Category: Fishing Reports

Yes, it’s snowing at Beartooth.

June 5, 2009

Upper Madison River

The Madison River is dropping, down to around 1,400 cfs. The water is clearing, and the river remains nearly void of fishermen, with a few waders in the upper section and the rare boat drifting down.

Delektable Lil’ Blue Spanker

The fishing Friday, as it has been throughout the runoff, was OUTSTANDING. We wade fished for only a short time, being chased off the river by thunder boomers and the building lightning strikes on the foothills.

Our first stop was almost directly behind the lodge, and a short amount of wading produced about a dozen fish, eating the stone fly nymphs — HARD. From there, we drove upriver, fishing a favorite spot between Lyons Bridge and Sun West, which produced several more fish in short order. The fish were still biting the stones, but a few flying bugs also prompted bites on small trailer nymphs. Our third stop was above the West Fork, where the water is really starting to clear up. Several more fish were caught there, but the stop was cut very short by the threatening weather. The precipitation is easy to cheat; that’s why God created rain jackets. But when the lightning bolts start striking the hills, it’s time to get the heck out of Dodge.

The fish were hungry and eager, and literally every bug we tied on caught fish. Our bug list for the day included a Delektable™ selection of the #6 Gray Hurless, #6 Olive Hurless, #6 Mega Prince Standard Flashback, #16 Lil’ Red Spanker, #16 Lil’ Blue Spanker and the #16 Rootbeer Seringold: Delektable Flies Gallery

While we were driving around and wading, our newest shop geek, Charles P, fished for only a few minutes behind the lodge on his lunch break, and caught a huge rainbow on his third cast, which took a Delektable Badger Screamer behind a large rock, cast from the bank. We’re told there was a photo but it was not saved?? Charles P also floated the river on Thursday with his father. The day started slow but picked up, big time, in the latter part of the float when they started throwing streamers.

We also got a report from a good friend who floated Lyons Bridge to McAtee Bridge on Friday, and absolutely pounded fish on streamers. He didn’t keep a fish count, but he was almost giggly, calling the day one of his best ever; and this guy can really fish, so to be one of his best, it had to be an absolutely incredible day.

GO FISHING!!!

Dan, Marty, and Charles P

Late May Early June Continued…

I fished Tuesday and Wednesday on the upper river and it was phenomenal. I also did very well yesterday, Monday, while fishing a short time during lunch. I don’t have much to add to Dan’s latest report except on Wednesday, with the water seeming to clean up just a little bit, the fish seemed to start spreading out a bit; off the bank and into deeper, more descript runs. They were still on the bank, just not as many. In addition, the fish seemed to eat more small bugs. The # 6 Delektable Mega Prince in Olive, the Delektable worm in Red and Orange, and most importantly, the # 14 Lil’ Red Spanker were all unstoppable: Delektable Flies Gallery Fishing started out very strong, with the fish biting the big bugs and worms. There was a noticeable slow-down around noon, then the # 14 Lil’ Red Spanker came out and the bite was back on. At the end of the day, fish were eating caddis emergers, and the # 18 Serengold and Green Sparkle Pupa both popped a few fish.

I hadn’t heard many reports lately on the lower river, so on Sunday night, after work, I drove down to check it out. The CFS below Ennis Lake was 4,110; IT’S ABSOLUTELY HUGE DOWN THERE, SO BE CAREFUL!! There were only a few bank runs, rock slicks and inside corners that weren’t so fast as to be unfishable. Luckily, because of the perception that the river is blown out and unfishable, even on a Sunday, there were hardly any people there. I fished one inside corner, probably three runs total, and hooked 17 fish in two hours. Red and orange worms were king. While it was light out, the # 18 Soft Hackle Pheasanttail hooked a few fish, but seemed to lose most of ‘em cause the fish were bending the little hook in the big water. I caught all rainbows while there was light on the water, but as soon as the shade hit the water, I got only browns. The only fish that ate a stonefly nymph all afternoon was a 19-inch brown, the biggest fish of the afternoon, that ate the # 6 Brown Pat’s Rubberleg.

Embrace the dirt and GO FISHING!

Charles P.

With the high, dirty water, the Madison River is blown-out and unfishable … NOT!!!

