Fishing Reports

What a special day to spend fishing with great friends!! Dan was whisked away from the shop by his good friend Sean and went in to hunt for big fish and good times at Quake Lake; they found both!! Putting in at Lake Story and motoring up to the inlet of the Madison River; fishing Beaver Creek, stripping Streamers around the big dead trees and spot fishing to risers, the lake showed it’s pre runoff glory!!! All the food groups were on the menu from Streamers to Dries to Nymphs the fish were hungry! Lower flows, slightly off color, mixed overcast and sunny conditions contributed to optimal conditions to fish before the water rises and muds up, if you can catch this brief window between ice off and runoff the day will be epic! As always the pictures tell the story far better than this author can! Nymphs: Delektable Hurless Stone FB Olive #6, Delektable Mega Prince Standard FB #6, Delektable Lil’ Spanker Silver #18-14. Dries: Parachute Adams #18-#14, Delektable Mega2Tone Chubbyness Royal #12 Streamers: Delektable Double SS Screamers Green/Olive #6

Some of the Beartooth Family got to play hooky in search of Salmon Flies on the Henry’s Fork from Warm River to Ashton ANNNNNNNDD… too early!!! We spotted a handful of Salmon Flies but just not enough in the air to get the fish to bite, we tried! The River is running at 1,320cfs a little off color but definitely lower flows on Tuesday. We experienced a cooler upstream wind for most of the day and varying overcast and sunny conditions. The Fish gave us a challenge regarding what they wanted to eat. As we were inclined to give dries the most attention; there were Midges, Blue-Winged Olives and Caddis Hatches, however the Fish wanted the Subsurface Nymphs. We did see a few rises throughout the day however our Flies were snubbed. We were still able to catch some good Fish, the photos tell the rest of the story. Nymphs: Pat’s Rubberleg Brown #4, Delektable Stonefly UV Brown/Gold #6, Formerly Known As Prince #14 & #16, BH Delektable Prince Brandon #12 & #14, Delektable Lil’ Spanker Silver #8, Delektable Lil’ Spanker Pheasant Tail #14 & #16. Streamers: Delektable Stainless Steel Jtd Screamer Olive/White, Black, Yellow #6, Delektable Christmas Tree Original, Olive, Black #6, Zonker Black #8, Bloom’s Zig Hook Zirdle Olive/Orange #10.

Lower Madison The flows on the Lower Madison River are running  low, having to walk the boat in some sections, this week the temperatures are running quite cold at 48.2F which may be a reason the bite has been slower and exclusively on Nymphs and Small Streamers. The wind factor has also contributed for rough conditions for fisherman or a rower! Now we are patiently awaiting warm weather to hopefully get the Mother’s Day Caddis popping! Nymphs: BH Mo River Pheasant Tail #16-18, Delektable  Jig Hook Tungsten Spanker Pheasant Tail #16-20, Pat’s Rubber Legs Black #10. Streamers: Zonker Natural #6, Slump Buster Squirrel Gold #6, Delektable Screamer Single Black, Olive, White or Yellow #6.

My first destination trip in over two years, to rehab the body, mind, and soul. 15 days of Flyfishing the Rogue River in Southern Oregon . Staying with one of my best friends Jeff Wilson. We caught Steelhead everyday except one. While also catching Cutthroat and Rainbow Trout on Dry Dropper combos.           Thank You to all of our friends. Jeff and Jules. Jack and Angie at The Fishing Hole. Dave, Andy, Steve, Kam, Heather, Jed, and Clay.

