April 2020
Big Sky Anglers
Spring Newsletter & Fishing Report

As Justin, Jonathan, myself and the rest of the BSA Crew navigate through these unprecedented times, we thought we should reach out to you all and give an update on guided fishing trips, deposit and cancellation polices, Yellowstone National Park’s opening date, winter snowpack, the Golden Stone Inn, and of course a fishing report! 

Like many of you, we are doing our best to keep a level head and take life day by day. We have found that turning off the news and getting outside to fish, ski or hike with our immediate families has helped us stay sane, or close to it anyways! 

While the fly shop remains closed to the public, we are here in a reduced capacity to answer phone calls, emails and to fulfill e-commerce orders. If you haven’t checked out our  online fly shop , please do! Like many of you, we are also working from home. Hours in the morning are spent pitching in as teachers to help educate our kids while school is closed and cleaning out our garages all the while trying not to crack a beer before noon.

Life as we know it has changed, some for the better and some for the worse. There is a silver lining to all of this uncertainty, more than one for sure, but what sticks out the most is that time with our families is of the utmost importance. With any luck, here soon we will be back on the rivers and lakes with you – our extended families, traveling and fishing these amazing places with a fly rod in hand.

Best,

Joe, Justin, Jonathan, and the BSA Crew

FISHING REPORT
John Knipp Photo



Madison River

The Madison River has been fishing pretty well so far this late Winter and early Spring. Flows at Hebgen Dam are currently at 1030 CFS and holding steady. There is still quite a bit of snow in between the lakes but the Madison Valley is beginning to burn off.

We have started to see some rainbows begin their yearly spawning rituals throughout the river system. Jonathan took a walk last week around Lyon Bridge and counted a handful of redds. He also caught several nice trout in some of the softer water on dry flies and nymphs. As always, leave those spawning trout alone and give them a break. 

We have seen some dry fly fishing in the upper river from Hebgen Dam down past Lyon Bridge as well. Blue winged olives are beginning to show up, but not thick just yet. There are still midges buzzing around and a few stone flies as well. A dry dropper rig might just produce some great fishing later in the day. 

Remember to keep your distance from other anglers right now and we all hope for things to get back to normal, sooner than later. 

Henry's Fork of the Snake

Spring has sprung on some of the sections of the Henry's Fork and in the lower river near Ashton, anglers will find boat ramps accessible as well as most of the snow gone. There's even some greenery beginning to show down there. Generally, anglers should be prepared to fish with nymphs and hope for a little dry fly fishing for a few hours in the middle of the day. Midges, baetis (BWOs), and a few march browns are all part of the party. Streamers are always a good thing to try for those looking to keep warm by stripping flies.

Up in the high country, winter's grip is still holding tight the landscape, with more snow-covered ground than not. Anglers wishing to post hole through snowbanks to find a few rising trout in the upper river are rewarded with a handful of targets. Nymph fishing in and around the Box Canyon is a productive way to spend a day as well, though boat ramps up here remain inaccessible.

As always, keep clear of redds in the Last Chance area and around the top of the Box Canyon. Non-resident anglers should be aware that Idaho has currently banned license sales to non-resident anglers in an attempt to discourage overcrowding during this time. Please be aware of this and if you are heading out there, respect the intent of the current rules and give everyone plenty of space.

Missouri River

Mike Kuhnert, Ray Leonhardt and Greg Falls, our local Missouri River guides, have been getting out and spending time on the water. Flows out of Holter are 4360 cfs, pretty decent water conditions out there right now compared to last week. The river is pretty spawny now and you will see plenty fish on redds throughout the entire river system. Leave them alone and let them be, the river gods will look kindly down on you later. Pink bead and fire bead anything as well as Zebra Midges under a bobber will produce. Swung bug and trout Spey game is small streamers. Experiment with flash vs natural/subtle options as the fish seem to change moods day to day. Spring on the Mo' can be a great time to find hungry brown trout in shallow slow water looking for a big meal. Be ready for fish rising to emerging midges and midge clusters when things line up and the wind lies down. We always keep a single dry rod rigged at all times, why not? Keep looking for fish in the softer, winter water for now....you know...those slow inside bends where watching paint dry might be more fun that watching your bobber. Later in the day a big dry with a tunghead jig dropped off about two to three feet will produce.