We have learned to “embrace the dirt,” and fishing this fast, colored water is one of our favorite times of the season to be out on the river. The fishing is great, and there is almost no one on the river.

We went out yesterday on the upper river, floating from wade spot to wade spot, and we literally caught fish at EVERY stop we made. We lost an accurate count, but we hooked roughly 60 fish, all while being the only boat on the river … What a day!

The day was also punctuated with a strong midge hatch, followed by a respectable March Brown hatch and a smattering of Caddis. Multiple fish were spotted rising, and twice fish were literally leaping out of the water as they were chasing bugs.

The key to “fishing the dirt” is simple. The high, fast water has the fish concentrated in any and every spot of calmer water, along the banks and behind rocks and other obstructions. Next, you have to get the flies down to them, and you have to get them down quickly, which means split-shot; and if one split-shot isn’t getting them down, then two or three might be needed. But once the depth of the drift is right …Fish on! And because the fish are concentrated, it’s common to catch multiple fish in every hole.

The flies that worked best for us were the Delektable™ Hurless Nymph in Olive and Gray Flashback, and the Delektable™ Lil’ Spanker in Red.

Delektable Lil’ Spanker Red

Just be careful when fishing during these higher flows. The water is higher and moving fast and extreme caution when wading is recommended for all fishermen, no matter what their experience level. Dan is crazier than most when he’s wading, I wouldn’t follow without assistance.

Dan and Marty

Upper Madison River Flows are at 2,240 cfs.

The higher flows are a result of run-off and managing flows. We recommend caution floating during these higher flows. Extreme caution is recommended around bridges, especially at Wolf Creek Bridge, where the clearance is a tight pucker.

Marty and I ventured out to fish after work for a couple of hours. We fished the Upper Madison River below Three Dollar Bridge. The river had a foot to a foot and a half of clarity. We hooked around a dozen fish, landing eight.

The flies that worked for us were Delektable™ Hurless Stones:

Delektable™ Big Red:

Dan’s new stonefly patterns for 2010 and a #12 Lime Juice:

We’ve had a number of good fishing reports in the dirt using Double Screamers in Black, Stonefly Nymphs, Lil’ Spankers in Red, Red Worms and Egg patterns. All the Delektables can be seen in the Delektable Flies Gallery

The higher flows mean the fish are being pushed hard against the bank and behind rocks, islands and other obstructions; the few places in the river where the fish can take a break from the swift current. Fish tight to the shorelines, and through the entire runs of slower pools; often the tails of the pools are the best. Extra weight may be needed to compensate for the higher, faster water, to get the nymphs down to the strike zone. If the bugs are floated through prime water without a strike, add a split shot about a foot above the first fly. If the strikes still don’t come, add another. The key is to get the bugs down to where the fish want them.

I love fishing the off-colored flows and we will be headed back to the Madison in the next 2 or 3 days. Keep checking our reports for updates.

Dan

The fishing has been excellent for those that have spent time fishing Southwest Montana this Winter and Early Spring. The Squalla Stonefies, BWO’s, and Midges will dominate our bug hatch imitations the month of April. The fly patterns we like to fish for April are as follows.

Stonefly nymphs: In sizes #6, #8; Delektable Hurless Std and Flashback Gray and Olive; Delektable Mega Prince Std and Flashback; Delektable Braided Brownstone Std and Flashback; Delektable Hurless Stone Purple Flashback; Pats Rubberlegs in Brown and Olive/Brown; Morrish’s W.M.D. Claret; Double BH Stone in Black and Hare’s Ear.

The BWO Nymph’s and other Smaller Nymphs we like to fish in April are as follows: Delektable Rootbeer Floats in Dark Gray, Red, Chocolate, and Gray in sizes #16 and #18; Delektable Lil’ Spankers in Red, Olive, Silver, Purple, and Pheasantail in #14, #16, and #18 sizes; Delektable Mr Rubberlegs Pheasantail in sizes #12, #14, and #16; Tungsten BH Soft Hackle Pheasantail in size #16, #18, and #20; BH WD-40’s in Black, Olive, Gray, and Chocolate in #18 and #20; Tungsten BH Studlys in Amber and Olive sizes #16, and #18; Tungsten BH Flashbugs in sizes #16, #18, and #20; Tungsten BH Olive Epoxy-Back in #18 and #20; Black BH WD-40 Olive #18 and #20; BH Lightning Bug Silver in size #16, #18, and #20; BH Soft Hackled Bob in Copper and Red #14, #16, and #18; Tungsten BH Copper Bob in Red, Copper, and Olive in size #14, #16, and #18; Delektable CDC Prince and Regular Prince in sizes #8 through #18; and Delektable CDC Halloween in sizes #8 through #16.

