Open up and say ahhh

New moon? Two days after a new moon this fish crushed a copper zonker very early in the morning. It was a fun day with many laughs and I'm looking forward to our next outing.

Rockin' The Rivers 09"

It's Rockin' the Rivers weekend here in Montana. Instead of checking out the headlining band Tesla, we opted for some fishing on a well rested favorite section of river. The rainbow bite was on and will continue to get better from here on out. As the moon begins to close up I anticipate the Big Brown bite to improve as well. This next week looks to be beautiful with sunshine and temps in the low 80's.

First Time Fly Rodder!

Just got off the water with friends Frank & Sandy Eggars. This is a Grandmother of 5 and her first time to touch a fly pole (rod). I was giving Sandy some casting instruction when the shuttle Nazis showed up. We had to hurry and hit the river to keep the peace. After the shuttle driver finished his morning bloody he nearly sank my truck in the Yellowstone by throwing it in reverse. It was now time to move the instruction to the river. Hands on training is always the best anyway. I got Sandy dialed in and she caught a few bones of the Stone before she hooked this beautiful rainbow. It was a pleasure fishing with these two and cannot wait until we do it again!

21 Mile Marathon Float on the Yellowstone R.

I had a great day fishing Tuesday with good friend and ace guide Blaine Ballard. I'm not going to down play Blaine's performance. He flat out tore them up! I on the other hand did not exactly wear them out but will be back with Blaine's articulated swimmer of a Sex Dungeon. No big browns to speak of to the net but they were definately chasing the streamer. Hopper fishing was good early in the day then died off. The rainbow bite was strong for the rest of the day. We floated Grey Bear > Otter. When we got to the ramp at 3:30 and discovered my rig had not been moved yet, we decided to continue on down to Pelican. We ripped streamers and beers for another 10 miles. What a great guide's day off.

Whiskey Ditch

This gem was caught in a no name creek West of Bozeman on Sunday. Fish gobbled a hopper and was quickly released safely. This weeks weather looks to be beautiful and Hopper fishing is gaining steam! This is a great time to be fishing in Southwestern Montana.

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!