Oh Boy, OH Boy, OH BOY!! Do we get to talk about a special place today The Smith River in Montana. Kevin recently got to go down as a lucky winner of The Smith River lottery permit system. The start date of his permit was on April 20^th and he decided to do it as a 5 day and 4 night trip. He knew what the river could be like as he had been down it twice. Once when the flows were perfect and the water was a dirty brown color but perfect flow of 400 cfs(cubic feet per second). His second time was slightly unlucky and run off kicked into full effect and the river went from 1000 cfs to 2500 cfs. While that trip fished it barely fished. This time was different he was now going under the conditions of very low water. The cfs flow for the whole week clocked in around 160 cfs.  Now this is a fishing report, but the goal of the smith river is to enjoy the present, make it out safely and to try to enjoy the cliff walls. It is pretty hard not to enjoy the present for what it is but for those that need to catch fish here we go. Let us get into the nitty gritty of the fishing game he was seeing on this river while he was there. Well, we all know Kevin who loves his dry flies and that is where we are going to start. He watched his mom catch the first fish on a dry and his first time even seeing flies on surface being eaten on this magical river. He started off with a Water Walker in olive and tested a few Chubbies as well in olive and black. Everything he tried on the surface was eaten at some point, but you must be patient as not every hole wanted to eat the foam. He did see a few Midges, Mayflies, and even a few Skwalas everyday but not enough to make holes turn into a perfect dry fly heaven. He is sure if you had a second Dry Fly following your main piece of foam, being a Midge pattern or Mayfly pattern of sorts, they would have been eaten by some fish.  You would have had to be patient again. Instead, he went for a Dry Dropper style to produce more fish. After you get bored with that set up and you really want a challenge for a fish it is time to go to Streamers. Kevin used his own creations, but they resemble something along the lines of a Silk Kitty and Sex Dungeon. While he was there, he used only two colors Olive and White. Olive had a few looks but never any commitment from the fish. He was frustrated by this lack of commitment from the fish, so he went to White to trigger more promising strikes. It worked but the strikes were still far and few between.  Other people were around Kevin at the start of The Smith River journey that were fishing streamers as well. The color they informed him with was Black and Olive. He never got a fly, but Streamers are never about the fly as they are about the color or colors of the day. Time for the last way to catch fish Nymphing. Kevin said it was incredibly easy and with any cast it could catch a fish. He mainly performed this act in the morning and night when he was cooking and waiting for the pot to boil. Many campsites come with perfect buckets filled with fish and he found this to be the most effective way to wait. He caught fish on flies such as the Zirdle in Olive, Lightning Bug in Silver, Wire Worms in Red, Pats Rubber Legs in Black and Purple, Hot Spot Jig Pheasant Tail, and Three Dollar Dip in Pearl.                         All in all the trip is an experience and a full blown adventure it doesn’t matter if the river is low or high it is always recommended.  To anyone who loves the places Trout take them as you follow them across the globe. You would enjoy this place at the end of the day because it is not the size of the Trout or how many Trout you caught but the places the Trout take you. You get to enjoy these precious fish as they entertain you under some of the most magnificent cliffs that are ever changing, glow under perfect sunlight, and are seemingly endless during a forty mile stretch of the Smith River.  If you ever have a chance to go on the smith don’t blink just say yes and when.    

             Another spectacular time on Dan and Nancy’s fall trip to the Rogue River that started on their honeymoon 17 years ago. Special thanks to Jeff and Jules for our stay at grandpa and grandma’s property on the Rogue River. The weather was just great, and the temperature ranged from the 60’s into the 70’s. Dan was grateful to join Tim Miller for 5 days of guided fishing with the first 3 days with Steve Walser and 2 days with Steve’s son Kameron. They enjoyed catching steelhead on the usual nymphing bugs:  Delektable bug in egghead midnight fire, deep purple in size #4 and #6 and smaller Delektable nymphs in Delektable  Egghead Twisted Wire Green/Chartreuse size #10 and #12, Delektable  CDC Baby sizes #8 and #10, Delektable  Lime Juice #8 and #10, Delektable  Red Headed Big Spanker Sizes #8 and #10, and Delektable  Sure Strike Peacock Sizes #8 and #10. Of special note was the DRY dropper combo Delektable Mega Chubbyness UV Salmon Fly in a size #8 with two Delektable size #10 bead head nymphs below the DRY. They fished that and caught steelhead, cutthroat, and rainbow trout, what a treat! Steve and Kameron Walser had this dialed in, thank you boys for showing us the Rogue through your eyes. Mrs. Delektable flew in for a short trip and had 5 days on the river. Princess Nancy had 2 days with Dan and of course scored all the biggest steelhead of the trip. Again, we want to thank our great friends for making this fall trip so memorable, Jeff and Jules, Steve and Kameron, Tim and Andy, Jack and Angie at the Fishin' Hole, Tall Dave and Jed, Heather, Kathy, and Linda.  

  The day that Big Dan, Marty and Young Dan went to the Henry’s Fork of the Snake River. It has been Salmonfly and Golden stone season down yonder way. We put in at Mesa Falls below the falls and floated a big double float to Ashton. The big bugs were everywhere at the boat ramp!!! Salmonflies covering the rocks and flying around, golden here and there, a sally or two and caddis of all sizes flying around. It was on. Bugs everywhere! It really felt like the middle of summer. The weather made it real nice as the bugs like the sun and heat. The fish were doing what they do and just crushing big bugs. It was on right away! We started out getting little fish on the big bug. Lots of little fish. (Dan sized fish). The bigger fish didn’t start eating until around 11am or so. The best times were 11am-1pm. Switching out with the rowing and the level of ridiculous “mature man” conversation kept it exciting all day….as usual with those two.  A couple days later, Dan, Nancy and Marty did another float from the bridge down and had another great dry fly experience. They did have some weather role through but the conditions were still very good on the dry fly bite with lots of action for all. The flies that worked for us the best. Dries:

• Home tied big nasty Salmonflies
• Dornan’s Water Walker Peanut
• Dornan’s Water Walker Golden
• Delektable Secret Salmon and Secret Goldenstone
• Delektable Chubbyness Royal