FISHING MONTANA'S EARLY SEASON
Now you might ask, "What early season?" Well, there is a period of time from around the 15th of March to about the 1st of June, which I refer to as the early season. During this time period many anglers believe that either the weather is still too cold or that there are no hatches. Nothing could be further from the truth.
Due to the lack of, or possibly even mistaken, information there are very few anglers traveling to Montana during the mid-March to June 1st time period. The salmon fly hatches have not yet started, and besides, this is Montana!! Don't you know? We seem to have acquired this reputation of being on the fringe of the Arctic Circle with forty feet of snow and freezing, sub‑zero temperatures. Why, we'll barely thaw out enough for the salmon flies to hatch and winter comes in August!!!
I guess there are places in Montana that might be like those mentioned above, though I can't recall any off hand, and the only reason I would want to know about them in the first place is to avoid them. However, from March 15th on, the weather is pretty decent. Oh, sure, we get spring snow storms, but they seldom interfere with the fishing for more than a day. Besides, I have encountered some of the best midge and blue winged olive hatches on snowy days!! Regardless of the weather, the fishing during this time period makes a trip to Montana worthwhile.
NOTES ON THE WEATHER
March: During the last half of March the normal temperature range is 35 to 45 degrees. Sure, there is a chance for a snow shower, but seldom will it drive you off the water.
April: During the month of April you can find the temperatures varied, from 35 to 70 degrees, still with a chance of a late snow shower. But mostly April is a fairly pleasant month. It would indeed be a rare occurrence when the weather drives us off the water during April.
May: Spring comes with May, the trees leaf out and temperatures are mostly from 50 to 70 degrees. May also brings the normal start of the annual spring runoff which can affect the fishing in some streams.
FISHING HIGH - LITES
MARCH
Our top choices for March include the three famous spring creeks of Paradise Valley: Armstrong's, DePuy's and Nelson's. There are midges and blue winged olive hatches on all three. The rainbow trout are also in spawning mode and are very susceptible to nymphs and small streamers. You can also find excellent midge fishing on the Yellowstone, Missouri, Madison and Big Horn rivers during March. Now don't think that just because the rainbows are spawning that the fishing lacks challenge because it doesn't. The trout can be finicky and selective, and due to the low water conditions, can be very wary!!!
APRIL
There is plenty of excellent fishing to choose from in April, just read on!!
Yellowstone River: During April there are midge, blue winged olive and western march brown hatches along with plenty of action on nymphs and streamers. In a normal year the famous Yellowstone caddis hatch will begin towards the end of the month and the fishing is S U P E R!!!
Big Horn River: There are heavy hatches of midges and blue winged olives and the rainbows start spawning.
Upper Madison River: The most popular and productive area is the Slide Inn section where anglers have excellent results with midge and small mayfly imitations. I also like the water around Reynolds Pass Highway Bridge. This is pretty rough water, but easy to fish because you just don't have to wade very deep. This is excellent water for employing the Charles Brooks' method of fishing large stonefly patterns deep.
Spring Creeks of Paradise Valley are still fishing well with midge, blue winged olives and, starting around mid-April, caddis hatches.
Lower Madison River: Another great stream to fish during April and there is action to almost any angler's liking, whether it be fishing the hatches or using streamers and big nymphs. Jefferson River: Another of my favorites in April, for it is seldom crowded and the fishing is excellent.
Missouri River: The Headwaters section offers some excellent float fishing for some very impressive browns and rainbows. This is the best time of year to fish this section. In the Toston section the angler can find good midge fishing along with some excellent streamer action for spring run rainbows coming up from Canyon Ferry Reservoir. In the Beaver Creek section the angler is there for one reason and one reason only....large trophy sized rainbows! The fishing, or should I say the catching, isn't fast but this is the place to fish if you are serious trophy anglers. The Wolf Creek section offers the angler some good midge and baetis fishing as well as good results with nymphs and streamers. April also brings ice-out to many area lakes and these stillwaters have some great fishing just after ice-out and soon the midge hatches start. Now there are midges, and then there are lake midges, many of which are true size 12 and 14's. Shouldn't have any trouble seeing midges like those!!
MAY
Generally the first 10 days of May mean the Yellowstone caddis hatch. After that, the spring runoff normally starts and we lose the river until late June. However, we still have the Mother's Day Caddis hatch on the Lower Madison River. The spring creeks (Armstrong's, DePuy's and Nelson's) are still fishing well, though it's only fair to warn you that during May the trout on the creeks can be very tough and challenging. We always spend a fair amount of time float tubing the lakes during May and working the midge and callibaetis hatches. During May the Big Horn is still fishing very well with good Baetis and midge hatches. Also, the rainbows are still spawning.
During late May Yellowstone National Park opens its fishing season and adds the Gardner, Firehole, Gibbon and Madison to our list of places to fish.
This is just a sampling of what's happening during the early season in Montana. There are also excellent angling opportunities on the Bighole and the Beaverhead. So the next time cabin fever is starting to take its toll, grab your gear and head for Montana and a fishing adventure of a lifetime! The fishing can be great and sometimes you even catch a few!!