Most fly fishermen in Montana don't seem to like lake fishing. There are plenty who do but the majority of anglers I meet just like moving water better. However, lakes frequently produce more trophy class fish than rivers. The state record Montana brown trout is not from any river...it's from Wade Lake near the upper Madison River. Most anglers shy from lakes because they find the style of fishing a little boring but if your put in the time and find the right spots there is some incredible trout action on Montana's lakes. The style of fishing in lakes does not have to be boring either. In fact most of the Montana lake fishing that I do involves sight casting to rising or cruising fish....theres nothing boring about that. Its a fact of life...big fish eat better in bad weather. Next time you see a photo of someone with a really big fish, take a look at their apparel because chances are, they are wearing a rain jacket or it is at least overcast outside (never mind the sunny photo above...). There are lots of theories as to why big fish might eat better during less than favorable weather conditions. People point to barometric pressure changes and difficulty for arial predators. For me it seems that low light is the trigger. For whatever reason large trout just seem to be more comfortable in low light conditions. The same is true of pacific salmon. They just eat better on cloudy days. It is in their DNA. In Montana and around the world, tailwater fisheries below dams consistently produce big fish. Dams get kind of a bad wrap because of all the harm to salmon and steelhead that they have historically caused. However, rivers like the Madison, Missouri, Bighorn and the Beaverhead would not be the fisheries that they are today if they did not flow from below a dam. These rivers are all known for consistently producing trophy trout and a lot of that has to do with the dams. Tailwater fisheries produce huge amounts of insect life and more stable water conditions allow for much longer yearly feeding seasons. The White River in Arkansas is a great example. There is no way this fishery would hold trout if not for the existence of Bullshoals Dam. Even with an impressive number of catch and kill bait and spin fishermen along its banks, it still managed to produce back to back world record brown trout in the 40 pound class. Streamers may not always be the best way to catch a lot of fish but a committed streamer angler is often the guy who ends the season with the biggest fish. I call it chasing the dream. After 5000 casts with a 7 weight, the guy in the back of the boat chucking meat may be down in numbers 10 to 1 but chances are by the end of the day he is going to be the one showing off his pictures at the bar. Streamer fishing just seems to trigger something in the larger fish that gets them moving. It probably has a lot to do with the fact that they have to eat bigger food to maintain their size. That is not to say that plenty of anglers have not landed lunkers on tiny nymphs. Early and late in the year are my favorite times to target big rainbow and brown trout in Montana. Before and after the spawn, the fish seem to be more active and more accessible. Fish that you might not have a shot at any other time of year will show themselves in the spring and fall. Our lake run fisheries here in Montana are a great example. In the spring and fall we consistently catch more big fish as they move into the river from the lake below to spawn or feed behind other spawning fish. The Madison River above Quake and Hebgan lakes is a great place to see this and catch a monster Montana trout. This is not to say that you should target spewing fish. They feed a lot better before or after the spawn and it is bad luck to interrupt a fish that only gets laid once a year. When people plan their Montana fly fishing trip, most of them are careful to avoid being here during the runoff. On the Madison River and on most southwest Montana fisheries, spring runoff tends to raise and dirty the water from sometime in late May until early June. However, for guides and anglers who are good at watching weather and stream flows to find fisheries with 1-3 foot of visibility in the water, this is a great time of year to catch a monster. The high water pushes the big fish into shallows along the banks and reduced clarity makes them much more willing to eat a fly and do it on heavy tippet. All of this without seeing any other boats...sounds fun to me. One of my favorite aspects of Montana fly fishing is the endless amount of water to explore. I can blow a whole morning drinking coffee and scouring google earth for new fishing spots that might have that one huge trout that I am always looking for. When I head out to try my new potential gold mine the anticipation is awesome. Most of the time I come back skunked with my fishing buddies annoyed that we drove 3 hours and blew a day without catching a fish. However, on the occasions when the plan comes together, these are the spots that produce my biggest and most memorable catches. The Montana brown trout below was from such a trip. I put in 3 hours of driving and 5 hours of fishing and that fish was my only bite of the day...worth it!
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Why Are You Not Catching Fish?
