Fishing is cold and icy

Date
Tuesday, 15 Dec, 2015
Water Clarity
Clear
Angler Traffic
Low
Fish Caught
1-3 fish
Report
A storm has rolled in to help with the much needed snow pack. Layer up because it very cold with daytime temperatures in the 20’s. It looks to warm up towards the end of the week which could bring more hatched. Watch for ice. The flow is low. Small stoneflies are working quite well as well Rubberlegs and Little Sloans. Stick with the lower stretches of water at the bottom. Mayfly and Midge Nymphs will be all at the bottom.
 
Start Time:
12:00 PM
End Time:
3:00 PM
Flies
Nymphs
Name
Size
Mayfly
6
8
Midge
6
8
Fishing Water Report
 (3)
The Big Hole River starts in the Beaverhead Mountains south of Jackson, Montana and flows on for about 156 miles. Beginning as a slight stream, it picks up muscle as it joins with ... morethe North Fork, and draws more volume as it passes through the Wise River basin. At the Continental Divide it changes its northeasterly direction and heads southeast until it joins the Beaverhead and forms the Jefferson River close to the town of Twin Bridges, Montana. It hosts one of the last known habitat for the native fluvial artic grayling but is best known to fly fishers for its trout.

Like so many Montana rivers, the Big Hole is as full of history as it is of water. When Lewis and Clark stumbled upon it, the river was providing a buffer zone between rival Indian tribes vying for land as they sagely anticipated the westward push of European miners, furriers and settlers. Fifty years later, a significant number of the Nez Percé, a tribe that had initially befriended the Expedition, refused to accept life on a reservation and were nearly wiped out by U.S. troops in the Battle of the Big Hole. Today’s battles consist of quarrels between ranchers who desire water for irrigation and recreational users who wish to see the water preserved.

Fishing the river can be basically divided into three sections. From the headwaters at Skinner Lake to Fish Trap, the river meanders slowly through high meadowlands. This is where the few remaining artic grayling can be found, although browns and rainbows are in abundance here. In the second section, Fish Trap to Melrose, you will find boulders and pocket water rushing through a narrow canyon; here rainbows outnumber the browns with an estimated 3000 fish per mile. The final section, Melrose to Twin Bridges, is lined with cottonwood bottoms, braided channels and long, slow pools. In contrast to the second link, browns outnumber rainbows 2 to 1 with approximately 3000 fish per mile.
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Fishing Water Reports:
Size:
35 acres
Elevation:
5,456 ft
Activities:
Boating, Fishing
Boat Services:
Ramp
Sanitation & Water:
Toilet
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Accuracy
Completeness

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