Bozeman and Butte Recreation Report by Bob Ward and Sons – 6.21.13
By angelamontana

Posted: June 21, 2013

Bozeman

The Upper Madison is the better of the two with consistently more clarity.  We are starting to see more of the dry fly hatch; use PMDs, elk hair caddis in tan and olive.  Nymphs have also been a great producer with pink and purple colored worms and darker colored stoneflies (olive and black).

The Lower Madison is not fishing quite as well as the Upper but anglers have had some great luck using worms and crawfish with an olive or black caddis emerger or a WD 40 pattern.  Stick with tan and olive colored caddis fly patterns for dries.  If you want to be daring and go for the monsters try some brighter colored streamers, crystal buggers, and leech patterns.

Salmon flies have been spotted on the three dollar bridge-above Ennis. They’re coming!  Come check out our selection of patterns size four seems to be the ticket.  Be ready!

Yellowstone is not a good option right now.  The water is fast and muddy.  If you are in the area stick to the streams that branch off, but stay ready. It won’t be long before it’s fishable again.

The Gallatin River is fishing OK considering the constantly changing clarity. Stick with the darker colored stoneflies and worm patterns.

MT FWP announced they will be expanding the range of west slope cutthroat trout in several fishless streams of South West Montana in areas such as the Big Hole, Madison, Gallatin, and Jefferson river drainages. Consider what that means for you…

 

Butte

Fishing on the Big Hole River has been epic this past week. Large Salmon fly and Caddis hatches have led to a large amount of catches. Goddard Caddis, Hemingway Caddis or Elk Hair Caddis patterns are perfect choices. Large Salmon Fly or Foam Salmon Fly patterns have shown great success.

The Jefferson River is showing promise using many dun patterns.  Morning and evening fishing, and spin fishermen have found creel limits with Black and Green Panther Martins.

The Ruby River has been good fishing on both ends of the Reservoir for all types of fishing.  Whether you like to float a fly, drift a nymph, jig a spinner or cast a crawler, the Ruby will provide unlimited opportunities for catching fish.

Georgetown Lake is great fishing now for leech patterns or wooly buggers.  The damselfly nymphs should be coming on soon and warmer days should provide adult damsel action on the surface.

Clark Canyon has been hot on the upper end of the lake when trolled deep.  Try using a #9 or #11 Rapala.  The south end has been excellent bait fishing at various depths.

(Report by Ryan Corwin - Bob Ward and Sons; Photo: bozemanangler.com)

 

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