Hoppertunities

Well, the Yellowstone has dropped enough to finally be called clear...for the time being anyway...as localized storms may bring a plug of mud or two down any day now...or maybe not.

Anyway, I did get some fish to eat hoppers yesterday.

There seems to be more and more people around some of my favorite stretches so I've decided to mum it up a bit. Not that they're all following me, but everyone is trying new things which I don't blame them for. The lower Gallatin, one of my favorites has been getting ripped apart and there just aren't enough fish to support that much pressure down there. So, I wont say the where on the hopper bite on the stone, but it's there. They're also starting to eat them on the Upper Madison as well.

This is one of my favorite times of year around here and the fishing has been great. Had a trip earlier this week and we were counting fish in the afternoons. We got 35 one day in just the afternoon with 3 over 20! They were happy.

Finally

After a few days of frustrating fishing, the last several days have been very good.

The Yellowstone has cleared and is fishing well, but lots of whitefish on nymph rigs and its still got some flow that makes it hard on the dry fishing, but that is a possibility even now. I've been fishing it in the Big Timber area with pretty good results and it should just get better.

The lower madison is a weedy mess and getting warm. It's fishing alright though, but I'd hit it earlier in the day than later.

The upper has been fishing well too, mostly on small nymphs near the boulders, some dry fishing starting too.

So, that's the quick report. The sun is on it's way up right now and I've got to head to Big Timber to meet up with some folks this morning.

Finally.

Some Updates

The last week has been very nice, weather wise anyways, so we finally have seen most of the rivers come into great shape. The Yellowstone is fishable, but high, the Gallatin is in perfect shape, the Upper Madison is great as well. Most of the small streams have enough water in them to hold some fish still as well.

The stone is tough becuase you have to hit the right holding water as you are going by it at 30 mph, this is gettign better though and would be the choice in a day or two for the next couple of weeks. Once that water drops to the "normal" bank, it fishes crazy good and it's almost there.

I was to be guiding the last couple days, but came down with some food posioning and have now come back to the living. I'm heading up to Lewsitown to fish Big Spring Creek today and tomorrow. After that, I'll be guiding for the next 2-3 weeks straight.

Getting Serious.

It has been a slow start to the guide season, but things are finally upon us and it just happens to coincide with the conditions getting good. I'm not sure if the slow start is related to the economy or water conditions, but outfitters and guides around the region are all down this year. The thing is that this is a great year for water conditions, so hopefully more anglers will get up here to experience it.

I'm expecting August to really be amazing this year and I have a lot of t

rips then as well, so at least there will be some getting to see some world class dry fly fishing with hoppers. Various government agencies are calling for a hopper plague this year!

Chris and I fished yesterday with an old friend of mine. It was the only cold and rainy day we've had in a couple of weeks. So conditions weren't great and our hearts weren't really into it either. We still got some fish and had a good time, just not as good as it could have been. Oh well, I think any day fishing is better than a day selling carpet!

Beauty Eh

The weather today is fantastic, but recent rains have made for some dirty water on the Gallatin again. The Yellowstone is almost there, but we keep getting mud plugs coming down that just keeps the visibility off. The flows are still crazy high though, so it might be another week before it really turns on.

The upper madison is the best bet in my book right now. A slow start to the season has kept the crowds relativeley light and the fish are in really good shape this year. I'm looking forward to getting up there a lot over the next few weeks as the bugs keep getting heavier and heavier. That transitions time between salmonflies and hoppers is one of the funnest times of year up there on dries.

There is so much good water around and not too much pressure.

Independence Weekend

Slamonflies are cranking up the Madison, already up above Ruby Cr. Dry fly fishing has been good on the middle and upper stretches. The Yellowstone might be there in a few days. I know some guys fishing it, but it's still crazy high.

There are zillions of people around right now, which is pretty typical of the 4th of July weekend, so the best bet it to get out early so that your bugs aren't the 300th salmonfly that comes down in a day. Sooner or later, they figure it out so try to be early for the best dries.

I'm laying low as my poison ivy is borderline ridiculous. Dont walk around on the lower if you're very allergic to the stuff! This really really sucks!