BWO Dry Flies: Split-Winged Parachutes in Adams, BWO, and Purple Haze sizes #18 and #20; Standard Parachutes in Adams, BWO, Purple Haze and Irresistable Adams in #18 and #20; Snowshoe Baetis #20; CDC Budding Emerger #18 and #20; Snowshoe Emerger #20; Quigley’s Loopy Cripple BWO #18; RS-2 Emerger in Olive and Chocolate in #18 and #20; Baetis Paracripple #18; BWO Klink Parachute #18; Brooks Sprout BWO Emerger #18 and #20; and BWO Captive Dun #20.

Midges Underwater Wet Flies: Delektable Twinkles in Red, Black, Gray and Miracle in #18 and #20; BH Zebra Midges in Red and Black #18 and #20; and BH Midge Mogie in Black and Red #18 and #20.

Midges Dry Flies: Adams Midge Cluster #20; R.B. Midge#20; Black Sipper #20; Hi-Viz Griffiths Gnat #18 and #20; Gulper Special #18 and #20; and Brooks Sprout Midge Black #20 and #22.

San Juan Worms, Eggs, and Attractor Wet Flies: Delektable BH Worm in Red, Wine, and Pink sizes #8, #12, and #16; Steel Worm Red in sizes #6 and #12; Glo Bug Eggs in Cheese, Apricot, Champagne, and Orange Roe in sizes #10 and #12; and Delektable Sex Fly in size #10 through #16.

Streamers: Delektable Screamers in single and jointed double size #6 Black/Olive, Brown/Yellow, Badger, Olive, Yellow, Black and White; Silvey’s Sculpin Leech #4 in Olive, Tan, Gray, and Black; Zonkers in Natural, Olive, and Yellow in sizes #6 and #8; Lead-Eyed Big Horn Bugger #6 in Brown/Yellow; Bow River Buggers in Black, Olive, and White size #6 and #8; J.J.’s Specials in size #4 and #6; Scupzilla in White, Olive, and Black; Zuddler in Black, Olive, and White in size #4 and #6; Yellow Yummy in #4 and #6; and Big Gulp Sculpin in Olive, Tan, and Black size #4.

The above April Fly selections are available through Beartooth Flyfishing at our Fly Shop and are in stock. If you would like Dan to put together a special selection of flies for April or any other time of the year, just call the shop at 406-682-7525.

Dan

Upper Madison River

The third Saturday of May — opening day since the mid-1990’s for the Madison River from Quake Lake to McAtee Bridge — has become a traditional father/son fly fishing outing for “Grandpa” John, 86, and Dan Delekta, 51. The duo had a perfect Saturday, fishing Delektable™ Hurless Stones in Olive and Gray. Also, one of Dan’s new stonefly patterns, a prototype for 2010, was working; love that R&D! They floated an 8-mile stretch with a blend of wading and float fishing. The boys hooked and landed almost 30 Madison River fish.

FISHING REPORT FOR EARLY MAY 2009

CFS: Stable at 1230 Upper Madison River

Fish seem to be a little confused with the weather (like the rest of us) and fishing reports have been sporadic; they are eating but making us work a little harder for it. The ‘ol Big Bug/Small Bug nymphing combo has been the best method from most of the reports and when I say small, I mean small. Mayfly nymphs #’s16-20 and midge larvae or emergers (like the Delektable™ Twinkle) #’s 18-22 trailing under a # 4-8 stonefly nymph has been the best bet. An Olive or Grey #6 Delektable Hurless with a #18 beadhead Pheasant Tail has been one of the few consistently good setups. With the thermometer reading below 32 most nights still, low early morning water temps. have resulted in slower mornings. Warmer, overcast, afternoons have seen the fish activity picking up from 1- 5 p.m., the late afternoon clouds have resulted in good hatches of baetis everywhere from Town to MacAtee, BWO’s have been spotted on the Beartooth porch and caddis have been seen from Town to 8-mile and are moving upriver every day. If the standard nymph rigs aren’t working, try tight-lining a #2 Zonker to a #16-#18 Delektable Spanker in Silver, Pheasant Tail, or Blue for the mayflies, and a #14 Green Spanker for the caddis.

