John,

Glad you pointed that out. I do all of my fishing on these rivers with guides, guess I should have stated that.

The Big Hole is great right now for guided drift boat/ridged framed raft trips. They are too high for people to drift on their own unless that person is an expert. Good wade fishing on the Big Hole is still a ways off, there are some access areas where you could fish but with the present levels, it would be better to wait.

However both the Big Hole and the Beaverhead right now are fishing very well. Compare that to almost all of the other rivers in Montana and it is an easy choice to make. What happens in the near future is anyone?s guess. Snow is still being dumped way up in the mountains. Almost all of the upper mountains still have over 100% snow pack, which will have to melt sooner or later. Everyone is keeping their fingers crossed for a slow melt but with Mother Nature you never know.

So, for right now, the Big Hole and Beaverhead are great places to go. The Beaverhead has some good access points for foot traffic, the Big Hole not as many. Guided rafts/drift boats are the best and safest way to go and you should catch some good sized fish and a fair number of them.

Larry ---sagefisher---