Oh, how the winds of fate and fishing provide adventures.
On our early-season trip to the Big Hole River, we were greeted with scattered rain, cold temperatures, and strong winds. The conditions tested rowers and casters, but all forged undaunted and found success on one of the most beautiful rivers in the West.
Multiple strategies were tried, with a Streamer/Nymph combo being the best. Right now, is a great time to enjoy the water by yourself and catch some awesome views and great fish!
Nymphs: Delektable FB Sparkle Kaboom Stone #6-#10; Wire Worm Pink or Red #4-#6; Delektable Hurless Nymph Olive FB #8-#10; Lightning Bug Gold #16-#18; Pat’s Rubberlegs Black/Brown or Olive/Brown #6-#10; Delektable Lil’ Spanker PT #18-#20.
Dries: Delektable Mega 2 Tone Chubbyness UV Dark Olive #12-#14; MFC Water Walker Skwala #10-#12; Para Adams #12-#14; Delektable CDC Elk Hair Caddis Holographic Olive #14; Delektable Sparkle Bug Dark Olive #14.
Happy St. Patrick’s Day from the crew at Beartooth Flyfishing! All the residents of the Madison Valley have been blessed with some beautiful mild weather recently and the fishing has been excellent. If the Dry Fly game is what you want you can find that up high in the Wade Section with Midges, which have been very active on calmer days. But if you want numbers the Nymphing right now is tremendous. The flows on the Upper Madison currently stand at 864cfs at Kirby and 1,090cfs at Cameron.
Dan was able to get out on the river with our Shop Manager Ryan on St. Patrick’s Day and again with one of our guides Sean on Tuesday, March 21st. We also sent our first guide trip of 2024 out on the 21st as well. Each of these trips were blessed with Sunny Skies, Mild temps flirting with 60 degrees, and No “W”!! The fishing with Nymphs was simply amazing. Double Stonefly Rigs, or a Stone trailed by a smaller Pheasant Tail or Midge pattern was extremely popular with our Trout friends living in the River. Nice Trout were being hooked throughout the River. The banks, behind and to the sides of boulders, and in the heavy water with depth in the middle of the River as well. Rods were bent consistently throughout each of the trips and the Trout of the Madison are Fat, Healthy, and Happy!
We haven’t heard of any consistent Streamer reports recently. But a properly placed chunk of Bunny Fur could certainly pay dividends either dead drifted or stripped slowly.
My last day of Flyfishing for 2023. I jumped in the Durango and drove to the Madison River behind our Lodge. Fished on of my favorite little pools for about an hour or less. A pair of Bald Eagles watched me catch the entire time. 13 Trout later, a mix of Brown & Rainbow Trout, I was all done. It took me longer to get my gear together at home than it did to go and fish! The flies of the day were Delektable Flashback Hurless Stone #8, Delektable Kaboom Stone #8 and one of my New Delektable JH Energizer Hare’s Ears #16 (which will be in the shop this Summer)! As always the pictures tell the rest of the story!
This year most of the Delektable Family and extended family (Dan, Allie, DJ and our good brother Jeff Willson) experienced an epic fall Steelhead run on the famous Rogue River in Southern Oregon. What an incredible trip and while the photos tell the best story, below are some Rogue River musings from the infamous Steelhead Fisher Folks.
From DJ:
I had the privilege of accompanying my love, Allie (affectionately known as the Lil Spanker) and her father, Big Dan (affectionately known as the Big Spanker) on an adventure to Southern Oregon; specifically Shady Cove, for some BIG Game Steelhead fishing on the Rogue River. The experience was one I will never forget, and one that I hope to add to again this time next year.
The Rogue is a magical and beautiful place. And after many many casts on the third day of pounding the water, I finally felt the power and exhilaration of landing one of the prized ocean run Steelhead on a Beartooth 9ft, 7WT Kingslayer! The Delektable Lime Juice and Orange Juice were effective bugs and we fished them regularly the first leg of the trip. On the second leg the Delektable JH Spanker PT, the new Delektable Purple Kaboom Stone and the Delektable Hammerhead PT were game changers. Who knew Steelhead ate Trout flies? Dan of course. The Dry Dropper rig (fishing a Delektable Chubby with two nymphs below) for shallow stretches was deadly.
None of it would have been possible without the assistance of the Fishin’ Hole Fly Shop crew and their amazing breakfasts, the lodging and hospitality of my new friend Jeff Willson (we share the same Birthday, wow), his Rhodesian Ridgeback hounds Maximas Super and Samuel and his wonderful woman Jules and her prepacked meals. Last but not least, Dan the Man, for his rowing, advice, fishing prowess, boundless patience and tenacity in helping me be indoctrinated into the group of successful Steelhead Fly Fisherman.
