I've just returned from a four day fishing trip in southwest Montana on the Big Hole River. My good friends Chris Stump of Jackson, and Campbell Hough of Boulder, Colorado, embarked for Melrose Montana last Wednesday and floated for four days. This trip had been planned for a couple of months, with much anticipation. Prior to leaving, I had been checking streamflow data and weather reports daily, wondering what to expect. Spring fishing is always a roll of the dice. This area of Montana had been enjoying the same weather that we had in Jackson for much of late March...cloudy, cold and wet. We arrived the first day to find a low (550 cfs), clear river, with good reports from the previous day. The main hatch that anglers chase this time of year is the skwala stonefly...and we hit it perfectly! The first three days yielded excellent results using dry skwala patterns. Twitching big dries in fishy water got tons of fish up. By Saturday night, the skies cleared and the temps warmed up. Arriving on the river Sunday morning, we found a much higher, dirtier stream. Unfortunately, the river is now completely blown out...it's running over 2000 cfs as of today. Cool weather this week should bring it back down. What a great way to start the season! More stories from the trip in the next post. Enjoy!
1 comment:
Looks like a lot of fun on some beautiful water mark. That's what it's all about.
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