Big Hole River 7540 cfs
The river is starting to drop but ever so slowly. I do believe it has hit the second peak and will continue to drop. Fishing has not been the best even with the Salmon Flies around. Much of the river is so fast you have to be really quick to hit the pockets
Search and Rescue has suspended the search for a man who swamped his raft betweeen Melrose and Brown’s Bridge three days ago. Apparently he hit a log (sweeper) and his boat swamped. A friend in another raft rescued one person and said the last he saw of the other was he was floating on his back and back stroking which is the right thing to do. They went after him but never found him. I don’t know exactly what happened and nobody does. After talking with a FWP official it looks like inexperience on the oars was a factor.
The only people who should be on the river from Wise River down stream are professional guides and outfitters and experienced oarsman. There is no problem with floating it if you know what your doing.
I have canceled or rescheduled several trips due to the high water. If I figure it’s just going to be a boat ride I won’t go and my clients appreciate that. I figure I will make it up later in the summer as the Big Hole should fish really well and with plenty of water through the season. I look for August to be top of the chart.