From Dan:
3 Weeks of rowing, casting, catching, driving and working out at the gym in Southern Oregon on the Rogue River = Total Soul Food. Forever memories made of family, friends, leaves turning colors and the warmth of Oregon in the fall. I’ll let the pictures tell the rest of the story.
From Allie:
How lucky I am to be a part of this big fishing family that takes myself and loved ones to the most incredible places! The Rogue River is my top Happy place. The warm Southern Oregon Fall, spending time with my two favorite guys, wait 3 Jeff Wilson too. And taking in the amazing journey of these epic trout from river to ocean to river again. Steelhead Camp has my most ultimate exaltation and the people who make it possible to keep this glorious fishery alive have my utter most thanks. Soul food, baby, soul food.
Remember Brown Trout and Whitefish are beginning to spawn; play your fish quickly, if you must snap a picture do so quickly and take off your gloves before handling. Pay attention to where you’re wading, avoid lighter colored pea gravel and if you see fish spawning let them do so in peace. We all must take care of our precious resource; little acts of preparedness and consciousness go a long way to keeping our beautiful river and trout protected for generations to come.
Legends of the Fall are being created this Mid-October! We may have seen the last of the sweet days of Fall this week. Prior to our first Valley Snow the big front brought an uptick in catching and a huge drop off following. Seems that every creature of the Madison Valley has started to hibernate for the Winter. Those cold mornings sure make it harder to get out of bed but no worries, the Fish feel the same way!
Streamflows are at their Winter set point, Kirby at 886cfs and Cameron at 1,066cfs. We should see little fluctuations in flows from this point until Spring. BWO’s and Midges are still popping but look for them in the heat of the day. Nymphing has still been very productive and Stoneflies with a tungsten bead trailer have been working consistently. Trout are lethargic and slower moving this time of the year and will be going into the Winter months. Waking up, enjoying a warm brew (maybe pack some with you too) and taking your time before getting on the Water (fishing during the heat of the day in a 2-3 hour window) will be your best success as you and the Trout are sufficiently warmed up for the day and ready to play!
At Beartooth Flyfishing we have had a fantastic season here on the Upper Madison River! We are so grateful and thankful for all our Customers, Guides and Dear Friends that keep our business alive and thriving. We stay open during the entire Winter however our hours have changed to Tuesday through Saturday 9am to 5pm, closed Sunday and Monday. We will be having some awesome Markdowns and Sales coming in November so come on by, get the best free coffee on the river and check out the shop without the crazy crowds of the Summer. Who knows what treasure you could find!
Nymphs: Delektable Guide Stone Olive/Brown, Black, or Black/Brown #8-#10; Delektable FB Sparkle Kaboom Stone #8-#10; Delektable Mega Prince STD FB #8-#10; Standard Flashback PT #16-#18; Geppert’s Master Emerger #18; Delektable Lil’ Spanker Red, Silver, Blue or PT #16-#18; JH Zebra Midge Red or Black #18-#20; Copper John Red #16-#18; Splitback BWO #18-#20; Delektable Prince Brandon #14-#16; Psycho Prince Purple or Yellow #16-#18; Delektable Twinkle Red, Black or Olive #18-#20; Wire Worm Red #6-#8; Delektable JH Hammerhead GTBH Prince or Hare’s Ear #16-#18.
Dries: BWO Para Sipper #18-#22; Sparkle Dun BWO #20; Delektable Curved Hook Ranch BWO #18; Snowshoe Emerger BWO #20; Hi Vis BWO Spinner #20; Delektable Teaser BWO or Adams #18-#20; Black Sipper Midge #18-#20; Hi Vis Griffiths Gnat #18-#20; Para Adams #18-#20; Carlson’s Purple Craze #18-#20; Delektable Lil’ Chubby Royal or Goldrush #14-#18; Parachute Madam X Orange #10.
Streamers: Delektable Single Screamer White/Olive, Yellow, Black, Spawning, or Black/Olive #6; Galloup’s Sex Dungeon Olive/Black Barred #6; Sculpzilla Natural or Olive #4-#8; Zonker Copper/Natural, Olive or Pearl #4-#6; McCune’s Sculpin Olive #4-#8; Dali Llama Olive/White or Olive/Black #6; Delektable SS Jointed or Double Screamer Black/Olive, White/Olive, White or Spawning; JR’s Conehead Olive #6; Coffey’s CH Sparkle Minnow Sculpin or JJ #6; Trevor’s Sculpin Olive #4.
