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Oh, Believe It
It's Terrestrial Time Baby!
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Cast A Winston Contest
Stop In and Cast a Winston
& You Could Win Six
Details Below | |
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Phew, it's finally cooling off here in Montana, and guess what?
The fishing is heating up! Thursday was a perfect example, we floated
from Varney to Ennis and the morning was great nymphing and streamer
fishing, and by the late morning it was terrestrial time! Hoppers,
ants, and beetles were all bringing up fish to the surface, and some
darn good ones too. All you need to do is get out a little early and
once the sun heats things up, switch over to some hopper patterns.
So now that it's cooled down some, and fishing seems to have taken
a turn for the better, where should you be headed, and what should you
be using when you get there?
Read on, check out the reports, plot a course for the weekend, and
then stop in before you head out to pick up the patterns and get the
first hand advice on where to go.
If you're headed out early or late, stop by in the mornings or evenings, we're open 7am to 7pm 7 days a week.
Good fishing,
Kris |
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Where Do I Go to Pitch Hoppers??? 
Well, like a lot of things in fishing, there
are places better than others for pitching grasshoppers and
terrestrials, read on for some suggestions for where to slam a brown or
rainbow on a terrestrial.
The Upper Madison
This seems like an obvious choice for me. I
have always had good dry fly fishing with terrestrials on the Madison
during the month of August. Especially now since the fish have a
little less water to hold in than they did a week ago, they are more
predictable, and tend to eat dries better.
The Stillwater River
This is another great river for pitching
terrestrials. Whether it's up high above where the Rosebud comes in, or
down lower towards Swinging Bridge, hopper fishing can be pretty darn
good. It's also a great one to throw a dropper - be it a nymph or dry
off the back of the hopper.
The lower Boulder is pretty low right now,
and pretty warm, but get up high into the national forest area and the
fishing on terrestrials is quite good. I've had some great days on this
river during the summer, not always the biggest fish, but always
beautiful and always fun.
Gasp...What? The Yellowstone? It's closed
after 2pm... Yeah after 2, between 11 and 2 the dry fly fishing on
hoppers in riffles and along some banks can be quite good, and if
you're wondering, yes the recent rains and cool weather have helped to
drop the water temps to the lowest they have been in a while. My
favorite hopper river hands down.
The Beaverhead
Another great river within a couple hours of
Bozeman that often gets overlooked by local anglers, but not traveling
anglers. Terrestrials are the name of the game on the Beav during the
summer, along with a good trico hatch, this is a great dry fly fishery
when it's on.
Tributaries and Smaller Streams
I've spoken of these in some of my reports,
but I simply won't name all of them off, some things are better left
for you to discover on your own. Here's my favorite thing about
Montana, get a gazeteer, find a stream somewhere, drive there, take a
fly rod, chances are if there's water in it you can catch fish in it...
These can be your secret spot!
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Featuring Mountain Lake Adventures
We
had some people enquire after the last email about how these trips
work. It's easy, you call us, we book Ron, we supply the float
tubes and packs if you don't have your own, you supply the legs
and enthusiasm and the lakes provide the monster fish. It's a nice
hike, and a great way to get into some fantastic fish in a beautiful
setting.
We
are pleased to have Ron Stafford on staff this year as Ron brings with
him an intimate knowledge of some lesser known lakes where you can
catch some monster fish.
Why not be the guy on a trip who gets to catch a toad like this on a grasshopper or ant pattern?
If
this is something that interests you, please call us at the shop @
800/646-7847 and we can arrange to have Ron take you out on a trip you
likely won't forget.
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Under Armour Gear 
Trying to not sound like a broken record, but this stuff has
to be seen and worn to be appreciated. Serious gear for serious
fishermen, and it looks good on you...
AND IT'S ON SALE!!!
25% Off On All Under Armour Clothing
Sale Ends August 31st, Supplies Limited to Stock on Hand | |
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So What Do I Fish?
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So now you have a place picked out, or maybe a secret spot in mind. What should you have along for flies?
