Butte and Bozeman Recreation Report by Bob Ward and Sons – 5.17.13
By angelamontana

Posted: May 17, 2013
(photo courtesy of littlejuniata.com)
 

Butte Rec Report

The upper Wise river is running lower than last week and fishing is fair but watch out for area wildfires. The Wise River and Big Hole are copper to chocolate depending on your access point and plenty of water is flowing.

Large Double Body Epoxy Black Ants in size 6 or 8, black Salmonfly nymphs, and a few beadheads are good choices in the Big Hole. Fish are hugging the bottom so weight your nymph to get it down. A few Panther Martin and Mepps Spinners are showing promise as well.

(flyanglersonline.com)

(flyanglersonline.com)

Clark Canyon will be open below the spillway, and the Beaverhead will fully open this weekend. Egg Sacs and Night Crawlers should be good choices below the dam. Blue Winged Olives and a few caddis on sunny days with streamers fished along the banks will garner some excitement.

The Jefferson River has been good fishing in the Hells Canyon Area for bait fisherman or diving Rapalas on spinning gear. Mayflies and Caddis with Hares Ear nymph droppers are great choices around Silver Star.

The North West shore of Georgetown Lake will be open Saturday for fisherman. Please see regulations for areas closed for spawning trout.

Bozeman Rec Report

Fishing has been great as of lately, with the Mother’s day Caddis hatch over the past week. If you get into a big hatch, just remember that sometimes “not” matching the hatch attracts the attention of a feeding fish. Also, some subsurface emergers hung below your dry fly have been producing some great results. Fishing season officially opens on Saturday.

Gallatin River-biggiesbugs.wordpress.com

Gallatin River-biggiesbugs.wordpress.com

As of right now, the East and main Gallatin Rivers are running very muddy. Not too high, but dark and the fish are hanging in the pockets and next to shore. Some streamers may grab their attention right now.

The lower Madison is still pretty clear and probably the best chance of good fishing with reported Caddis hatches just before dark. The upper Madison opens to fishing this Saturday. The upper stretches were running a bit off color last weekend, and will probably still be quite fishable on opening day.

The Jefferson is also a bit off color, but seems pretty steady in terms of flow and fishability. The Yellowstone is the river that has really come up and dirty. Actually kind of at a dangerous flow right now, so word is to go to other spots and wait for the Stone to lower and the Salmon Fly hatch.

Hebgen Lake has iced off, and the fish are starting to cruise the shore lines. This is the time to get to Hebgen for some unbelievable fishing. I saw lots of Crayfish moving around on the rocky shorelines, so I am sure the fish will be targeting anything that looks like a crayfish.

The road to Hyalite Reservoir opens tomorrow, the 16th. I anticipate the lake is fairly ice free and the fishing will be outstanding for the next few weeks. Hyalite is a great place to fish from a float tube or pontoon boat, and of course Bob Ward’s has a large selection of both.

Yellowstone park waters open to fishing on May 25th, and we have park fishing permits in store.

The next big hatch a few weeks away is the annual Salmon fly hatch. We have a huge variety of Salmon Fly patterns, so get them early. Once the hatch hits, the anglers hit the fly bins and it will be slim pickings when you need them the most.

(Report by Ryan Corwin – Bob Ward & Sons)
 
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