Montana Fish Report

It’s the calm before the storm on the ranch. Fishing is always tough on the ranch, but the past few days have been tougher than usual. The thick drake hatches should be just about any day now from happening and a handful have been seen the last few days. However, the cold winds and rain from the north last evening set them back a little. If the weather warms up like it’s predicted to, I believe the drakes should be hatching in style by the end of this weekend. For now, caddis and PMD patterns are going to be the ticket. Fish can be caught on adult PMD patterns like a #16 Last Chance Cripple or emergers like a PMD Halfback #16/18 during midday and the spinner fall can be efficient in the morning. I would recommend a #16 Rusty Spinner. Caddis like the Missing Link Caddis can be quite good throughout the day but the hatch in the evening is the thickest. If fish are rising to green drakes, a #10/12 Parachute Green Drake is a good option to entice that eat. Keep your eyes peeled for the green drakes during the day and possibly the brown drake hatch during the evening. When they happen, the ranch is truly going to erupt. The ranch is a holy place, as always please be respectful of the land you’re on and the other anglers you are around.

I think it’s safe to say that the salmon flies have come and gone here and the only stonefly you will see are the golden stones. Dry dropping is still the best course of action in getting those strikes. The story is more or less the same here as it is in the box due to the fact that the most efficient way to fish here is drifting beads through seams, riffles, and pools. Below Stone Bridge however changing your pattern to a pheasant tail and increasing in size can lead to very good days of fishing. The hatches haven’t been incredibly thick here of recent and running that pheasant tail off a #10 Raspberry Chubby should more than likely be your setup until something changes.