The Big Hole is still dropping despite the record rainfall in July and near record rainfall in August. The night time temps have been hovering around freezing making for slow morning fishing that doesn’t pick up until about 10:30. The summer stones have been hatching in the Maiden Rock canyon, and they are a very dark stone. I have been using a brown gypsy king in a size 6 and had very good fishing as long as the clouds roll in.
The bright sun in the last couple of days have made for really tough days. The Trico hatch has still been fantastic, getting most of the fish on a very small gray comparadun behind a purple haze or a caddis. The spruce moths did not show up this year but there are enough moths out to get good eats on big caddis patterns or a madam X. Underneath has been hit and miss. The bubble back pheasant tail has been my best nymph, but dry flies have been more consistent.
I have been getting a lot of calls about the river levels and where you can still float. The river is very low but still near the average for this time of year. The irrigation is slowing so we are looking forward to seeing a bump in the river levels soon. We are still floating between Jerry Creek and Browns bridge. It is raft season so don’t bring a hard boat unless you have to.
Lia and I will be down at the Jaycee Rodeo this weekend in Dillon, if you get a chance come down and say hi, we will be in the beer gardens on the west side of the arena.
With the arrival of September we will be shifting to late season hours. Monday through Saturday 8 AM to 5 PM and Sunday 8 AM to 3 PM.