Its January and lots of Montana fly fishing guides finally have plenty of time to fish for themselves. Everyday there are new pictures on Facebook and Instagram of a Montana guide hoisting a nice trout over an icy river bank. Even in the winter when most fly fishermen consider Montana unfishable, the guys who really know what they are doing are getting it done. Everyone has heard the old saying... "10% of the anglers are catching 90% of the fish." Its true! As a guide it seems that plenty of people attribute the success of the 10% to some sort of secret fly, exceptionally perfect drag free drift, the perfect cast or a hidden super spot where the fish are just lined up feeding like crazy.
For the guys sitting behind the oars, these explanations usually don't add up. There are hundreds of great flies out there but my best bugs every year end up being among the ones everyone knows about. If I could only use two in a season, it would be a girdle bug and a prince nymph...the two most well known flies in the box...every shop has them. Likewise, some sort of unacheivable super drift is not going to suddenly get you hooked up. Good enough is usually good enough and most of the time the drift is more about getting the fly to where the fish are and keeping it there. There are plenty of days in a Montana fishing season when more trout get caught on a dragged fly than that perfect drift. The perfect cast? Being able to get the fly to where the fish are definitely matters but they really don't seem to care that your 15th cast went an inch closer to the bank than your first one. A good cast is one that catches a fish. Secret spots? There are tons of them and knowing the river helps with catching fish as much as anything. However, there are fish all over and being able to read water and know where they are going to be on a given day is the real secret...not one honey hole that is always on fire. I could go on and on about myths and misconceptions but here are the top 5 reasons that guides notice when people are not catching fish. #6 : The Fly Is Not In The Water
99% of all fish are caught in the water! Putting the fly in the water seems simple but sometimes it is the only thing you have to do to catch a fish. I see a shocking number of hook ups when we are pulled over changing a bug, eating lunch or talking and someone's fly is dangling in front of the boat. Some days dragging the fly when you are rowing to the other bank seems as productive as a dead drift. However, waisting time by second guessing yourself and changing bugs every 5 casts or doing 5 false casts between drifts does not help. We call this "casterbateing" and it will make you go blind...or at least keep you from hooking up. Its simple math, if you do 5 false casts when you only needed one, you spent 80% of your time with your fly in the air and you spent 80% less time in the water and caught 80% fewer fish during that time.
#5: Weak Hook Sets
This one is super common on guided trips. If you don't commit to that hook set, by the time you realize that there is a fish on the other end it is too late. Most often when a fish comes off mid fight it is the result of an uncommitted hook set. It is shocking how much time guides spend trying to convince people that there was a fish chewing on their fly while they were shaking it off of a rock. We always lose this argument but normally we are making it because we could see that little rainbow trout turning side to side under the water trying to shake the fly free. Again, it comes down to math. Whether you think it is a fish or not, if you miss 50% of you shots, you caught 50% fewer fish. When in doubt rip it out!
#4 : Not Covering Water
Back to math class...if you spend all day in a hole that is only ever going to be good for 5 eats, the best you could hope for is 5 fish. This is one of the reasons drift fishing is so popular. You cover tons of water and sometimes you can have solid fishing just by showing your fly to lots of different fish. For wade fishermen knowing when to move is a big issue. The biggest advantage of wading over drifting is the ability to park on a good hole and get a bunch of shots. However, knowing when to leave is just as important. Usually you are going to have your best action and best shot at the big one in your first 10 drifts through a run. After that it is often just going to fade.
#3 : Over Thinking It
When things slow down a bit and you went through a beautiful spot without a tap, you start to think that something you are doing is not working. Two or three good spots like that and you need to make a change. Being able to adapt to different fishing conditions is one thing that keeps good anglers hooked up. However, overthinking the situation and second guessing yourself can lead to disaster. I find that on most guide days if fishing starts off slow and we have to change bugs a lot, when it finally does get really good, we are catching them on the same rig I started with. Changing flies is good but keep it within the relm of reasonably good bugs and don't be afraid to circle back to your first instinct or what you have the most confidence in. It is easy to spend 50% less time with your fly in the water because you are trying every rusty mouse in the bottom of your box and cussing it for not working within 10 drifts.
#2 : Not Knowing the river
This one is not an easy fix. It takes time and it is the reason that those Montana trout guides are able to go out in the dead of winter and have some pretty solid fishing. People see the photos and say "well..if you are going to be dumb you gotta be tough" but guys are out there catching trout on some of the west's most famous rivers and never seeing another angler. If you know exactly where to fish and what to use on a given stream you can make things happen in even the worst conditions. For this, the only answer is practice. Learn how fish behave under various conditions, in certain spots during all times of year and what bugs they ate under those circumstances.
