PRIME TIME SUMMERTIME
We are in the thick of the summer season here in Southwest Montana and everyday our guides are taking guests out on trips all over the region from the Madison River and Hebgen Lake to the southwest, Yellowstone National Park to the south, the Yellowstone River to the east, the Gallatin River to the west and the Missouri to the north.
With so much water and fishing options available, our guests are finding success no matter if it is their first time holding a fly rod or they are seasoned anglers.
BYE, BYE SALMONFLIES
The salmonflies have mostly blown through the Madison River and many other rivers in Southwest Montana. A few can still be found buzzing around the Upper Madison in the “wade only” section from Quake Lake to Reynolds Bridge.
Fishing with these big flies can be addictive so if you still want to chase this hatch your best bet is to follow it up high on the Yellowstone River near Gardiner or on the Gardner River or the Yellowstone River in Yellowstone National Park.
HELLO TERRESTRIAL TIME
While we look back on a fun salmonfly hatch, we’re looking forward to the terrestrial season, which should be kicking into full gear by mid- or late-July. This time of year, fish key on grasshoppers, ants, and beetles, and you can bet we’ll be rolling out with fly boxes filled with these tasty treats.
It’s best to start out fishing with smaller patterns, especially for grasshoppers. A few of our favorites are the Thunder Thighs and Panty Dropper patterns. We’ll rotate colors – yellow, orange, tan, and purple – and sizes to determine what’s working. As the season goes on, we’ll keep changing it up and adding bigger sizes until summer peters out.
Remember, while you can still sight-fish to rising trout, this time of year, you are mostly blind-fishing, hoping to find opportunistic fish looking for their next meal at the surface.
Also, though not as prevalent as terrestrials, if you’re out around dawn or dusk, don’t sleep on nocturnal stoneflies. These tan or cream colored bugs are a tad smaller than golden stones and come out at night or during low-light times (overcast days or dawn and dusk). The females can’t fly so try skiddering a cream chubby during these times of day to take advantage of this lesser-known hatch.
GIVE A HOOT
So far we’ve had a pretty wet spring with enough rain and thunderstorms to keep fires down and keep air quality healthy.
Currently, we’ve seen an uptick in temperatures of late leading to Hoot Owl Restriction on six rivers in Montana, including the section of the Madison River from Hebgen Reservoir to upstream to the Yellowstone National Park boundary and from Warm Springs BLM day-use area to the confluence with the Jefferson River.
The good news: This means there are no restrictions on the “50-mile riffle”, the section from Ennis to Quake Lake, which is fed by the cold water flowing out of the bottom of Hebgen Dam.
For those interested in fishing in the park, be aware that Hoot Owl restrictions are also in place on Yellowstone National Park’s Madison, Firehole, and Gibbon rivers.
These closures mean no fishing from 2 pm to midnight to protect the fish from overheating.
If you’ve booked a trip with us, we will make sure these protective measures do not affect your day on the water. There are plenty of other rivers that we can target that are fishing great right now and have no restrictions.
MISSOURI UPDATE
FYI: We’re starting to see the moss begin to form on the Mo, making it more challenging. Our jet boat trips on the Mo have been on fire!
The PMD fishing is mostly tapped out at this point in the season, and the river is primarily a Trico and Caddis fishery at the moment. That means very technical dry fly fishing with small flies.
You’ll be targeting fish that have been heavily fished over since April, so you’ll have to bring your A-game to trick ‘em with the right fly and a perfect drift.
SAME TIME NEXT YEAR
It doesn’t happen after every trip, but enough that it’s sort of a thing around TOTF. People get off the water with one of our guides and a funny thing happens. They immediately call us up and say that they want to book their trip for next year. Then they’ll go ahead and re-book the place they’re staying for the next year as well.
We’re telling you this for two reasons. One, because it’s a testament to all the hard work our guides put in on every trip. Two, because trips are already filling up on our calendar for 2026.
Luckily, we’ve added a slew of new guides, but at some point, there just won’t be enough guides to go around. This is already the case for jetboat trips as the private marina has a limited capacity, which means there are a limited number of licensed captains available. It’s a perfect example of high demand and low supply, so if one of these trips is on your bucket list, let us know sooner rather than later.
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