Day 1: Ruby River—Dry Fly Nirvana

 

Morning Solitude

Lewis and Clark originally named the Ruby the Philanthropy River after one of Thomas Jefferson’s cardinal virtues. The river was renamed the Ruby, a bit of a misnomer for its high quantities of Garrnets in the area. The Ruby River does not have boat ramps, meaning its riffles and pools belong solely to wading anglers.  The Ruby is a freestone river above Ruby Reservoir and a tailwater from Ruby Reservoir, downstream to its confluence with the Beaverhead River near Twin Bridges. The upper section is an easily wadable river with riffle, corner, and pool characteristics.  The upper reaches also have boulders not found downstream. The lower river starts at the spillway of the Ruby dam, which is a bottom release, so it stays cold when temperatures rise.  The lower river, lined with willows, flows through more pasture land and alfalfa fields with the classic riffle, corner, and pool configurations. The Ruby is perfect for trout holding water, and the wild browns cannot say “no” to a hopper in August.

Technical Mastery

• Gear: 8 to 9-foot 3 or 4-wt rods are perfect. Longer leaders and lighter tippets are often needed during the summer months. A 9 – 12 foot leader with a 3x tippet for fishing hoppers and 6X fishing Tricos.
• Guide Tip: Target the “Mother’s Day Caddis Hatch” around the first week of May, or Pale Morning Dun’s in July; Hopper fishing in August.
• Top Flies:  Elk Hair Caddis in olive, brown, or tan in a size #16 to #18. Parachute Adams in a size #20 to #16. Sparkle Dun in pale olive size #14 to #18. Foam Hoppers and Chubby Chernobyl’s in tan, yellow, or peach size #8 to #14.

Conservation Corner

“Catch and release” and “No trace” policies ensure that the Ruby River’s brown trout are healthy and its banks remain pristine. Every angler pledges to leave only footprints.

Evening Culture

Dine at The Mill Creek Grill or stop in for a microbrew at The Ruby Valley Brewery in Sheridan, pairing elk sliders with a frosty beer.

Day 2: Beaverhead River—Trout Factory Unleashed

The Beaverhead River is a biomass marvel with 3,500 trout per mile, and an average size between 15” to 18”. The Beaverhead will challenge even the most seasoned nymph fisherman. A small but mighty river with fast currents, hard turns, and deep buckets that hold high numbers of large brown and rainbow trout. Nymphing is the go-to method for catching these healthy fish, although dry fly and streamer fishing is not uncommon.

Nymphing

• Nymph Rig: A drop shot leader with two flies tied off short, 3” tag ends, and plenty of weight. Read the post on our blog on how to set up a drop shot leader.
• Guided Tip: Dead Drift your flies close to the willow-lined runs near Henneberry Bridge—browns here average 15 to 17”, but the 24” lunkers are possible, and they will test your drag.

• Exclusive Access: Wade the ranch’s 2.5 miles of river and side channel that cuts through the private property. The property also features a 25-acre “HOG” pond where Kamloops rainbows in the 20” to 26” class are the norm. The fly fishing opportunities are numerous, the pace is easy, and yet challenging where cottonwood-shaded undercuts hold trout “as wary as ghosts.”

Day 3: Madison River—Legacy of the Salmonfly

Salmonfly Spectacle

The Madison River erupts with Giant salmonflies and rising trout in late June as large foam and bushy dry flies draw savage strikes. The Madison begins inside Yellowstone National Park at the confluence of the Fire Hole and Gibbon rivers, flows into Hebgen Lake, and Hebgen Lakes then spills out through the majestic Madison Valley, where its famed riffled currents have produced a bewildering number of wild trout. Experience why it’s the most written about river in the world. Big skies, big fish, and big fun!

• Hatch Timing: The Salmonfly hatch typically starts in the third week of June and will continue till the first or second week of July. Caddis begins around the first week of May and continues through July. Flying Ants in July and August. Hoppers through August.  A river that delivers all year round.
• Trout Density: Pine Butte boasts an impressive 5,000 trout per mile. The upper middle sections around Windy Point and McAtee Bridge also hold high numbers of trout, with 3,000 per mile, and the stretches closer to Ennis at 1500 per mile.
• Guide Tip: The many large boulders in the Madison hold fish in the cushion in front of the boulder.

Cultural Connection

Visit Ennis’s Fly Shop Museum, where Clark’s 1806 journal pages detail the river’s original abundance.

Day 4: Jefferson River—Catch the fish of a lifetime

The Jefferson River is the confluence of the Ruby, Beaverhead, and Big Hole Rivers and starts near Twin Bridges, Montana. The Jefferson is a fickle river, to say the least, but if you are familiar with her personality, you will reap the rewards. What Jefferson lacks in numbers, it makes up for in quality. Many of Fishtales Outfittings’ clients’ largest fish have come from the Jeff.

The Jefferson’s Trophy Browns

• Streamers: Streamer fishing has long been the preferred method for finding Jeff’s massive brown trout. Its wide riffles and long runs with downed cottonwoods are perfect holding water for brown trout to call home.
• Guide Tip: Strip your streamers with a fast jerk and pause motion to impart an erratic action to your fly. Use the tip of the rod to pull the streamer fast, then strip up the slack during the pause. This technique mimics a wounded fish and triggers large fish to strike aggressively,
• Hatch timing: Skwala’s and BWO’s late April and May. Golden Stoneflies June to early July. PMDs through July. Crawdad’s July through August. Hoppers August to September.

Day 5: Big Hole River—Western Freestone

The Big Hole River remains one of Montana’s most beloved freestone rivers. The Big Hole changes character several times along its 94 miles of driftable, fishable water. You can fish a different section each day, and it will feel like a different river each day. From high mountain meadows to bouldery swift canyons and cottonwood-lined bottoms, the Big Hole has it all.

Big Hole’s Dry Fly Hatches

• Hatch timing: Giant Salmonflies typically start around the 10th of June and continue through the 3rd week. Golden and nocturnal stoneflies through July. August brings the Spruce Moths in the morning and hoppers in the afternoon.
• Gear: A 9’ 6wt or 7wt rod for big dries like Giant Salmonflies and streamers up to size # 4. A 4wt or 5wt will work for most of your dry fly fishing.
• Guide Tip: The Big Hole trout are wily, and known to be “bank feeders” even when the water is low, so use just one fly tied on light 4X or 5X tippet. Otherwise, a dry/dropper set up is a very productive method during the summer months.

Cultural Farewell

Enjoy a burger and a beer at the Hitchin’ Post in Melrose.

Why Fishtales Outfitting?

• River Mastery: Our guides know their water and know it well. They have spent years learning the nuances of our many fisheries. They’re all a little different, and that’s what makes this place so special. 
• Conservation Legacy: We practice catch and release and de-barb our hooks.
• Options:  Fishtales Outfitting adventures can include 10 different rivers.  The Missouri, Yellowstone, Blackfoot, Ruby, Jefferson, Madison, Big Hole, Beaverhead, Clark Fork, Bitterroot, and Madison Rivers, as well as private water on the Beaverhead.
• Check them all out.  https://mtfishtales.com/rivers/

Montana’s rivers are living legends. Fishtales Outfitting doesn’t guide rivers; we create adventures where trout, a tradition of fly fishing, and epic scenery come together to make memories that last a lifetime.

“Eventually, all things merge into one, and a river runs through it. The river was cut by the world’s great flood and runs over rocks from the basement of time. On some of the rocks are timeless raindrops. Under the rocks are the words, and some of the words are theirs. I am haunted by waters”.
— Norman Mclean