The rains have finally started to turn the Big Hole around. With cooler night time temps and shorter days we are finally seeing temps drop into the 40's and 30's on most nights. The river is closed on the uppermost section as well as the lower most section. From Mudd Creek to Dead Zone the river is open to fishing. The floating has been fairly productive with streamers and dry flies. Light streamers in the shallows has been producing the better fish, especially with any cloud cover. The dries have been great, but challenging. Tricos have been coming off around 10 am and lasting until the wind blows them off. After that it has been a terrestrial game with ants, hoppers, and nocturnals being our main go to's .
We have been bouncing around western Montana with our clients lately. From the Middle Fork of the Flathead, to the Madison, Missouri, and Blackfoot (and several others I will not name). We shut down the shop in early August so that we could be traveling more to other rivers in search of happier trout. It has been a lot of miles but we have been lucky enough to find some great fishing spots, and resurrect some of our old areas we have not been to in a while.
A week ago I had the opportunity to guide with my amazing wife in the high mountain lakes above the Big Hole Valley. It was a great change of pace going from a raft seat to a saddle. The lake was incredibly peaceful and full of hungry cutthroat that could not wait to pound a big dry fly.
Lia and I are looking forward to traveling and fishing some new places this winter.. I am currently a fugitive from justice in the Bahamas so I will not be visiting Andros as usual. Instead we are going to explore some new territory and hopefully some new beaches with great fishing. Stay tuned.....
