Big Hole 161 cfs Beaverhead 409 cfs
We floated the Beaverhead today from Hennebery to Grasshopper Ck. and did not see a soul, no boats, no wade fisherman—nobody. I was starting to wonder if that river was closed also. We got a late start so maybe there were a few in front of us but I didn’t see any rigs at the take out. There was absolutely nothing happening on top when we started but rather than going with nymphs we tried a couple streamers and had a lot of short takes and chasers. After only catching a few with this method we tried some hopper patterns and stayed with them the rest of the day. They were pretty picky on which hopper pattern they wanted but we found one they hit consistantly. No really big fish to speak of but lots of action and we didn’t have to go with nymphs. There is a fair amount of moss on the Beav. but with using a streamer with very little weight and the hoppers we had no problem with it at all.
The forecast for tomorrow is for much cooler and north west winds with gusts reaching 45 mph. Sure glad I’m not on the Madison tomorrow. You wouldn’t need a shuttle, the wind would blow you back to the point where you started. I’ll be on the Madison Thursday — maybe –if the wind subsides.