Fly Tying

R

RedNose

New member
I am sure there are those of you that tie up a few to splash the water with. Any suggestions for a simple set to tie for Montana rivers (north of I-90 to the Canadian border).

Dry, wet, streamers, hoppers, nymphs etc. we're not picky. We are Alaskans in exile so until we move back we are going to take advantage of some fishing, so far we haven't as we thought moving back would be simple, but with the economy is the slump we are stuck with a BIG house in eastern Washington.

Any and all fly pattern suggesting greatly accepted. I think I have WAs flys figured out but...

thanks
s
 
Humpies & adams always treated me well for dry flies when I lived there. Stimulators, hairs ears, soft hackles & buggers worked for nymphs. Sculpin streamers are good for larger river trout. I'm in E WA; adopt an old man & a great dog & I'll tie for ya . . .
 
I spent a week fishing in Montana the last two summers and caught quite a few fish.
I like to fish two flies, especially a hopper with a dropper nymph. By far the most productive rig for me was a bead head prince nymph fished below a tan foam hopper.
 
As mentioned, timing is very important to the type of flies. You also want to take into consideration whether you are fishing a tailwater(dam released) river or a Freestone river. Each has specific bugs. Freestones typically have more big Stonefly type bugs and tailwaters are full of micro mayfly, midge, sowbugs, scuds, caddis, etc.
So for freestone rivers I would tie up some San Juan worms, Pats Rubber legs,
Buggers, Prince Nymphs, copper john, Big Stone fly dries and hoppers for summer.
Tail water: small pheasant tails(16-22) and other mayfly imitations, zebra midge, small stone like yellow sallies, sow bugs and small dries that match nymphs ie: Beatis, Pale morning Duns etc.
Give me an idea of what rivers you are fishing and the timing and I may be able to get more specific. I spend about 5 weeks a summer on the Smith (freestone) and another 3 weeks on the Missouri/Beaverhead (tailwaters) and the fly selection is generally very different between the two types of rivers.
 
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thank you guys. Yes I know you gotta match the hatch etc. As for when will we be there? We never know what is in the wind. I can tie up a bunch of patterns but probably not great amounts to match when and where we will be.

I do know I want to be there in September just before pheasant season starts. I'd like to fish a week in middle September then head back to our house in eastern Washington to re-group for South Dakota. I'm going this year come hell or high water. We moved to the Lower 48 and we are stuck here until the economy recovers so we can sell the house and move back North, but in the mean time I sure as hell am going to get a taste of SD.

Thanks again for the suggestions.
S
 
Red, September is the perfect time to fish the hopper /dropper rig I mentioned in the earlier post. There will be lots of hoppers around then.
 
Upland Hunter said:
Red, September is the perfect time to fish the hopper /dropper rig I mentioned in the earlier post. There will be lots of hoppers around then.
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True that! Especially if it is nice indian summer type weather. We had incredible hopper fishing well into October this year. If it is cool and wet then the Blue Wings will be hatching.

Either way, a good time to be on the water.
 
This is a great post. I was fishing with my father in law, Joe, on a river in SE Alaska for silvers and good looking dogs one August. We were gear fishing but I had my fly gear with so I decided to try these weird looking glow in the dark comets with either lead eyes or weighted bodies and chain eyes. Anyway the fishing went from an occational hook up to one right after the other. Joe finally asked me for a fly. We hooked it up on his spinning rod, threw in a small sinker and bang, zoom bing he was into the fish like me. We kept that up until we finally said we gotta quit. We kept some dogs for the smoker, and a few silvers for the pan or BBQ. That was one of my best days with a GREAT fishing partner. I'm going to miss dad when he passes on. WWII vet, hunter, fisherman and all around gentleman.
thanks for the post to get my brain cells fired up...

jsdriggs said:
You know Rednose, you nailed it with your first paragraph.

I must have 10,000 flies at this point in my life. They were accumulated on a need to have basis. Every fishing trip dictated it's own patterns and so after ten years, voila! You'll pretty much have anything you need. As well as stuff people will tell you you don't need on this river or that river. DONT listen to them. There is a saying we like that goes- "Let's try something stupid!". Obscure, even foolish patterns will sometimes rip it up. So, in short, tie up some basics, everyone here has had good suggestions, and then just pick up stuff as you need from local shops. If they work, then you can tie them too.

Have fun- it's coming up soon!
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