Bozeman/Butte Recreation Report by Bob Ward & Sons (5.23.14)
By angelamontana

Posted: May 23, 2014

Hunting:    

Spring Black Bear season closes on May 31-June15th depending on the area. Make sure you know what the closing date is for your favored stomping grounds.

Bozeman Fishing:

Upper Madison-a little muddy but still okay fishing, dry fly fishing is not a good choice right now. Use egg patterns, stoneflies, and dark colored woolly bugger and rubber legs.

Lower Madison-fishing is okay, the visibility may be low but it has been fluctuating. With the nicer weather the caddis hatch should be picking up again. For nymphs use crayfish and stoneflies with san juan worm and lightning bug droppers.

Gallatin-blown out unfortunately

Yellowstone-The water is running really high and approaching unsafe conditions. If the water levels lower a bit streamers are always a sure bet.

Hyalite- The road is now open.

Butte Fishing:

Opening weekend for rivers in Southwest Montana is off to a good start. The Big Hole River is high this week with warming temperatures, however, the clarity is good for float anglers. The best fishing for fly and spin fishermen is from the Dickey Bridge to Jerry Creek on the north end and from Salmon Fly to Glenrock on the lower end. Pounding the banks with dark Double Bunnies or New Age Streamers in sizes 8 or larger will draw trout. Early morning sunshine provides small hatches and Blue Wing Olives or Pale Morning Duns are a good bet. Rainbow or Brown trout jointed Rapalas have been successful lures for spin fishermen as well as Black and Yellows or Black and Green Mepps.

Georgetown Reservoir is showing some open water on the west end near Red Bridge and the dam. Ice flows are heaviest above Silver Lake. Stripping Wooly Buggers or Leech patterns in the open water or jigging beadheads is most effective.

Rock Creek is fishing well, although high in most areas. Beadhead nymphs, medium sized streamers are most effective. Pheasant tail flashbacks or Prince Nymph flashbacks are great choices in size 12 or 14.

Delmo Lake has been fair fishing this past week. Night crawlers and orange garlic marshmallows are best fished a foot off the bottom. For raft anglers, Thomas Cyclone lures and Panther Martin spinners are catching some of the surface trout.

Clark Canyon saw some early action last week and gave up some trout over 5lbs. Suspended night crawlers and Brown and Gold Rapalas in size 7 were effective. Fish were feeding at almost 12 feet below surface. Bank fishing with spoons or bait was good at the ruby reservoir this past week.

(Report by Ryan Corwin-Bob Ward & Sons)

 

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