Fly fishing near Bozeman, MT and Henry's Fork, ID-suggestion

[Sawtooth]

Going to a wedding in Bozeman next weekend and was hoping to add a couple days of fly fishing on to the trip. If any of you guys around Bozeman, MT or Henry's Fork, ID would be willing to tell me where the fishing has been good recently I promise to put all the fish back and return the river like I found it. Was hoping to take my small raft down the Box Canyon portion of the Henry's but heard the river hasn't been fishing that well this summer. Also heard that the Madison was fishing well but if there are better places near Bozeman I am all ears.

 

[onpoint]

a couple ideas....of the myriad possibilities

If you can at all fish other than the weekend - way better. The Boztropolis crowding is reaching critical mass. Early bird get's the worm and last light is good.
That being said:
For a float, try the Yellowstone River above Yankee Jim Canyon
Wade fish the Upper Gallatin or Madison near Reynolds Pass
Warm water restrictions on some streams are in place, possibilities of more to come - check on this.
Good Luck

 

[RobG]

Onpoint's recommendations are probably the best bet. It's been really hot here so the rivers close to town are warm and the fishing is slow. Last Sunday I was on the Yellowstone near Mill Creek and the evening fishing was really slow, and the weather has gotten hotter since then.

 

[Southern Elk]

I was just there and both the Gallatin and Yellowstone are much less crowded than the Madison right now.

 

[Sawtooth]

Great info fellas. Definitely don't want to kill a bunch of fish because of the warm water, will keep an eye on restrictions. As far as flies are concerned, anything in particular that I should tie up? With all the warm weather I am guessing hopper patterns are in order. Thanks again for the help.

 

[Carnage2011]

I've been having good luck on elk hair caddies, para hoppers, and purple haze.

 

[mdunc8]

Gallatin was fishing great a couple days ago as were several of its tribs. I would recommend fishing some of the smaller mountain streams over any of the big rivers right now. You can get away from folks, see some cool country, and catch a pile of fish.

 

[FAIR CHASE]

Head north of town and hit the E. Gallatin. If you are desperate, south of Livingston there are pay to fish spring creeks.

 

[mdunc8]

East Gallatin is low, warm, and has a hoot owl restriction. Do the fish a favor and go somewhere else.

 

[Sawtooth]

I never fished for hoot owl before, guess I better take the East Gallatin off the list. Mdunc8, when you mentioned the tributaries of the Gallatin, are you referring to those along highway 191 around Big Sky? I am all about 3 wt. fly rod water in beautiful country. Plus that is the route I was planning to take back to Boise. Send me a pm if you would prefer. Thanks again for everyone's help.

 

[Southern Elk]

When you get to Bozeman, swing by Sportsman Warehouse on 19 ave. They have fishing reports posted on the wall on the right as soon as you walk in the door. They will have all of the rivers and lakes in the area listed.

 

[Rob Allen]

Upper Gallatin and Madison are both fishing well. All the reports I have heard are saying that the Henry's Fork isn't doing well this year.. maybe construction work on the dam or something like that related to the flows...

 

[2ski]

Go to MT Troutfitters in Bozeman. They will steer you right. I personally like the lower Madison this time of year. The bikini hatch is in full effect.

You really can't go wrong anywhere around Bozeman, small streams or rivers.

 

[Carnage2011]

I fished the Gallatin yesterday and the spruce moth hatch was intense! Fished first thing in the morning for a couple hours and landed 8. Nothing huge, but a great time on the water. Wherever you go make sure you check the current closures. Many of the rivers around are under hoot owl restrictions.

 

[RobG]

Great info fellas. Definitely don't want to kill a bunch of fish because of the warm water, will keep an eye on restrictions.

Most important thing is to not embarrass them by fooling them with nymphs under a bobber.

As far as flies are concerned, anything in particular that I should tie up? With all the warm weather I am guessing hopper patterns are in order. Thanks again for the help.

Hoppers are overrated, and probably not many in the canyon. You already probably have everything you need in your box, but the spruce moth might be worth tying up. For the tribs the Royal Wulff and Elk Hair Caddis hatches are full on.

 

[Sawtooth]

Just wanted to say thanks for all the great help you guys gave me regarding my trip to Bozeman this weekend. I decided to take many of yours suggestion and fish the Gallatin River near Big Sky. Fished a total of three half days as I traveled to and from Bozeman. My wife and I arrived Thursday night in time to pick up a license and get a bite to eat in Big Sky before setting up camp at Moose creek campground. Friday morning found me fishing with three weight in hand and spruce moths raining down upon me. As soon as the sun hit the river, the fish started gorging themselves on moths, and on occasion, my elk hair caddis. None of the fish brought to net were over 13 inches, but did have one in the 15 inch range that managed to spit the hook a couple feet from the net. A three weight with a larger fish in fast water does add to the challenge. By noon the raft hatch had replaced the moth hatch, and with the faster water all of the bikini hatch was covered up by life jackets. The fishing slowed a bit, but I was amazed at how quickly the fish would return to the surface after a group of rafts would travel over them. I hooked one fish about twenty yards behind the last raft in a group of eight. By one pm I had landed over 15 fish and decided it was time to head for town.
After attending a wedding on Saturday, my wife and I left Bozeman and headed back to the river on Sunday morning. We set up camp at Greek Creek to overcast sky's and an occasional rain shower. The spruce moths were few and far between and the fishing had slowed to a rate of a fish every twenty minutes or so. I am proud to say that no bobber and nymph was used during this lull in the action as the last thing I would want to do, as RobG stated, would be to embarrass the fish with such tactics. Around noon the clouds darkened and the temperature dropped a few degrees. This caused a mayfly hatch to start and the fishing picked up again until the sky's opened up and a full fledged storm rolled through. Time to call it good and spend the rest of the day looking around Big Sky with my wife. Highlight of the afternoon was taking the walk to Ousil "sp" Falls as a hike on a trail beats shopping and looking at galleries any day. After a pizza at "Blue Moon Bakery and Pizza" we called it a night and headed back to camp.
Monday morning was similar to Friday with sunny skies and spruce moths on the fishes menu. I only had two hours to fish, but did land one brown that was 14.5" and caught six others that were 8-12". Thanks again for all the help with pointing me in the right direction. A special shout out to mdunc8 for his informative pm. You guys helped make my last trip for this summer an enjoyable one and it is most appreciated.

 

[RobG]

Glad you had fun!

"... our father was a Presbyterian minister and a fly fisherman who tied his own flies and taught others. He told us about Christ's disciples being fishermen, and we were left to assume, as my brother and I did, that all first-class fishermen on the Sea of Galilee were fly fishermen and that John, the favorite, was a dry-fly fisherman."

 

[Sawtooth]

Glad you had fun!

"... our father was a Presbyterian minister and a fly fisherman who tied his own flies and taught others. He told us about Christ's disciples being fishermen, and we were left to assume, as my brother and I did, that all first-class fishermen on the Sea of Galilee were fly fishermen and that John, the favorite, was a dry-fly fisherman."

My wife and I are planning to watch "A River Runs Though It " again sometime this week.

 

[Carnage2011]

Great to hear!