Well in addition to your standard nymphs and dries, grab a few of the patterns below for increased success.
Hoppers: Well, there are plenty of standby patterns out there, but why not try a few new ones? Here are a few I have fished and like.
The Hopper Popper
So you've heard me talk about it, here it
is. Glorious, effective, and a lot of fun to fish. Try one out, chances
are even if you don't catch a thing, you'll love this bug.
V Dub Hopper
A
good attractor hopper that I really like for small streams with lots of
flash and of course the reason it works so well, 3D eyes!
Stalcup's Hopper
This
thing improved on the Whit's Hopper, tough to do, and is one of my
favorite match the hatch patterns out there. Very realistic.
Ants: Maybe
fish eat ants because they taste sweet. That ones for you
Kiel. Anyway, ants are a great pattern to drop off the back of a
hopper, not to be fished by itself if you want to see it... Check
these bad boys, I like to fish the Peep Show sunken, deadly!
Peep Show Ant
These fish well floating,
sunk, dragging, I don't know why they do. But they do. Try one
the next time you fish a hopper, you'll be pleased.
CDC Ant
This one comes from the vise of
Renee Harrop. That's a guy that knows about CDC, and knows about
ants too. A great picky fish pattern.
Beetles: Well,
if you have hoppers and ants, you can't forget about their friend
the beetle. There are a ton of beetle patterns out there, here's my
favorite.
Hi Vis Beetle
Because, it works. Because
you can see it. Because, just because. That's why I fish this
pattern. Ask the fish why they eat beetles, because I have no
clue. | |
More Tips on Summer Angling
This Time It's About The Fish & the Fishing...
So
last time I talked about what to do when it's hot out to keep safe,
wear felt soled sandals, quick dry shorts, long sleeve shirts to
protect from sunburn, and of course hydrate yourself - lesson
learned...
Now
what do you do to protect the fish and make sure that you aren't
killing what you catch unless you want to? Following are some useful
tips for playing, reviving, and catching fish in warmer temps.
 Flies
- Before you even get ready to fish, check and make sure that your
barbs are pinched, that ensures a quick and easy release - and yes
sometimes you might lose a fish because of this - but better that
than killing one because you played it too long and couldn't get the
hook out of the mouth. Get yourself a good pair of hemos - no one does
it better than Dr. Slick.
 Tippet
and Leader - Normally you would hear guys talk about sizing down tippet
in shallow water and that's fine. But if you are fishing somewhere that
the water is warm and fish might be lethargic, better to be able
to release them quicker - so size up your tippet - BUY FLUOROCARBON!!!
Yes, fluoro allows you to size up a tippet while still keeping the fish
at ease, it isn't as visible by diameter as standard monofilament. Rio
and Frog Hair both make a great Fluorocarbon tippet that has all the
great properties of fluorocarbon, but allow you to tie knots like with
standard mono. We can debate the intricacies of fluorocarbon at another
time, just trust me, it works, it's a bit more expensive, but it helps
you and the fish in the summer.
Nets
- I typically don't like to carry a net with me when I wade fish. But
if I'm going someplace where there are big fish and I might have to use
small tippet, then I'm taking a net during the summer so I don't play
the fish out. It's a great gift for any fisherman who doesn't have one,
and summer is a great time to break it out if you haven't used one in a
while - on that note, if you have an old net that has the knots
that strip off the slime, don't use one or buy a new one, the fish are
better off that way...
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Going
into it's second summer season, the good folks at Winston & Montana
Troutfitters bring you the Cast A Winston Contest. All you need to do
to be eligible to Win a Grand Prize of Six Winston Rods is simply stop
down and cast a rod. Seems like a small price to pay for the
opportunity to be casting six of your own.
Of course, if you're going to cast a Winston, we highly recommend the BIIX, still the lightest, and still the best fishing rod on the market. Sorry Sage! |
Contest Ends December 31st, But in Montana It Ends When You Can't Cast Outside... So Hurry!
Call or stop in for more details |
| Montana Troutfitters
1716 West Main St
Bozeman, MT 59715
800-646-7847
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