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Notes From Downstream

A Montana Fly Fishing Blog

Bozeman, MT Fly Fishing Report 3/9/20
Bozeman, MT Fly Fishing Report 3/9/20

It is feeling like spring on the rivers in Bozeman, MT. Our anglers and fly fishing guides have been enjoying the mild early season conditions and getting into some really great fishing. The Madison River, Gallatin River, and the Missouri River has been particularly productive. High winds, normal for this time of year, have largely kept us off the Yellowstone River but we are looking forwards to getting on it soon.

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Bozeman, MT Fly Fishing Report 11/15/19
Bozeman, MT Fly Fishing Report 11/15/19

Quiet on the rivers in Bozeman, MT this November. We have been on the Yellowstone River and Madison River this past week and have been spoiled with perfect fall weather, total solitude, and great fly fishing. The blue winged olive hatches of October are on their way out but strong hatches of midges have taken their place. Calm days will make for quality dry fly fishing.

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Bozeman, MT Fly Fishing Report 10/28/19
Bozeman, MT Fly Fishing Report 10/28/19

It is a winter wonderland in Bozeman, Montana today. What happened to fall? Came and went quicker than we could have ever believed. As for the fly fishing? Cold days make for often tough conditions for anglers but great for our trout. Our fly fishing guides have been on the water daily for the last week and have seen it on all on the rivers and streams near Bozeman: snow, sun, good dry fly fishing, great nymphing, and even a hopper eating trout or twelve.

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Bozeman, MT Fly Fishing Report 10/17/19
Bozeman, MT Fly Fishing Report 10/17/19

It’s middle of October in Bozeman, MT: fall is in the air, our rivers are quiet, and the fly fishing has been great. Great fly fishing doesn’t necessarily translate into easy fly fishing every day, in all conditions, but when conditions have been right and angling has been good, the fly fishing has been as great as great gets.

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Bozeman, MT Fly Fishing Report 10/7/19
Bozeman, MT Fly Fishing Report 10/7/19

Our Montana fly fishing guides and anglers on the water have seen a little bit of everything since our last report: snow, sunshine, more snow, fall colors, and lots of rising trout. We had a historic early season winter storm move through that marked an abrupt end of summer-like conditions and brought about colder-than average fall temperatures in a hurry. In spite of often trying conditions, the fly fishing has remained solid around Bozeman, MT particularly the fall dry fly bite.

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Bozeman, MT Fly Fishing Report 9/15/19
Bozeman, MT Fly Fishing Report 9/15/19

Fall is in the air in Bozeman, MT and our Montana fly fishing guides and anglers have been enjoying great fly fishing on a daily basis. We’ve received our first taste of cooler and wetter weather over the past week and were treated to great hatches of Blue Winged Olives (BWOs) and Fall Drakes on our Bozeman area rivers. Anglers can expect this pattern to continue through the end of the month: cooler overcast and rainy days will mean good mayfly hatches while warmer and sunnier days will continue to produce good hopper fishing. Smaller terrestrials will also continue to be important for dry fly anglers and trout as flying ants and beetles will stay on the menu. Streamer fishing has started to pick up across Montana as has the fall nymph bite on the Missouri River. Look for hatches and the fly fishing to only get better through the end of the month. Late September is one of our favorite times of the year to fly fish in Montana: quiet river and strong hatches make for fun days on the river. Our guide’s calendars are just about booked for September but still time to plan your Fall fly fishing trip to Bozeman or the Missouri River in October.

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8/19/19 Bozeman, MT Fly Fishing Report
8/19/19 Bozeman, MT Fly Fishing Report

Flows are solid, water is cold, and the fly fishing has been great in Bozeman, MT this August. Dry flies have been king on all of our local rivers with hoppers and stoneflies producing some of the largest average size fish we have consistently seen in years. Some days it has seemed like every big brown in the Yellowstone River and Madison River have been looking up and eager to crush the first big hopper that comes their way. Sure makes things fun.

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Bozeman, MT Fly Fishing Report 7/4/19
Bozeman, MT Fly Fishing Report 7/4/19

Happy Independence Day! The 4th of July is a big deal in Montana. Rodeos rule in small towns, parades in bigger, and a good ol’ time of it everywhere. Our larger rivers may be crowded but it’s a holiday weekend after all, and everyone is out for the same reason: to have some fun, so join in!

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Bozeman, MT Fly Fishing Report 6/20/19
Bozeman, MT Fly Fishing Report 6/20/19

June is one of our favorite months of the year to be an angler in Bozeman, MT. Dry fly fishing on the Missouri River and Paradise Valley Spring Creeks is great with PMDs, Caddis, and ants keeping our trout looking up. Dropping flows on the Madison River make streamer and nymphing great up tight against the banks, with some of the largest trout of the year caught each June. The Gallatin River is on the verge of really coming into shape. The Yellowstone River and other larger freestone rivers are still running high, but are just a few weeks away from running green and fishing well. Salmonflies are right around the corner all over. Our fly fishing guides are just about all booked up through early-August, but we still have a few slots open to get in on our summer fly fishing season from both our Bozeman and Missouri River Basecamps.

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Bozeman, MT Fly Fishing Report 5/22/19
Bozeman, MT Fly Fishing Report 5/22/19

We are in the full swing of the fly fishing season here in Bozeman, MT and anglers have found great fishing with the recent cool weather trend. Flows have dropped on many of our local rivers, allowing for a window of opportunity to take advantage of late-spring fishing before the inevitability of runoff strikes again. Dry fly fishing has been excellent on the Missouri River, Madison River, and our Paradise Valley Spring Creeks with March Browns, BWOs, caddis, and midges keeping the fish looking up on a daily basis. May is one of the best time of year to find big brown trout rising on the Missouri River before they have been educated. Flows will rise again before they drop for good in 2019, but no better time to hit the river while flows are down, rivers are clear, and fish are rising!

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Bozeman, MT Fly Fishing Report 5/14/19
Bozeman, MT Fly Fishing Report 5/14/19

May is here and the fly fishing in Montana has been great. Between the excellent fishing the past few weeks on the Missouri River and the prolific Mother’s Day Caddis hatch on the Yellowstone, our anglers and Montana fly fishing guides have been spoiled rotten. May is always a rollercoaster ride with rivers going up and down, clear and muddy, but we’ve be treated to a great one so far in 2019.

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Bozeman, MT Fly Fishing Report 8/22/18
Bozeman, MT Fly Fishing Report 8/22/18

Not much new to report on. Foam fly fishing is still great with large hoppers being the first choice for getting big fish to look up. Hoppers being a generic term for all big foam flies that float. Don’t forget to twitch. The twitch has been triggering strikes from big fish on all of…

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