Shop Journal

The run off this season is finally started.  Waters are rising and it is unknown how long the waters will be higher.   There is a lot of snow pack still in the mountains this season. The good news is that fishing in July, August and September will be great.  If we can link in some grass hoppers this season, it will be a season you do not want to miss.  The majority of big stone flies will be hatching out this season during high water, so they will have high success rate of replenishing their species and the fish will benefit from lack of fishing pressure.   Hatches of all insects is going to be epic, so try not to miss this season.  It is going to be very short.  4 months and ticking down as of now.

We should not have any late season water issues this season in the Bighorn Mountains, so plan on fishing as much as you can in late summer.  As always each year, high water means great fishing in the lakes and reservoirs while the rivers and creeks are unfishable.  So get out and get some practice before the great fishing gets rolling.  You don’t want to wait any longer to get out and have some summer fun.  With out any practice you will likely miss out on the first few days of your summer getting back up to speed.  Be prepared and get some practice in, you will thank me later.  The fish are always ready to teach you the lesson of you are out of practice.  Be honest with at least yourself. You definitely need the practice.  Why do you think guides are so good at everything fly fishing?  It is because they are practicing all year round, so when you show up, they don’t look bad in front of you.

The down side is that early season fishing will be high and difficult.  High and difficult make you a better fisherman weather you want to be or not.  As long as you are safe about wading, the fishing is actually easier than you think.  The fish are on the edges in the back eddies.  You figure out the rest.  Talk to you local shops and use the obvious choices for flies.  Heavy, bright and big.  Works great every year before the fish start inspecting the fly before eating the fly.

The good news about high water is that the Bighorn Mountains will have easier fishing earlier than most other areas. If people are smart, they will get some early fishing in around the Bighorn Mountains in the creeks and lakes to get some practice in before the prime time season of August and September.   The low level lakes are ready for you to get back in top fishing form.  The fish are hitting faster and softer than ever, so get prepared!

The famous rivers are going to be high for a long time to come, so don’t be surprised when you get out west in June and early July.  I see this behavior every year.  The Bighorn river is running at 8500 cfs as of a few days ago, and will likely not come down until at least late July or maybe late August this season.  Other big rivers will be similar through out the west.  2014 will be a great water year, but it will also be more difficult for the average to beginner fisherman to have a lot of success in June and early July.  This does not mean you should not fish, just the opposite.  You should fish more, much more and enjoy every second of it regardless of how many fish you catch.

That said, the waters in the Bighorn Mountains are going to be great for learning and practicing fast water conditions this season when the big rivers are too high and difficult for most fly fisherman.  I recommend you don’t waste your money or time floating down a big river nymphing and dragging a bobber like the thousands of other drones that will be there.  You would catch fish using float trip nymphing techniques, but you will not be getting much better as a fly fisherman.  Break free from the monotony and get fishing in the mountains, you will love the space, the air and most of all the freedom of mountain fishing.  Smaller fish yes, but more fun and more skill development than you can wave a stick at.

See you soon and have FUN, the real reason we all fly fish.

Computers can be a huge pain in the A$$.  I have not been able to get into my sight for the past month due to some sneaky crap that somehow gets through Firewalls, Norton, Malware, PC Cleaner and a variety of other protections that are supposed to keep crap out.  Like most, I have no clue how to keep this stuff out of my computers, you just buy everything the computer people tell you to buy and install it.

Anyway fishing has been going since March for those that are tough and committed.  Run off is now starting to increase the flows pretty much everywhere.  The low level snow under 7000 feet has been off and on for the last month.  I have watched creeks jump from 20 cfs to 450 cfs over night and back down to 30 cfs a day or two later for the past three weeks.  Be especially careful in the afternoons or when it rains.  Flash floods or dramatic raises in flows can strand you for a while to all night if you are not careful.  This last batch of snow looks to be fairly thick, so we will see it melt off over the next few days. Water levels will be up and are probably going to stay up until July.  We still  have a large amount of snow in the high mountains.

From what I see and hear from people traveling through Montana, they are sitting with way more snow than we have, so I expect to see more people stopping through the Bighorn Mountains over the next couple of months looking for any fishable water.  I tell everyone that it is all fishable, it is just harder and more skills are needed.  The Bighorn River along with most rivers are much higher than they have been in the past.  Usually the Bighorn is maybe 3-5000 cfs this time of year and going up through May and July, but this year it has been over 7000 for the past 5 weeks and started raising at the end of March.  The fish will be very healthy this season and next.

Our waters will be high and off color for a while, but fishing will be great this season.  The fish I have been catching are for the most part healthy and in great shape.  Don’t get scared off by the runoff.  Not all the waters will be blown out.  The lakes and reservoirs will be fishing great while the rivers and streams are hard to fish.  The best part, fewer crowds to no crowds this time of year.  I have only seen a few locals out enjoying the great early season fishing.  This is another area that most people do not do enough to understand.  Fishing is generally slower, but usually much bigger fish are landed.

We all will again have to dig out our high, fast, cold and off color water skills this early season.  You can also fish the still waters.  I love this time of year.  It separates the men from the boys and the women from the girls.  It is much more challenging, but those of us that are great fly fisherman, are not dissuaded from a little diversity.  No, we forge ahead and become even better fisherman by fishing harder, studying everything and practicing our skills during these tough conditions.  If you have not tried to fish run off conditions, you should do it several times a week to ensure you are learning the right skills.

You also need to be extra careful when you wade.  As the waters get bigger through June, your safety is paramount.  I hear it is impossible to fish from the grave.  Here are some safety tips.  You don’t want to wade much at all.  Learn to fish from the banks or in shallow slow water.  The fish are mostly along the edges and slow seams, so you do not need to stand in these areas to catch out of them.  Find the slow pockets, back eddies and slow moving troughs to fish.  Use highly visible flies and bigger flies so the fish can see them better.  Break out all the skills and use all the fly fishing techniques of Nymphing, Streamers and Dry fly fishing.  Nymphing and streamers should be your focus, but keep your eyes open for those few select dry fly days.  They will be memorable.

If you need help, stop at your local fly shop and inquire what to do and what skills you should be working on.  If they don’t know, call us here at the Fly Shop of the Bighorns and we will tell you.  Bottom line, get out and fish early and often.

We have been hosting free tying nights for the ladies of the Sheridan area. Our class last night was once again a huge success!! Everyone seemed to have a fun time, and we have taken in the feedback and have decided to keep classes like this rolling. We are planning what we call our fly fishing 101 class for the spring so that we will be able to branch off of this class. We will be having a class such as this geared towards the ladies as well. We will be announcing dates for those classes both on this site along with our facebook. Our next ladies tying class will be Feb. 22nd from 6-9pm. Give us a call at the shop if you have any questions. (307) 672-5866