07-12-2011, 10:34 PM
I just returned from 10 days of clear water fly fishing around one of my favorite towns: Dillon, Montana. Floated the Beaverhead in my Renegade, fished the Poindexter Slough (spring creek) most mornings, and spent a wonderful day on McCoy's Spring Creek, located on a private ranch just outside Dillon.
Yes, McCoy's was a pay-to-play creek, but for my $125 I got an entire "beat" of the creek all to myself all day, crystal clear water, a pretty decent pmd hatch, and 14-18 inch trout that were willing to eat most of my bugs with a good presentation. They were just spooky enough to make you move slowly, pay attention to your position and shadow, and make a 20-30 foot cast with a good dead drift. But, they were not selective to the flies or leader-shy with a downstream presentation. I used PMD duns, emergers, and spinners; beetles and ants (almost not-fair deadly!); and even a basic para adams. (I don't carry or use any subsurface flies-just what I choose.)
I do this trip most summers during the same time (4th of July week), and I have an extra spot reserved on McCoy's again next year on July 1 and July 7 if anyone's interested. We'd share the "beat." Nobody else. Reservations there are hard to come by in June and July.
Poindexter's (free public) was its usual, magnificent self. A great pmd hatch every morning that carried into the afternoon, and very selective browns from 12-18 inches eating when both both my bug and presentation were "just right." It's a challenging and rewarding "creek," actually a spring-fed tributary to the Beaverhead.
I floated the Beaverhead a couple of days, and floated most of the evenings there in a short run of fairly flat water not far below the dam. It was average by its own standards (still pretty good!), but I've seen it better. The water from Clark Canyon Dam was flowing steady and clear though, and there were fish up every time I took to the river. Big, fat Beaverhead browns mostly, with a long rainbow thrown in now and then. PMD's were present, but sparse, for some reason. Evening spinnerfalls were adequate enough to catch 4 or 5 big fish during the last two hours of light each evening. The fish in the section I fish see a lot of flies during the day, so they have to be worked a little.
I drove over to Ennis one day to see the muddy torrent called the Madison. It was chocolate milk. I had a day reserved on Odell's spring creek, right outside Ennis. It was fishable, but also high, off-color, and there was hardly a hatch. I never saw a fish rise, or made a cast, and departed around noon. On the way back to Dillon, I scoped the Ruby below Ruby Dam. It was also high, but fishable. I didn't try it either though, with the Dillon-area stuff so good.
McCoy's creek was definitely the highlight of the 10-day week. I may go back up there later this season just for that!
[signature]
Yes, McCoy's was a pay-to-play creek, but for my $125 I got an entire "beat" of the creek all to myself all day, crystal clear water, a pretty decent pmd hatch, and 14-18 inch trout that were willing to eat most of my bugs with a good presentation. They were just spooky enough to make you move slowly, pay attention to your position and shadow, and make a 20-30 foot cast with a good dead drift. But, they were not selective to the flies or leader-shy with a downstream presentation. I used PMD duns, emergers, and spinners; beetles and ants (almost not-fair deadly!); and even a basic para adams. (I don't carry or use any subsurface flies-just what I choose.)
I do this trip most summers during the same time (4th of July week), and I have an extra spot reserved on McCoy's again next year on July 1 and July 7 if anyone's interested. We'd share the "beat." Nobody else. Reservations there are hard to come by in June and July.
Poindexter's (free public) was its usual, magnificent self. A great pmd hatch every morning that carried into the afternoon, and very selective browns from 12-18 inches eating when both both my bug and presentation were "just right." It's a challenging and rewarding "creek," actually a spring-fed tributary to the Beaverhead.
I floated the Beaverhead a couple of days, and floated most of the evenings there in a short run of fairly flat water not far below the dam. It was average by its own standards (still pretty good!), but I've seen it better. The water from Clark Canyon Dam was flowing steady and clear though, and there were fish up every time I took to the river. Big, fat Beaverhead browns mostly, with a long rainbow thrown in now and then. PMD's were present, but sparse, for some reason. Evening spinnerfalls were adequate enough to catch 4 or 5 big fish during the last two hours of light each evening. The fish in the section I fish see a lot of flies during the day, so they have to be worked a little.
I drove over to Ennis one day to see the muddy torrent called the Madison. It was chocolate milk. I had a day reserved on Odell's spring creek, right outside Ennis. It was fishable, but also high, off-color, and there was hardly a hatch. I never saw a fish rise, or made a cast, and departed around noon. On the way back to Dillon, I scoped the Ruby below Ruby Dam. It was also high, but fishable. I didn't try it either though, with the Dillon-area stuff so good.
McCoy's creek was definitely the highlight of the 10-day week. I may go back up there later this season just for that!
[signature]