Yellowstone National Park

Closed for Now

Remember, all of our fishing reports are also posted and archived on our blog .
Big Sky Anglers

COVID-19
Guide Trip/Cancellation Policy Update

I n spite of the current situation of COVID 19, we are taking guide trip reservations for this season. Thus far, we haven’t had too many cancellations as most our customers are hopeful and hanging on to their reservations for this season. We all need some normalcy in life and planning for a fishing trip allows for just that. 

We are in the process of defining new operating protocols that will help to ensure our customers and guides can enjoy a day's fishing on the water safely. We hope you all stay healthy and look forward to seeing you this summer if and when you're able! We have updated our cancellation policy to the following: 
 
**In light of the current Covid-19 situation, we are relaxing our refund/cancellation policy for 2020 bookings to allow for 100% refunds of deposits for reservations that have to cancel due to the virus.**
 
Yellowstone National Park Update

On April 17, 2020, the West Gate to YNP did not open due to COVID 19. In fact, the North Gate in Gardiner, MT has been closed for the past few weeks and is only open for the residents of Cooke City and Silver Gate. We are hopeful that Yellowstone National Park will open back up by the end of the April 2020 or early May 2020. The fishing season for YNP opens on the Saturday of Memorial Day weekend; for this season that is May 23rd, 2020. Keep watching our Social Media pages for updates about the opening of YNP.
The Golden Stone Inn Update


The Inn was open all winter long as folks toured through YNP and the forest service trails enjoying the snow. Our close proximity to the snowmobile trails and the Rendezvous Ski Trails proved to be hit for sure. We closed the doors after the winter season on March 15th and are planning on re-opening as soon as we're allowed to do so safely, but remain flexible as the situation demands. We are accepting reservations for the 2020 season and encourage you to call to lock in your dates if you're thinking of visiting Yellowstone country. As with our guide trips, we will be flexible with deposits in regard to the virus situation.

We are in the process of adapting our cleaning procedures to properly function in this new world. We are thankful for the layout of the facility as the rooms are spread out nicely on the property and each unit has a door that opens directly onto its own deck space. The rooms were designed with cleanliness in mind. We are committed to holding the Golden Stone Inn to the highest cleanliness standards possible to keep our customers and employees safe and healthy.
Big Sky Country Snow Pack Update

Last week the mountains around West Yellowstone received 8-12 inches of wet spring time snow. As always, trout need water and this last round of precipitation has given us a solid bump. Easter Sunday saw a return of old Man Winter with – 8 degree temps. This week looks to have quite a bit of sunshine in the forecast, a little extra vitamin D should be on everyone’s list of must haves.
Big Sky Anglers Welcomes Chris Daniel to the Guide and Shop Staff

We are excited to announce that Chris Daniel has joined the BSA team starting with the 2020 season. A fixture of the West Yellowstone fly fishing community since 2006, Chris is not only a skilled, knowledgeable, and respected fishing guide, but also an exceptional fly caster, and a world-class nature and angling photographer. Chris will be both guiding and working at the fly shop, so be sure to stop in and say hi.
BSA Patagonia

Jonathan, Justin and Patrick got back into the USA in the nick of time. The country closed down in the middle of March and all business came to a halt. Joe and Steve were about to leave for several weeks and on March 19th, sadly they pulled the plug on their trips and stayed here in the United States. We are in close contact with our extended family down south and getting updates from time to time. Fortunately, they were able to get a brunt of their season in before things shut down. For now, they are hunkered down with their families trying not to drink too much Malbec. We are planning trips to Argentina for 2021 so stay tuned to our web site and social media platforms for up dates.


Check out the links below to a couple of blog posts from this past winter's travel to Patagonia.





INSTAGRAM SPOTLIGHT

Check out the #throwback week from last week, might have to run a few more of these! Guide rigs are packed with memories. Here is Jonathan's original guide rig from around 1994 when he started working for Bob Jacklin. # guiderig #montanafishing #bigskyanglers
BSA Online Fly shop

Back in November we released our online fly shop . Miles worked tirelessly throughout the winter to get the site updated, adding new product all winter long. If you haven’t checked it out, by all means, please do! If you have any suggestions on gear you’d like to see that is not listed, please let us know with a quick email to: orders@bigskyanglers.com .
Big Sky Anglers | 406-646-7801 | info@bigskyanglers.com | www.bigskyanglers.com