Lower temps have led to increased visibility on the Yellowstone and better reports from the Big Hole, with a noticeable decrease in pressure on the Upper Madison as a result. However, we are starting to see more and more wade-fisherman between Town and Varney –boat fisherman should remember that these fishermen have the right of way. Please do your best to leave other fisherman’s holes alone. A little bit of etiquette goes a long way on an increasingly pressured river.

More difficult fishing has made me change tactics with good results. Increased leader and dropper length has made a big difference in the last ten days. If the average 7-9 foot leader isn’t working, try going to a 10-12 foot leader with 18-28 inches between your first and second bug. This is using tippets from 2X-4X. It’s a little harder to manage, especially in the wind, but it has seemed to increase the number of fish in the boat. The trick with long leaders is picking up less line before re-casting and making less false casts. If you are used to picking up 15 feet of floating line and making three false casts, try picking up ten feet of line and making one false cast, this will reduce the chance of tangles with the added leader length.

GO FISHING, Charles P.

Other Suggested Patterns:

• # 4-8 Delektable Braided Stonefly Nymph Brown/Tan
• # 4-10 Pat’s Rubber Legs in Brown and Black
• # 4-6 Kaufmann Double Bead Stonefly Nymph in Grey and Olive
• # 4-6 Red and Orange Delektable Worm.
• # 14-18 Lightning Bug
• # 12-16 Hares Ear
• # 16 One Man Party

Don’t Forget! The Upper Madison will be closed from Quake to McAtee from March 1 until the third Saturday in May. This is your last week in 2009 to experience some really sweet winter catch and release fishing on that stretch. Our shop is open during winter hours Monday through Saturday and sometimes Sunday from 9:00AM to 5:00PM. Dan will be tying flies on Satuday February 28th at Troutfitters in Bozeman starting at noon.

Once again our buddy Roger enjoyed supplying this new fishing report. Dan, Nancy, and Jenn are busy in the shop building rods and working on the shopping cart.

Today was Chinook like weather: mid 40’s; sunny; and almost Spring like with hardly any wind. Afternoon fishing in Montana with warm temperatures in mid-February is always special. Catching trout was excellent, so it turned out to be an exceptional day of fishing. Walking downstream I was using one of my favorite 2 nymph rig combinations: a #8 Delektable Mega Prince, Olive, on top with a #14 Tungsten Epoxyback Pheasant tail as a dropper. The fish were hungry, including nice Trout and huge Whitefish, with every cast producing. It seemed like the Bows were taking the larger nymph, while the Browns and Whitefish were taking the dropper. Dan gave me a lesson earlier today on double hauling and mending while testing some of the newly built Beartooth Custom rods. This gave me some new confidence to experiment with my casting and try dry flies. Besides, I had already caught plenty on nymphs and sited Midges hatching on the surface but no noses in site. Working back to the car and casting upstream, with the beautiful weather, I started to cast dry flies. Using Illusion Fluorocarbon 4X and 5X, along with a size #12 Parachute Adams up front as an indicator, trailed by a size #20 Midge emerger, I came up with 2 16" and 17" Rainbows. Both took the Midge fly in the skinny ripple water. This was a great surprise as the sun was setting on a wonderful day.

February 5, 2009

We returned from Andros and found we missed some really great fishing on the Upper Madison during January and now. Keep in mind folks, the Upper Madison will be closed from Quake to McAtee from March 1 until the third Saturday in May. This is your opportunity to experience some really sweet winter catch and release fishing. Our shop is open during winter hours Monday through Saturday and sometimes Sunday from 9:00AM to 5:00PM. Our buddy Roger supplied this report happily.

The conditions were overcast, warm for Montana winter around 41 degrees and windy. He experienced a hatch of midges around 3:00 to 4:30. The fish were not feeding on the surface. He would have tried dries but it was too windy. Stream flows remain about the same at around 826 cfs at Kirby. Upper Madison River

It was a great day catching plenty of nice trout and his first winter whitefish. He was fishing bucket water casting 35-40 feet of line out with a two nymph rig and indicator and no additional weights. The takes were more at the bottom of the bucket in the riffle at the 3/4 swing of the flies.

