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August 2009

Jimmy's All Seasons Angler / 2009 / August (Page 3)

Southwestern Montana 8-24-09

Gulpers are going great guns on Hebgen, Ennis and Quake lakes.  The Madison River below Slide Inn on down to Ennis is in a great fishing mood.   On such as the Gallatin and Madison River drainages it is time to include spruce moth patterns in your fly boxes.

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Yellowstone Park 8-24-09

Terrestrials, particularly ant and hopper patterns, are bringing action on almost all streams.  Don’t overlook presenting ant patterns on lakes.  Carry cinnamon and black patterns of various sizes in order to be ready for which are attracting fish. And remember lakes such as Beula, Cascade and Grebe have great ant flights this time of the season.

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Mainstem Snake River 8-24-09

Walk-in wade fishing opportunities are getting more numerous as the river is flowing at close to normal amounts.   Best fishing seems to be below Blackfoot, but evening streamers will produce just about anywhere.  This is also the time of year where ant flights attract fish, so be sure to carry various dry and wet ant patterns whenever you fish the river.

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Henry’s Fork 8-24-09

The best times on the lower river are early and late in the day.  Streamers are a good choice either time with caddis life cycle patterns and hopper patterns effective during evenings.  Morning spinner falls can result in some action.  Small beadhead nymphs work during both times.   On the upper river there are several mayfly hatches including tricos, speckled duns, small PMDs, and a few mahogany duns.  But the best action can be found through fishing ant and other terrestrial patterns.  Best tactics for Box Canyon includes small beadhead nymphs and early and late day streamers.

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South Fork 8-24-09

Flow out of Palisades Dam is up to a bit over 9000 cfs because of pre-harvest irrigation demands.  In no way has this small and temporary increase hurt fishing.  Yesterday’s rainy weather made for a great day on the river.  As if to preview things to come this September,  BWOs and a few mahogany duns were coming out in riffles already featuring PMD, slate cream dun, and caddis activity.   This along with the currently great hopper and chernobyl fishing makes for some of the best top water fishing in the region.

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Mikey’s Big South Fork Cutt

Word has gotten out about the superb dry fly fishing making the canyon and Swan Valley reaches a bit crowded  with boat traffic.   To get away from much of this traffic consider floating the lower river from the Lorenzo access on U. S. Highway 20 to the Menan access. True, it makes for a relatively short float compared to the canyon, but riffles, side channels, and spring holes are in plenty and will tempt you to stop and fish.  The fare is brown trout with occasional cutts and bows, all of which are currently active on the surface.

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Southwestern Montana 8-20-09

Big news here is that Hebgen Lake gulpers are very active. This means getitng out on the lake and fishing mornings to near mid day and praying for wind to hold off.   Fishing on the Madison River (see our last few reports for details) is holding up and so is that on the Beaverhead.

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Still Waters 8-20-09

Fish are mostly at depth, so leeches presented deep or midge pupa at depth and under a strike indicator are the best ways to find action.  We are past the peak of best still water fishing, but things will pick up.  Springfield Res. has been slow fishing.   Chesterfield Res. is spotty, Daniels and Hawkins reservoirs both have good water pool which bodes well for fall fishing.

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Big Lost River 8-20-09

Flows out of Mackay Dam are dropping, now near the 400 cfs mark. So we are heading in the right direction for safer wading and better surface action.   Tricos are  making an appearance, so with dropping flows, they will become more  important in trout diets.

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Main Stem Snake River 8-20-09

With flows a bit less than normal on most of the river, now is the time to consider walk-in wade fishing.  As on the South Fork, riffles are now great locations for dry fly action.  There are several locations along the river for trying these.   Get in touch with us for information on which seem to be worth trying.  Be sure to include streamer pattern in your fly box if you fish the river during evenings.

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