Seasonal Fishing

Winter – December through April

Winter is an excellent time to enjoy fly fishing around Southwest Montana. The main hatch that will produce rising fish is the midge. Midges are tiny aquatic insects that make up the bulk of a trout’s diet throughout the year, especially in the winter.

Nymphing techniques are the norm during the winter. All of the aquatic insects are in the nymph stage through the winter and, depending upon the day, various fly patterns such as prince nymphs, golden stones, pheasant tails, midge larvae and caddis nymphs will produce hungry fish. In March we start to see the emergence of Baetis Mayflies, Early Brown Stones and continued strong midge hadges. If the slopes are not to your liking, then the fishing will be!

Spring – May through Late June

Mid May through mid-June is our high water period. Most of the rivers and streams are running high and muddy. With this in mind, there are still fishing opportunities available.

Early May can be some of the best Montana fishing of the year with some of the most predictable weather. The May Day caddis hatch occurs on the Yellowstone River in early May and the same hatch, called the Mothers Day caddis, occurs on the Madison River. These caddis hatches are the most prolific hatches of the season. Millions of caddis hatch on a daily basis producing a “blanketing” effect on the river. Just imagine an entire river covered with caddis flies and every fish feeding voraciously on them. This is definitely a spectacle of nature every fly fisherman should experience!

Summer – Late June through September

Late June through July: Salmon flies start off the post runoff fishing. Fishing the enormous dry flies is what every angler dreams about. Alongside the Salmon flies are excellent hatches of caddis, pale morning duns, and other stoneflies and midges.

Mid to Late July: Anglers can start to see fishing taking various terrestrials such as ants, beetles and grasshopper patters. Dry fly fishing is the standard technique in late July.

August: A large variety of insects hatch during August making for some exciting attractor dry fly fishing. Patterns such as the royal wulff, royal trude, stimulator and grasshoppers should fill your fly fishing requirements for the day.

September: This month of Montana fishing sees an end to the busy tourist season, providing for more secluded fishing on waters of Southwest Montana. Grasshoppers and terrestrials are still fishing well and the warm weather usually subsides, increasing the feed. We see excellent Baetis mayfly hatches on cloudy days. This is the best late season hatch with lots of rising fish.

Fall – October through December

Many of us have switched from fishing to enjoying the various hunting seasons for personal pleasure. However, this is the month of the Brown Trout spawn. Streamer fishing works the best in the Fall.

If searching for monster trout sounds like fun, give us a call!