The Big Hole River, Montana in the Fall

Maiden Rock Bridge

The Big Hole is arguably one of the most beautiful rivers anywhere.  In the Autumn, it is really out of control.  This river is predominantly a brown trout stream, making Fall even more mystic and exciting!  This is my first Autumn in Butte and the closest large river is the Big Hole.  I have a lifetime of exploring to do here and I'm really happy about it.

Yesterday, the fishing was great.  I'd rather have been in my raft all day but this was a quick after-work fix. The streamer bite is on!!  Yellow bunny streamers and darker Skiddish Smolts were the ticket.  The fish were in faster knee-deep riffles and absolutely pounded the fly.  It felt like I'd hit a boulder and then there'd be that brown trout, throbbing head-shake.

I had the place to myself with the exception of this guy who fished for a little while in one spot.  He had brought his wife and kids who waited stream-side in their truck.  Poor bastard!!

It was mostly cloudy but when the sun would break through, the Fall colors were outstanding.  I saw some really slappy rises from big fish here and there and figured there must be some remaining October caddis.  I put on an appropriate foamy and skated it over a shallow riffle and Boom, rainbow trout!

There were some signs that the spawn is getting going.  I caught a couple rainbows on egg-type stuff and a guy came by and told me that he saw some browns sitting on redds in the upper river by Wisdom.  He also mentioned that the fishing was slow up there and that is was really weedy.  He was from out-of-state so it may just have been him.

The Fall has really just begun here in Southwest Montana.  I can't wait to float the Jefferson for the first time, hit the awesome streamer maddness on the MO as always, the Yellowstone beacons as does the Madison, and there's huge brook trout on the spawn in Georgetown Lake.  Not to mention the Upper Clark Fork and the brookies in Silver Bow.

Too much awesomeness, too little time!!

Browns and Brews Festival in Craig, Montana

"This event is our first brewfest which we hope will become as successful as our Craig Caddis Festival held each May.  This brewfest will have live and silent auctions, to raise money for the betterment or improvement of Craig.  It’s become a busy little town utilized by many people but with few actual residents.  This is the business community’s way of trying to give back to the community." - Montana Brewers Association

Look at the weather forecast!! Bring a raincoat, a box of streamers, and an appetite for beer.  I'll see you there!

The Upper Clark Fork is off the hook!

The Upper Clark Fork is off the hook right now!  The flow is perfect (for now), there are solid Mothers Day caddis hatches everyday, and the streamer fishing is ridiculous.  It is the time of year to throw big and yellow.  These mean browns were throwing themselves out of the water for my streamers and the big boys came out from every undercut bank with a vengeance.  I had a couple of them destroy my streamer right at the surface with a huge splash.

I wouldn't bullshit you... But this guy might!

Kelly Galloup Fly Tying Event in Butte

GEORGE GRANT TROUT UNLIMITED GGTU to Sponsor Fly Tying, Fly Fishing Seminar March 28 The George Grant Chapter of Trout Unlimited is proud to sponsor a fly tying and fly fishing seminar March 28, 2015 in Butte featuring Kelly Galloup, a well-known fly fishing guide and fly tier, television host and owner of the Slide Inn on the upper Madison River. The seminar will be held from 8 a.m. until 12:30 p.m. at Perkins Restaurant on Harrison Avenue. Kelly Galloup has earned a reputation for catching trophy trout using large streamers he has developed such as the Zoo Cougar and Sex Dungeon and his specialty is articulated streamers. The seminar will emphasize tying some of Galloup's creations and he is certain to entertain the participants with tips on fly fishing. The seminar is free and open to the public; donations will be accepted. For more information call Bob Olson at 560-3791 or email him at robolson@bresnan.net. SAVE THE DATE !!! THE ANNUAL GEORGE GRANT TROUT UNLIMITED BANQUET WILL BE SATURDAY, APRIL 11th, 5pm AT THE STARLANES PLEASE forward this email to a friend, if they'd like to be included ask them to send us an email STAY CONNECTED LIKE US ON FACEBOOK

The EZ Bunny Fly - detailed instructions

Hook:  Size 6 streamer hook

Cone head:  Small nickel cone head with eyeball

Thread:  6/0 white

Tail flash:  Pearl Flashabou

Tail/Body:  Small white rabbit zonker strip

Throat:  Ice Dub – UV Pearl

Legendary fly tier Jack Dennis wrote the “Three Commandments” for tying flies.  He states that flies should be durable, easy and quick, and that they should catch fish.  The EZ Bunny Fly is the epitome of this ideology.  The fly is super durable, you can tie one in less than 5 minutes, and it catches huge trout.  You can tie this fly in yellow, brown, green, or red.  The white is really effective and fun to fish because you can see it so well in the water.  It is really exciting to watch it swim across a run and move trout like an electrofishing wand.

Step 1

Tie in about 1 inch of Flashabou off the back of the hook.

Step 2

 

Tie a rabbit strip to the back of hook for the tail of the fly.  There should be about 2 inches of leather for the tail length.  Don’t cut the long end of the rabbit strip as you’ll use this for the body.

Step 3

Fold the long (body) strip back and make some thread turns right in front of it to really lock in the rabbit strip.

Step 4

Apply a small amount of your favorite glue to the shank of the hook.  Then, palmer the long strip of rabbit up to the cone.  This creates the body of the fly.

 

Step 5

Apply some of the Ice Dub to the thread and make a few wraps behind the cone to hide any thread wraps and then, whip finish.

Suprise trip to the Big Hole

The prettiest sun dog I've ever seen

RBM got a last minute invite to go float the Big Hole with two guides yesterday.  I learned a bunch of new stuff including some new flies and a classic "dude rig" using streamers that I can't wait to use, on some family and friends who need all the help they can get, of course.  I'll post on that soon.

The Big Hole is big and clear (tea colored like always) and fished pretty good.  It took two guides and a trout bum a little while to solve the puzzle on the unfamiliar water, but when we did it was on!

The rivers around Missoula are about to start fishing balls-to-the-wall in the next week or so.  Folks are already on the Blackfoot fishing the colored water and word is that salmonflies on the Creek are days away. I'm going to check out my not so secret high water spot on the lower Clark Fork today.  The Upper Clark Fork looked pretty damn sexy as we drove past it yesterday.  Here we go, summer fishing!

Mostly cloudy on the Big Hole = brown trout