TOP BET: YELLOWSTONE'S SLOUGH CREEK: With water dropping quick it's time for you to strap up the laces and hike into the meadows section of Slough Creek...or not. You can find equally good fishing on the section of Slough that runs below the campground and is secured with a three-minute tromp, versus a multi-mile march to the meadows. If you choose to fish anywhere on the creek, you'll find PMDs and some gray drakes on the water. That's the word from Dick Greene at Bud Lilly's Fly Shop in West Yellowstone.
"Slough Creek and Soda Butte Creek are about ready to be on fire," Greene said. "The gray drakes are coming off on both streams and the fish really crush them. We fish a size-12 parachute quill-body gray drake and that works really well. I fish in the riffles and at the heads of runs with those patterns, but I run them along the cut banks, too. On Soda Butte you get a lot of 10-to 13-inch fish, but some 15 and 16-inch fish, too. They are eager eaters.
"On Slough," Greene continued, "we're seeing those gray drakes, too. We fish the quill-body gray drake and cripples, too. On Slough the fish are a little larger, about 15-to 17 inches on average. On lower Slough you can get some hybrids that are bigger than that."
Greene noted that the Yellowstone River within the Park opens tomorrow (July 15) and should be good. Good these days means a few big fish, but not the massive numbers of the past. "We'll see PMDs on the Yellowstone tomorrow and maybe some salmonflies and golden stones, too. You don't blind cast for those fish; you look for them. You look for bugs and feeding fish and then you work them. If they're rising to PMDs try a size-18 Sparkle Dun or a Para Quill-Body. Those cutthroats average 18- to 20 inches. There are no small ones."
Lastly, Greene suggested the Gallatin River as a nice option on the west side of the Park. The water has dropped, sallies, PMDs and caddis are coming off and once the morning chill wears off the fish are tearing up attractor dries. A warning, however: Green says that one or more grizzly bears are on the prowl from Specimen Creek all the to Bighorn Pass. Let's see, fish caddis until dark and hike out through the meadow in pitch black? If you're braver than me...
CADDIS MADNESS: MADISON RIVER, MONTANA: I've heard reports that the upper Madison has been average at best, at least from Ennis upstream to West Fork Bridge. But the river is banging them out above there and I have first-hand experience to back that up. Fished below Three-Dollar Bridge on Monday night and it was a caddis blitz from about 8:30 or 9 p.m. through dark. I got off the river at 10:40 p.m. and fish were still eating caddis.
According to Kelly Galloup at Slide Inn, that's not going to change anytime soon. "There are three different kinds of caddis going on right now, but you only need a size-14 tan Butch caddis or an X-Caddis to match them," Galloup said. "Olive is a good color, too, although after 9 (p.m.) color doesn't matter."
Galloup added, "There's also a great spinnerfall in the evening and you can match that with a size-16 tan or Rusty Spinner. You could go size-14, too, and try a cream body. We'll probably continue to have golden stones and salmonflies up here through the weekend, but that may die next week. The unsung heros right now are ants and beetles. Everyone waits until August to throw them, but I went out a week ago and railed the shit out of them with a cinnamon ant. One more thing that's happening and will only get better is the Callibeatis fishing on Quake and Hebgen (reservoirs). It's really good right now and next week should be off the charts. Try a size-16 Hacklestacker on top and a size-14 gray Hare's Ear underneath."
DREAM STREAM: ROCK CREEK, MONTANA: Rock Creek is running higher than usual, but its definitely going to drop and even at current flows wade fishers are finding plenty of places to take their shots. Most of the pressure is upstream around the Microburst area, but Doug Perico, who runs Rock Creek Fisherman's Mercantile, says fishing should be great all along the creek now that it's slipping into a summer pattern.
And what's that pattern? "We see a solid PMD hatch in the morning that starts just as the sun hits the water," Persico noted. "I like to fish a Parachute Adams up front and drop a Quigley Cripple or a Sparle Dun behind it.
"In the evening," Persico continued, "right as the sun gets off the water, we see a great caddis hatch and it gets better as the night goes on. Elk-Hairs are working for that, Goddards are doing well, too. An X-Caddis is a good choice, too, and all of those should be size-14 or size-16."
Persico said that during the day you can catch fish on Princes and Hare's Ears, Copper Johns and Pheasant Tails.
DROPPING FOR DRY FLIES: BIGHORN RIVER: The Bighorn's flow was cut back from 9,000 cubic feet a second to 5,000 cfs and the dry fly fishing should get better because of that. That's the word from Andrew Schriener at Bighorn Fly & Tackle in Billings and Fort Smith.
"This week and next week look really good," Schriener said. "The dry-fly fishing has really come on with lots of PMDs, caddis and yellow sallies. Those PMDs come off around 9 or 10 a.m. and we match them with crippled PMDs, like the Quigley Cripple. You'll also see sallies in the morning but I've heard that they are all over the place in the afternoons and just before sunset. To match those throw a Flint's Stone, which is yellow with a red butt, in size 16. A 14 might work, too. And keep your eyes out for hoppers and bang the banks with a size-14 Grand Hopper. Not all the fish will come up for it, but some are already eating."
