Three Rivers in Three Days

Just finished up a three day run with good friends Mark & Kyle Baker. Day one was spent fishing the Jefferson. The Hopper fishing hasn't quite turned on yet so we dead drifted streamers and beadheads to catch our fish. Day two was spent fishing the Yellowstone. We fished up high in the valley and experienced great fishing! We had two cutties in the net (a new net mind you) on Hoppers right out of the gate. Thanks Kyle, it was time for a new net. We caught several more before the cyclonic wind kicked in. It was pretty hard to keep a dry fly on the water so we switched to Mark's Yellow Zonker. I was skeptical at first but he quickly made me a believer. The fishing was on fire! We got em' on just about everything we threw. Day three took us to the Upper Madison and it started out with a bang. Mark hooked the above brown on his first cast. Another guide boat floated past and asked what he was going to do on his second cast? We fished a zonker followed by a flash back pheasant tail all morning before switching to a Hopper trailed by an ant in the afternoon. We fished hard and Mark did a fantastic job! This is Spring training so to speak. I'm sure between all the fish we boated and huckin' streamers on the Stone Mark's arm is a little worn out today. It was a fantastic trip spent with a couple of great friends!

Stone is shaping up nicely!

Yellowstone river has dropped into that magical 6,ooo c.f.s range. We fished up high in the valley last week with good success. Our best action was on olive zonker trailed by a large bead head or rubber leg. As the wind continues to knock those hoppers in the water and the fish begin to look up and key in, the fishing will only get better from this point on. I foresee a lot of Yellowstone action in the week to come as good friends Mark Baker and son Kyle are soon to arrive in Montana. As the river continues to drop and clear, I will be sure to keep you updated on what sections are best for slow rollin' cutthroats on dry flies.

The Weezy Jefferson

This sleeper of a river is back in a big way! Dewatering to near fatal flows nearly killed off the trout population in this river. Keeping a close eye on the amount of water ranchers withdraw coupled with several banner snow pack years have kept the Jeff in check. Last week, Big Sky local - Gerald Wester rocked em' up high near Silver Star as the photos indicate. We are eagerly anticipating some crushing Hopper action soon! We will keep you posted when the bite gets good.

Brownie Delight!

I had the pleasure of fishing with Andrew & Suzanne Schreiner this past week. Wow, the Madison was awfully generous. Suzanne hooked up with this beautiful Brown before we even launched the boat. We rolled on hooking numerous fish in the 14 - 18" range. Fish were chewing on olive zonkers and soft hackle pheasant tails. Andrew snapped off a toad but managed to land a fattie - 19" Brown It was an unforgettable day on the water!