Latest News from Montana Troutwranglers

2011-08-06T22:53:00.000-07:00

It's been a busy summer. Day in and day out we are out on the river working to get you into fish. Bill. K landed this 25 inch beauty yesterday on the lower Madison. We had a bit of inclement weather, but the catching was good. With lower water temps and higher flows than normal the Lower Madison is fishing very well.

2011-06-15T17:42:00.000-07:00

2011-06-15T17:10:00.000-07:00

2011-06-01T23:35:00.000-07:00

A quick video I put together with the highlights from fishing the Missouri River the last weekend in May.

The Yellowstone Gives up a Hog.

2011-05-08T10:11:00.000-07:00

The other day whole out scouting the Yellowstone we landed this beast. He ate a JJ special streamer in the middle of the river. He taped out at 26.5 inches and we estimated at least 7lbs. A great trout to start the season. We released him after snapping a few photos and he disappeared back into the river.

Streamers on the Yellowstone

2011-04-03T17:09:00.000-07:00

Throwing big ugly streamers on the Yellowstone River on April 2nd, 2011.

Immediate action needed.

2011-02-17T13:56:00.000-08:00

Montana's stream access laws in jeopardy.

Your help is needed.

HB 309 is in the working it's way through the legislative process right now. I try to stay focused on the issues and not what the one group or groups is yelling from the soap box. I have done my research on this bill and have formed the opinion that nothing positive can come from this passing. We need your help to let the legislators and governor know that Montana doesn't need to be privatized any further. Whether you fish Montana every year, or want to in the near future this is a very important issue facing us. Here is a link on more information on the proposal and how to contact a Senator from the Montana Sporting Journal. Please take the time to read.

Fall streamer fishing on the Madison River

2011-01-05T09:29:00.000-08:00

It has been a cold snowy winter so far. With some hands on my time I edited some footage I had of a day on the Upper Madison near Earthquake Lake late in October. Their wasn't any hogs to be had, but plenty of 10-16 inch rainbows and browns that found there way to my feet. Enjoy...

A testosterone fueled dance with Death

2010-11-11T16:07:00.000-08:00

A testosterone fueled dance with Death

This is a great article that will have me re-designing my hopper patterns. No wonder they are poor swimmers.

Last trip for the year.

2010-11-10T23:47:00.000-08:00

It has been a while since I have written anything so I thought I might make a quick entry. This past Sunday I we fished the upper Madison and it was just a great day. Plenty of trout, good weather and great company. It was a great way to end the season. The following day it snowed 6 inches and the temperature hasn't gotten over 38 degree's.

Dam problems on Ennis lake.

2010-08-31T17:00:00.000-07:00

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Yesterday a school bus sized boulder busted out part of Ennis Dam. They are calling for an immediate draw down of the lake of 9 feet. How will this effect the Lower Madison? I will post more when I find out.

Making a mess of this town.

2010-08-09T19:37:00.000-07:00

Fishy clip

2010-07-03T14:01:00.000-07:00

The other side of run off.

2010-06-20T00:38:00.000-07:00

I have put on to almost 1000 miles traveling around the state in search of fishable water this week. I have concentrated on the Beaverhead and Missouri rivers. Both rivers had there share of pressure, but that is to be expected. The majority of the rivers have peaked and are now on the downward side of the bell curve. There are reports of some Salmonflies on the Lower Madison and it has stopped raining for the time being. The fishing has been good, but the summer should be even better. All of the drainage's that we fish have gone from a bleak 65-70% of snowpack to almost 100%. Conditions may be tough at the moment, but we are still getting our share, and having a great time on the river.

Epic dry fly fishing on the Missouri river.

2010-05-15T08:45:00.000-07:00

Mike came out last week for a few days of fishing on the Missouri river. The fishing was so good that he insisted that we stayed another day. It took me about 2 seconds to agree that we should stay. I knew that we had to take advantage of the great fishing. Most of the trout were in the 16-18 inch range, but we did catch some great trout up to 22 inches. The fish where eating March Browns, so we were throwing a size 12 parachute adams. This Missouri can be a very technical river, but on this trip the fish eating everything that floated over their heads. What a great trip.