The flies he used included: Morrish’s WMD (Weapon of Mass Destruction) in Claret #8; Delektable Mega Prince Olive Flashback #6; Epoxyback Tungsten Copper-Copper #14. The best fish was a 191/2" Brown Trout, guides would say with shoulders. He caught a monster Whitefish. The browns were taking the small trailer fly and the Rainbows were predominantly taking the larger Delektable Fly. Most of the Rainbows were between 16-18 inches and great fighters.

Yes indeed, it has been a while since our last fishing report. Our apologies to all who were waiting. We have been so busy with shop projects, it has been a challenge getting out on the river. Our biggest shop project was to launch our Online store, yeah! We are open! To shop, click on the Online Store Tab. Yesterday, our buddy, Roger, who has been hanging out with us had a memorable day on the Upper Madison that was something to share. We did wine a bit because we remained in the shop slaving away.Stream flows remain consistent at around 760 cfs at Kirby. Upper Madison River

It was a warm December afternoon 30-40 degrees, no wind, sunshine, and simply beautiful with the two ranges of snow covered peaks in the background. This was one of those special days we hope to take advantage of when they come in the winter months. Truly a good day to go out fishing! The fish were hungry. Most of the action was between 2:00 and 4:00 in the afternoon. He caught about a dozen fish in the 18" to 22" range, mostly fat browns and rainbows; all having shoulders (really healthy and chunky). Roger used the standard two nymph rig with an indicator and the trailer tied about 18 inches from the lead fly.

The hottest fly combination was the Delektable™ Gray Hurless Flashback #8 with a Delektable Lil’ Spanker Purple #16 as the trailer. The Delektable Hurless scored the most trout. Other recommended winter flies include: All Delektables for the top fly; #8 Mega Prince; #8 Purple Hurless; #8 Olive Hurless; #8 Braided Brownstone; all with or without flashback wingcase. Bottom Delektable flies for the two fly rig: Lil’ Spankers in Purple, Pheasantail, Silver, Red, and Olive in sizes #10, #14, #16, and #18; CDC Prince Nymph #10, #12, and #14; Mr Rubberlegs Pheasantail #10, #12, and #14; Twinkle Midges Black, Red, Rootbeer, and White #18, and #20. Also, we love to fish two big stone nymphs in size #8 together; Delektable Mega Prince; Hurless Stones; and Braided Brownstones. We do have a cold snap coming in. Get your shopping done so you can get out and fish later in the week when it warms up again. Call the shop if you need a report as of the moment at 406-682-7525.

Have a Great Holiday Everyone and Thank You for all the support!

Dan Marty Nancy Brad

• Quoted from PPL’s site: PPL Montana "The dam remains safe and stable, according to on-site monitoring equipment, and the river banks are containing the water flow.
• A plan to install a specially fabricated steel bulkhead to reduce the flow was halted over the weekend after water pressure and turbulence from the flowing water made it impossible to install guides that would have held the bulkhead in place."
• PPL engineers are researching other options at this time.
• September 8, 2008 8:00 AM

Streamers are working in the Big Water

Twenty one inch Brown caught between Mac and Varney

on a Bern’s Bad Boy, by artist Bern Sundell ,

Seventeen inch Brown caught on a Delektable Double Screamer Olive Black, September 7, 2008 Put your streamer inches from the bank in the quiet water and you will probably be rewarded. The flow of the Upper Madison remains high at 3,490 CFS and is stable: Upper Madison Flow at Cameron.

Dan Marty Nancy Brad

September 7, 2008 11:45 AM PPL Update

PPL is making progress but are experiencing some delays with the current goal to have the bulkhead lowered sometime tomorrow (Monday). We are reminded that this process is a temporary fix and if successful is expected to stem flows back to seasonal levels. This temporary structure should help PPL in determining what permanent repairs are needed.

Current flows are at 3,570 CFS. Streamer fishing remains the way to go. Also, big stonefly nymphs like the Delektable Hurless or Mega Prince should be good in the big flows.