|
Area Rivers |
|
The Beaverhead River |
|
|
|
The main stem of the Beaverhead is a tailwater stream flowing out of Clark
Canyon Reservoir before joining the Big Hole near Twin Bridges to create
the Jefferson. Swift flows with densely brushed banks make it a
boating and casting adventure for the angler. A mixture of dry flies
and nymphs is used to entice the sizable population of large rainbow that
inhabit it's serpentine bends. the Adams remains the most popular
and productive of all trout dry patterns from coast to coast. A
creation of Michigan's Leonard Halliday in 1922, the original featured a
hackle fiber tail but the western tie popularized by Dan Bailey used moose
or elk hair. Like most Montana rivers the Beaverhead has healthy
midseason hatches of two of the west's predominate mayflies, the Blue
Winged Olive and Pale Morning Dun. These can be matched with a
variety of fly styles from the standard to the sidewinder to the
comparadun to the emergers with trailing shuck. The August-September
emergence of the Cranefly is a legendary annual ritual on the Beaverhead
with skittered variants and skater patterns producing explosive
strikes. This healthy population of craneflies probably accounts for
the productivity of such nymphs as the Girdle Bug and the Prince Numph
which seem to approximate the larval form. |
|
The Ruby River |
|
|
|
The Ruby is a tributary of the Beaverhead and presents the
angler with a smaller version of the main river. It's best early and
late in the season due to the off color water that comes out of the
upstream reservoir. The Ruby's mid season hatch of light brown
mayflies recommends patterns like the Ginger Quill or March Brown. While lacking the large salmonfly the Ruby holds a good population of
golden stones and the small yellow stonefly known locally as the Yellow
Sally. Caddis flies, in a variety of colors and sizes, are abundant
on most of Montana's freestone rivers and offer consistent midseason
action. Al Troth's Elk Hair Caddis is one of the most popular all
around imitations, a descendent of the original Trude patterns. Nymph fishing is poplular and productive on the Ruby with the Hare's Ear
and Pheasant Tail among the most versatile. |
|
The Jefferson River |
|
|
The Jefferson joins the Madison and
Gallatine at Three Forks to create the Missouri. Less well known
than the Madison, the Jefferson offers excellent western freestone fishing
in largely uncrowded conditions. Western attractor dry flies like
the Wulffs, all around traditional ties like the Adams, Parachute Adams
and Light Cahill, large weighted stonefly nymphs, bushy adult stones, and
varieties of streamer patterns are in common use along with some of the
more imitative type flies. The Humpy is a standard western pattern
probably originated by California tyer Jack Horner but popularized by Dan
Bailey as the Goofus Bug. Upright divided wings and multiple hackle
is combined with a "hump" of hollow hair pulled over the back
and tied down to trap air pockets. Humpies are tied in a variety of
color schemes with the Yellow, Orange, Royal, and Blonde among the most
useful. Grasshoppers become a popular trout food as the late summer
moves into early fall on many western trout waters and it is advisable to
be well stocked with patterns like this clipped deer hair model in the
Dave Whitlock style. The fore and aft hackled Renegade has been a
western standard since its origination by Sun Valley Idaho tyer Taylor
Williams in the late 1930's. |
The Big Hole River |
|
|
The cool upper reaches of the Big Hole hold
one of the last populations of grayling in the lower 48. Near Twin
Bridges the Big Hole joins with the Beaverhead to form the
Jefferson. The Big Hole's famed salmonfly hatch often occurs during
the high water of runoff but working shorelines with a plopping imitation
like Al Troth's MacSalmonfly can bring the river's fish up with a
rush. Randall Kaufmann's Stimulator is a popular imitation of the
golden stonefly that follows the more famous salmonfly hatch. Angling legend Joe Brooks so favored the old Michigan Hopper for his
Montana fishing that it became known as Joe's Hopper. The downwing
Trude Coachman, an early Western hairwing pattern, is an effective
representative of the Royal Coachman family of attractor flies. Large weighted nymphs like the Yuk Bug, Wooly Worm and Bitch Creek are
effective throughout the season due to the healthy population of large
stonefly numphs. |
|
The Madison River |
|
|
|
In Yellowstone Park the Firehole and Gibbon combine waters
to create the Madison, probably Montana's most famous trout river,
providing over 100 miles of outstanding trout fishing down to Three Forks,
MT. It's June/July hatch of large stoneflies (Salmonflies) is
legendary and a major fishing event in the west. Many unusual
concoctions have been devised to imitate these large insects including Pat
Barnes' Seven Mile Bridge with large trout rising to wulff style patterns
like the Royal Wulff and Grizzly Wulff were popularized in Montana by fly
shop owner Dan Bailey, a lifelong friend of Lee Wulff. The Hairwing
Variant or House and Lot was President Eisenhower's favorite
pattern. Oversized hackle and white kip wings combine to make it a
visible high floating attractor. |
|
River information by Tony P. Hill,
Lamplight Fly & Feather
 |
|
