Fishing Reports

Catching up on current conditions on the Bighorn.  Spent 3 days streamer fishing recently.  We weren't lucky enough to get any cloud cover, but we were committed.  The fishing confirmed everything I already do to account for the sun angle, and how I alter my approach as a result. 

Here are my biggest takeaways from the trip:

1)  In the mornings, the big flashy flies worked well.  Many of our biggest fish were Rainbows on a heavy rainbow colored streamer that we fished on the first day, and a smaller/flashier version on the next two days.

2)  Once the sun reaches it's mid-morning point, the flashier flies get plenty of follows, but far fewer commitments.  I do use the "bright day, bright lure" logic, and tend to fish gray or white a little more often in the sun.  That's not to say the streamers are full of glitter and flash, because they're not.  They are simply a closer representation to what bait fish will look like from underneath (the angle where most of your strikes will come from).

3)  Fish Leaches.  In the sunshine, undoubtedly your morning streamer bite will taper off, but time and time again, trailing a leach behind your best fly will get you back in the action.  I carry small, skinny leaches from maroon to brown to black.  It can really be an eye opener of how many fish were following your streamer that could not be seen.

Thanks goes out to Jamie and Jean for another great trip!

Tight Lines,
Jeremy

Just wanted to update the fishing report from my last trip up to the Missouri.  Although we felt 2 days of hard wind, and marginal streamer fishing in the canyon, the last day on the upper made it all worth while.  Most of our fish were caught on nymphs, we ended up fishing a very light/short rig to the banks.  Nymphing doesn't have to be blind fishing, we targeted rising fish that may or may not have eaten our dry flies in the rain, and had a very good day in terms of numbers and size.

Most of the rising fish were eating midges and Pseudos, so the fish were technical, but very fun on the surface.  Even though we didn't catch a huge number of fish on streamers, we were able to put some nice Browns in the net, as well.

Thanks to Scott and Jesse for another great fall trip, and one that I look forward to every year.

Tight Lines,
Jeremy

 Might as well update the Bighorn fishing, as well.  Flow is 1,900 but water temp is very cold for this time of year (let's say 48 as an average), but the warmer weather is finally catching up.  Upper 13 is getting PMD's in the afternoon, with some Yellow Sallies, and tan caddis mixed in.  Black Caddis are showing up, as well.  

Personally, I've been nymphing in the morning (worm and something pink), then looking to dry fly fish.  Most of the time a Yellow Sally will do the trick, but those fish will get picky at times.  The river's busy, as it's defitnitely one of the best places to be with many of the other rivers warming up at their low levels.

Tight Lines,
Jeremy 

Late to the party, but had a wonderful trip in late June with Tracey and Dave.  Please refer to their picture in the photo gallery of a great double, with the Wolf Creek Bridge in the background.  PMD fishing was very good, and a good time was had by all.  River was low, and has since warmed up, and fishing has slowed down, but at the time, it was pretty fantastic.  Thanks, guys!

 What a nice thing it is to finally report that we had a fishing day (yesterday) that wasn't constantly windy.  Sure it was windy in the morning, but the nymphing was pretty good, and when the Baetis came off in the afternoon it seemed like every fish in the river was up.  It was the kind of day that you wait all winter for.

Nymphing has involved sowbugs and midges in the mornings, with the Baetis nymphs becoming active in the middle of the day.  I've pumped some worms out of fish, which is a good sign for their growth.

Streamer fishing has been spotty, but I have had more success lately on the the cloudy days.  It's hard to beat a good black bugger.

The flow is still pretty low (1,750 cfs), and the water temp is hovering just above or below 40.  It has been mossy, so that's just going to be a factor until we get some sort of a bump in flow.  I don't yet have any insight as to what's going to happen there, but I'll keep you posted.

Tight Lines,
Jeremy

This is a report!

It looks like they're holding the flow steady at 1,833 cfs (cubic feet per second).  Nymphing (which had been red hot all winter) is finally slowing down as the water cools just a bit more, and the post-spawn blues take over.  

Streamer fishing has remained good, and some midges are starting to pop.  Keep an eye out for good dry fly fishing starting to pick up in the next month.

Fish numbers are bound to be a little lower this year, as the river level remains low, but this isn't necessarily bad news for those who enjoy sight fishing, and wouldn't mind seeing the average fish size increase a little.

I'll keep you posted as things develop, but there's never a bad time to get out there.

Tight Lines!
Jeremy