2010-04-30T08:21:00.000-07:00

The rainbows are returning to the Missouri river.
Reports are coming back to Bozeman, that fishing from the Dam to Craig has really picked up this last week. The Prickly is dumping a little mud, but it is soon dissipated downstream. The Dearborn river is putting a little more color into the river, but with this recent snowstorm will probably clear up for this weekend. There has been prolific hatches of midges and blue wing olives, and the fish have keyed on them on overcast days. Small mayfly nymphs, midge larva, and cripple patterns are the flies of the day. Streamer fishermen are catching some big browns on sculzilla's and such, but you have to be willing to cover water and stick with it. We will be up there this weekend and anticipate more great fishing. We will be sure to let you know.

April Dry fly fishing

2010-04-12T09:53:00.000-07:00

When the wind hasn't been nuclear, the fishing has been very good later in the afternoon on the Yellowstone. Both Baetis and midges have been hatching and once the water temperatures rise the trout get hungry. The trout in this big eddy were going crazy and we just sat there and picked them off one by one.

Fishing on St. Paddy's Day

2010-03-22T15:43:00.000-07:00

Tom landed this nice mid river brown trout on the Yellowstone on St. Paddy's day. The fishing was decent, but not awesome. We caught some on dries when we found rising fish. A few on nymphs in the deeper runs, and the majority on streamers. I believe we would of caught more if Tom would of been dressed a little more toned down, or if we all had those cool hats on. A great time was had by all regardless.

What is your best caption for this picture?

2010-03-03T15:08:00.000-08:00

Give us your funniest comment and win a dozen flies.

Winners announced in our next newsletter.

latest video

2010-01-27T18:22:00.000-08:00

Some Highlights from 2009

News break on the Missouri River

2009-12-07T08:59:00.000-08:00

Great Falls Tribune - November 10, 2009

HELENA — The Missouri River’s reputation as a world-class fly-fishing destination got a boost Monday with the release of a report that populations of large trout continue to climb in the blue-ribbon fishery.
For the second consecutive year, the Montana Department of Fish, Wildlife & Parks fisheries survey on the Missouri found that the number of large rainbow and brown trout between Holter Dam and Cascade are up.
State biologists this fall found 3,458 rainbow trout longer than 10 inches near Craig. The long-term average of rainbows that size for that section is 2,917.
“The rainbows in the Craig section were remarkably high quality,” said Grant Grisak, FWP fisheries biologist. “About 85 percent of the rainbows were 15 inches and larger, and fish in the 18-inch length group alone represented 24 percent of the total population.”
The largest rainbow sampled was 4.8 pounds.
In the Pelican Point section of the river, just upstream from Cascade, rainbow trout were estimated at 1,577 fish per mile, which is higher than the long-term average of 1,494 rainbows per mile.
According to Grisak, 64 percent of the rainbows in the population were at least 15 inches long.
Brown trout populations in the river also are up. The spring estimate of brown trout in the Craig section was 584 per mile; the long-term average there is 578. In the Pelican Point section, spring browns were estimated at 611 per mile — higher than the long-term average of 358.
The 2008 survey estimated there were 1,126 brown trout 10 inches and longer per mile, more than twice the 22-year average of 554 brown trout per mile.
Biologists don’t actually count all the fish in the river when they perform the survey. Instead, they electro-shock the water in an area, then count, tag and release the fish. Two weeks later, they repeat the process and use the ratio of tagged to untagged fish to calculate an estimate of the trout population per mile.
Brown trout populations are sampled in the spring and rainbow populations are sampled in the fall.
The report’s findings didn’t surprise 26-year Missouri River fishing guide Pete Cardinal, owner of Missouri River Angler in Craig.
“That’s what happens when you add water to a Montana river. The fish like it. There’s more habitat, more food, more space and greater survival,” Cardinal said. “It’s probably a real reflection of great habitat conditions from the last two years of great water levels.”
Trout numbers are healthy throughout the stretches of the river that were surveyed, according to FWP. Additionally, Missouri River anglers reported good fly-fishing for larger rainbows during the late summer and early fall.
Cardinal said he has been guiding on the Missouri since 1983, and he has never seen healthier looking fish than this season.
“The most noticeable difference is the quality of the fish. They’re just larger than they’ve been,” he said. “People are really happy with the quality of the fish, and the fish really fight hard. They’re so healthy that they just really tear you up when you hook them.”
Grisak said Cardinal’s observations are consistent with the number of large trout observed during the population survey.
The situation wasn’t as rosy on one of Montana’s other world-class rivers. According to FWP’s findings, trout population estimates in the Smith River show numbers continued to trend down over the long term.
In the Eagle Creek section of the Smith River — a couple miles downstream of Camp Baker — the number of rainbow trout longer than 8 inches was estimated at 371 per mile, which is consistent with a short-term trend, but below the long-term average of 527 such fish, Grisak said
Brown trout in the same section were estimated at 270 per mile, which is less than the long-term average of 315 fish per mile.
“Higher water flows and lower water temperatures in the Smith River this year should provide relief to future trout populations, especially in the wake of a nine-year drought experienced in central Montana,” Grisak said.