#1 : Water Temps
Most people I talk to ask about what fly to use or what section of river to fish or a dozen other questions without ever considering the role of water temperature. Trout are cold blooded so the temperature of their environment plays a major role in how they behave. If its cold, they are going to hold in deep slow water and move much less than they might at warmer temps. Further, water temperature is the main thing that triggers aquatic insect hatches. There is one major factor that influences how fish move and where they hold and what they eat and most people don't even consider it until it gets too hot on a summer afternoon and nobody is catching anything. Paying more attention to water temperatures in your fishing is a good way to get into that 10% who are catching 90% of the fish.
Madison River 2016:Our 2016 prices are up in the book a trip section of the site...They have not changed! Although winter is just beginning to settle in on the Madison river, we are already preparing for the 2016 fishing season. Dates are booking up fast this year so now is the time to plan a trip. The prices for our Madison River float trips have not changed but we are expecting some pretty significant changes for the fishery this year. Perhaps the biggest news coming in 2016 is that the upper Madison River will now be open YEAR ROUND!
Earlier this year the Montana Department of Fish, Wildlife and parks proposed and took public comment on several changes to the regulations governing the use of the Madison River. The most significant of the approved changes will be that the Madison River will now be open to fishing from Hebgan Lake to Ennis Lake year round. A public meeting to discuss the Madison river rule changes with FWP biologists was held in Ennis. The meeting was an interesting one with a strong emotional reaction heard from the public. A portion of the proposal aimed to simplify the rules by making the entire river open to killing one trout per day. The strongest opinion seemed to be against this change despite urging from biologist that opening 1/3 of the Madison River to taking 1 fish per day and reducing 2/3 of the river to the same limit from the current 5 fish limit would reduce the overall numbers taken. Further, it seemed that nobody had read the portion of the proposal that would make the Madison River from Hebgan dam to Ennis Lake artificial only and outlaw bait fishing. Judging from the public response to the proposal as a whole, it seemed as though the entire thing might be thrown out. The biologist noted that whether approved or not there would likely be little impact to the fishery in terms of strength and population. Rather the intention was to simplify complicated regulations and create more public access by opening more of the river year round. I for one am in favor of more public access to our fisheries and am excited to be able to fish and guide on the upper sections of the Madison River during April and May this year. These are some of the best months to fish the Madison with relativly few other anglers around. Opening weekend may not be as silly as it used to be but this should be a really fun spring to get out on the upper Madison River. Fall Fly fishing in MontanaThis year fall was a great time to be fly fishing in southwest Montana. Lots of big fish hit the net and there was no shortage of really nice days to be on the rivers and lakes. Fall and early winter are one of my favorite times of year to be on the water. The cotton woods and willows are turning yellow, the light is low and beautiful and the big browns are out of there summer haunts. Without a doubt October and November are the best times of year to hunt for that brown trout of a lifetime. Lake fish that are uncatchable in the summer move into our rivers where anglers actually have a chance at them. Never knowing what you might hook into on the next cast is exhilarating through the fall even after having seen a seasons worth of Montana trout on the fly.
The Madison river near Ennis Montana fished really well this fall. As the summer crowds faded and the weather cooled the fish really seemed to start feeding on bigger flies with the kind of recklessness that we usually see in the spring. The Madison is performing well into the late season, depending on the weather there might be a nice enough day or afternoon to get out. It's been a busy summer and we are finally moving into fall. The willows on the banks of the Madison river are starting to change colors and we have seen some of those cold rainy days that we always do in September. Fishing has been good for the most part. We have seen good streaks and tough streaks on the Madison. The numbers are not what they were in the spring but the big fish have started feeding harder. I don't think that I have ever seen as many gorged fat 18-21 inch rainbow trout on the Madison as I have in the past month. The girth on some of them is amazing. We should continue to see plenty of hogs hit the net over the next month or so as the browns become aggressive in preparation for spawning.
Lots of big fish have been caught lately...here are a few that I had a chance to get a photo of: |
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April 2019
AuthorCaptain Garrett Blackburn - Outfitter and guide on the rivers of southwest Montana. Categories
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