"Dead Flies Don't Swim"

Dead Flies Don't Swim from scumliner media on Vimeo.



I've been all over the place fishing and working like a maniac all summer.  I hit the Baetis and early caddis on the Mo, the salmon flies on the Big hole, the traveling sedge on G-town, PMDs on the Saint Regis, got into a million grayling in a local mountain lake, and even caught some redbands in Washington State.  I just spent the last week in Craig fishing the trico and evening caddis hard.  Ten hour + days all by myself!  I needed that.

Anyway, check out this great video about fishing the tricos on the MO from Sumliner Media.  If you think you're a good dry fly fisher, you'll get put back in your place by hitting the tricos on the MO.  If you want to cheat and catch a million fish all day with a lot less skill, tie on a zebra midge or sunken trico nymph and rack up some serious numbers.

Spending V-Day with those you love

Beaverhead Brown Trout

If you love something, set it free...

It was 60 deg. F yesterday in the Dillon, MT area.  The fishing resembled April conditions more than February.  In fact, just like the weather, the fishing was unreal!

The first half of the day was probably some of the most fun I had throwing streamers in some time.  The browns were out in the shallows in force and they were just as pissed about it being Valentines Day as me.  They were doing that thing where they hear the splash of the fly hitting the water, leave their holding spot, and viciously chase it down.  They even wanted a fast strip.  It was unreal!

Then, at about noon, I started to see some consistent rises to the midges that were showing up in good numbers.  It took a while for me to actually cut of my streamer.  I was kind of in denial that the big guys were eating dries.  I figured it was just some dinks eating a sparse hatch in the sun. Nope!  I put on a Buzzball and every fish that got a solid drift, sipped it without a second thought. When I set the hook, they flipped out just as if it ware a summer evening.  They made huge runs and did acrobats galore.  Some did the Jesus tail-walk across the width of the whole stream.

Dry fly fishing midges in February on the Beaverhead

   
























That is a crappy trout picture but I wanted to post some evidence of the dry fly goodness.

The Dillon area is absolutely gorgeous, just like this horse.  And again, I already can't wait to go back.

Hurting for some dry fly fishing? Me too...

I love winter fishing.  I love streamer fishing.  I love technical nymphing.  Although, every year at just about this time, I really start to ache for some good, old fashioned dry fly fishing.  In Montana, we are over the winter hump and every day we are getting closer to the epic spring fishing I long for.  We are even starting to get some stretches of warm days which can translate into some midge maddness.  Overall though, I really miss dry fly fishing. 

To help you and I get through this, I'm posting this great video from The Fly Commission.  Happy Friday!

 

Western Montana Dry Fly Report

Cut off your nymph rigs.  The bugs are here!

Mating midge swarm on the lower Bitterroot

Rock Creek:  You may want to wait to cut off your nymph rig until you actually see rising fish here.  I'd bet money that some BWO's and march browns float by and interrupt your nymphing.  Along with the regular winter nymphs, incorporating baetis and larger mayfly nymphs on a short leash system can be really fun.

The Bitterroot:  The fish in the lower river are keyed into the large sized midge hatch which is occurring daily at noon.  These midges are just a bit smaller than BWO's and the hatch is very similar.  The mating swarms even look the same (see photo).  These midges don't cluster so patterns which suggest a single hatching midge is the only way to go.  Yesterday was the first day I observed Skwala adults floating on the surface.  It was pretty funny to watch them wiggle through pods of large rising fish and go totally unnoticed!  I've noticed Numora in the air and on water and have been hearing those great sounding rises the fish make when they are on to them.  The weirdest thing, NO BWO's yet.  I've never seen Skwala before BWO's.  I hope they still come!

The Clark Fork:  The reports from the fly shops are saying that the lower river (below Missoula) is in great shape and that there are good hatches of BWO's and march browns daily.  When the Skwala's get going here, it's the real deal.  There are 500X more of them and 600X less guide boats, dudes, and fair-weather fisherpeople than on the Root.  The Clark Fork is my favorite stream and this is my favorite time of year.

The Blackfoot:  If your still looking for winter nymphing, go here.  You may see some fish looking up but there are safer bets for finding dry fly opportunities right now.

Area Lakes:  Beavertail Pond, Frenchtown Pond, and the secret bass pond are mostly thawed.  Detailed reports will come soon...        
      

CDC Guide Fly - The Hanging Midge

CDC Hanging Midge

• Size 22-18 1XL Dry Fly Hook
• 8/0 Black Thread
• Black Antron Dubbing 
• Olive CDC Oiler Puffs

This fly works great for the larger midges found on the lower reaches of the Bitterroot and Clark Fork.  It is a million times more effective than some more complicated flies.  You can tie up a dozen of these before you even finish a beer.  They also work for emerging baetis.  Since those two hatches overlap and happen in both the spring and the fall, this fly is a real asset to have in your box!  My first fish on the dry of 2014 fell to this guy yesterday in a scum line near Lolo.  That is a solid month later than when this normally happens.  We usually are fishing midge dries by Valentines Day.