2009-08-30T21:30:00.000-07:00

The Aflac boys from OK were back out this Aug. Once again they put a whooping on the trout for a couple days. Unfortunately I didn't fare to well at the poker games. They brought a ringer in from the Vegas area and he had a great read on me all night long. All the rivers in our area are fishing very well. The Yellowstone continues to rock with hoppers from 11am on. It can be busy on the weekend with recreational floaters, but the during the week it's all business. The Madison is fishing well with hoppers, ants, and attractors as well. The Gallatin has been on fire as well. Plenty of action on spruce moths and caddis as well. School is back in and now is the time to fish SW Montana. The fishing pressure is decreasing, and the weather is awesome. Now is the time to book a great late summer fishing trip. Give us a call to get all the details @ 866-456-6889.

2009-08-17T12:57:00.000-07:00

Right now the hopper fishing is as good as it gets. There is a bumper crop of hoppers this year and given a slight breeze many are finding there way into the water. The trout are keyed on these tasty morsels and we are having a great time out on the water. The Yellowstone has been the river of choice lately and fish are eating up and down the river. Pictured below is what my boat patch looked like after a day on the stone. Nothing but chewed up hoppers and ants. If throwing big foam in likely looking spots and coaxing up big trout is you game, then get out here now.

Salmonflies and Caddis Dries

2009-07-12T16:07:00.000-07:00

Salmonflies are all over the Upper Madison and Yellowstone River. The MO is fishing great and hoppers are just around the corner. The video above is a underwater picture of a 21" brown trout that Mel from Arizona caught on the lower Madison. Mel had never fished a day in his life, but without any bad habits he picked up the fly rod and had a great time catching lots of great fish. Caddis are out in force on all the major river systems, if they won't eat the big bugs a caddis dry is the next option. Many of the rivers have dropped quickly and are at the perfect levels to catch some great trout. Give us a call if you want to discuss a particular river and all the details. 866-456-6889

Rivers are clearing and fishing!

2009-06-13T11:21:00.000-07:00

Here's a video of Quick Draw McGraw fighting a nice brown on the L. Madison Fri. This fish took us all over the place before he found the bottom of the net. The fishing was good and the water was nice and clear. There was quite a few bugs in the air. Plenty of caddis, PMD's and yellow sallies, and the smaller fish were eating aggressively on the surface. Our best flies where clouser crayfish, seringold caddis emergers, and Copper John's. We did see a good number of salmonfly shucks on the banks, but not flying around. It should start to happen any day now. The traffic was a bit busier than normal, but you can't blame anyone for wanting to get out on the water and enjoy the spectacular day.

I will be up on the Missouri river for the next 10 days, so I am sure to grab some more great footage and stories as the boys from Oklahoma come to town to whoop up on the fish and lose all their money in poker to the guides. Until next time....

2009-06-07T16:03:00.000-07:00

Here's a quick video of one of the many trout we released on a week long fishing trip to the Missouri River.

Dane,

I just wanted to drop you note about our recent float trip on the Missouri. It is hard to believe that you could top our previous trips but you did. The fishing was fantastic! You really put us onto the fish. I was especially impressed with your experience on the river and your ability to locate the fish. I will recommend this trip to all my fly fishing friends. Thanks for making this another great experience that I will not soon forget. I also appreciate your teaching me how to become a better fly fisherman.

Tight lines,

Steven N.

Right now the MO is the best option in the state. The flows have decreased from 12,000 cfs to just above 6,000 cfs. So a few more wading options available now. We are witnessing some colder weather this week and as soon as it warms up the bugs (caddis and PMD's) should come out in force.
Around Bozeman the L. Madison is got some great visibility and the trout are hungry. I was out there fishing on my own and we caught good numbers of trout on crayfish and small nymphs.