayfish or Rubberlegs…on the BEAV, the Baetis are still out n’ about, or for Nymphing, Soft Hackles, Scuds or Copper Johnsons will work for ya! As for STREAMERS, all 3 places are lively, look to your orange & black Uglies on the BIG HOLE, your yellow & browns on the JEFF, or any combo of those 4 colors on the BEAVERHEAD…Gold Bead Rubberlegs, Yellow Home Invader, Brown Flash Fry, you name it…just go with sizes 4-6 on the BIG HOLE (it’s a smaller venue) & 0 to 2 on the other rivers! The South end of CLARK CANYON is hot for 3 to 5 pound rainbows, at about 12 ft down! Reports of anglers suspending night crawlers & catching plenty are POURING in! Cutthroats are ripe for the pickin’ at DELMOE RESERVOIR, so head on over, just get there EARLY or LATE AFTERNOON for the most profitable fishing!
BOZEMAN loves us some LOWER MADISON, as always…Crayfish & small Beadheads in the bucket water has proven the best course, or Black & Brown Streamers are excellent, too (Black Krystal Bugger or Brown/Copper Zonker, for example!)….you have Baetis on the GALLATIN, but mostly, the fish are biting at Rubberlegs with a Beadhead dropper below surface…or get ’em (especially down in the Valley) with a Black SculpZilla in a 2 or a Grey Micro Zonker in an 8…the UPPER MADISON between the Lakes is a Streamer paradise, Blacks & Olives being the go-to colors, so an Olive Circus Peanut or a Black Silveys Sculpin would be excellent choices…darker Caddis patterns have been the dry fly of choice! On the YELLOWSTONE, expect White, Black or Yellow Streamers to work best, like a JJ Special or a Double Screamer Streamer in Olive/Black…we’ve gotten some reports of Brown Stones, Rubberlegs or Clousers Crayfish working well subsurface, too! It’s shoreline fishing at HYALITE, with very low water conditions, so pop on a huge Crawler and see what you can do!
You’ll want to be in the field this weekend for General Rifle Season starting the 20th, but before you head out, stop by your Bob Wards & get whatever is on your list, & pick up the 2012 Hunting Regs, too…AND while there, scope out the NEW Ice Fishing items we are getting in…the latest in Shacks, Ice Rods, Jigs, Techie Clothing that’ll warm you up, & more! The sporting seasons just never end around here, & that’s where Bob Wards comes in…we’ll gear you for ALL of them! Back next week, friends!