BEAVERHEAD RIVER, MONTANA: The water is still running cool (55 degrees out of Clark Canyon Reservoir) and fishing is good with solid PMD hatches and the standard afternoon/evening caddis action. According to Tim Tollett, at Frontier Anglers in Dillon, those PMDs, yellow sallies and caddis make the river a great bet right now and the Beav stands to get better as soon as flows increase a little.
"I think we may see those flows next week," Tollett predicted, "and that will help fishing because it spreads the trout out and you get more edges to fish with dry flies. People are fishing the whole river right now, even behind town (Dillon) and our PMDs are coming off around 1 p.m. Underneath we're going with PT Cruisers or Lawson's Halfback Emerger. On top we use size-16 Cripples or Sparkle Spiders. This PMD show will go on for another two or three weeks. You may also see a PMD spinnerfall in the afternoon or evening and you can match that with a size-16 olive or Rusty Spinner."
The Beaverhead's caddis are coming off all day long. Tollet says those caddis are typically green in July and tan in August, but right now there are a mix of colors, both tan and olive. The fish are taking size-14 and 16 LaFontaine Emergent Sparkle pupa on top and underneath they are chowing Deep Sparkle Pupa and Emerging Death. You'll also see yellow sallies on the Beav, from 2 p.m. to 7 p.m.—fish a size-12 -to 16 Stimi or a Headlight Sally on top. Underneath pull a yellow PT Cruiser or a Mercer's Micro Stonefly.
DRAKES AND STONES: BIG HOLE RIVER, MONTANA: This river continues to show off some green and brown drakes along with a smattering of stoneflies. PMDs, sallies and caddis are abundant, too. And the water level is great from top to bottom, meaning all the way to Notch Bottom and Pennington Bridge. If you're going to fish the Big Hole this weekend or next week, bring a heavy supply of big attractor dries in size-10, 12 and 14. According to Tollett, gray Wulffs, Royal Wulffs and even Humpies are crushing.
"The Big Hole is fishing well throughout the river and we just had a guy catch a 24-inch brown on a dry fly," he noted. "The water temps are cool this year and thats making the Big Hole's bug life go on and on."
DEATH TO THE RODENT: SILVER CREEK, IDAHO: The report here mirrors last week's with PMDs and Baetis and just the beginnings of a Trico spinnerfall. Also there are Callibaeti
s on the sloughs. What intrigues me is what John Huber, at Ketchum on the Fly, told me today—he said, "We have a mice infestation this year and the trout are on them. It's a nighttime deal but you can get them skating just about anything. It's like steelhead fishing in the dark. Any solid mouse pattern will work and I figure a steelhead bomber or big foam pattern would get them, too."
CROWDED OUT: SOUTH FORK BOISE, IDAHO: I like to concentrate on the best opportunities in this report, but it's probably valuable to know what to avoid, too. And you may want to avoid the South Fork Boise for a week or two. According to Huber, it's getting hammered. "I'd go back a week from now and fish Pink Alberts and grasshoppers. But right now I wouldn't get close to it."
BIG WOOD RIVER, IDAHO: Huber says that the green drake hatch should continue through the weekend and he still describes the emergence as "sick." The river continues to drop and offers a variety of mayflies in various sizes. What does that mean—bring your green drake patterns and also carry a variety of Parachute Adams' to cover the other bugs. And, in another week or two, be ready for hoppers.
EARLY METAL: DESCHUTES RIVER, OREGON: Got the steelhead bug? The Deschutes is pretty much your option right now, but you may want to hold off on a long drive until the water cools. According to Travis Johnson at Deschutes Angler, the water temperature stands at 70 and it needs to be at 65 degrees or even lower for prime action.
"I'm not saying you can't catch steelhead right now, and one of these days someone is going to come in here and say they got 20 fish or something, but right now it's too warm and we need a change in the weather," Johnson said. "All of the fish are in the lower 26 miles right now and more are in the Columbia (River), waiting to come up. The good news is the trout fishing is great right now and we have dead caddis in the morning and emergers in the evening. The trout are happy so if you're coming this way that's probably what you need to focus on unless you find a steelhead at first or last light."
Fished the upper Madison, below Three Dollar Bridge, on Monday with former Seattle Mariner All-Star Jay Buhner, his brother and a friend. The Bone throws a tight loop and is a dedicated angler. We stayed on the water until 10:30 p.m. and saw a major caddis event and a salmonfly blitz. The big bugs never made it to the water, but the caddis gave us lots of surface action, right along the banks and in the seams. According to Kelly Galloup at Slide Inn, that caddis action is a sure thing every night and it will get better as July progresses. Hit it now if you can. It's well worth it.
