| The Lesser Terrestrials | |
Admittedly we're as guilty of this as anyone, but when it comes to fishing terrestrial patterns we all naturally think of "Hoppers" and skip over the more abundant and available ants and beetles. Here's a few of our favorite "Lesser Terrestrial" patterns for your box.
Tiger Blood Beetle
 Visible, effective, floats nice and high. Really no downside to this pattern. We like it as a trailer off of a hopper, but you can see it for a point fly as well.
Ant Sharpton
 A nice plump and extra large ant pattern. This one is a favorite in our boxes when the fish are refusing to eat hoppers but you have enough wind that you can't see the smaller ant patterns!
Dirty Hippy Mobile
 A nice little hi-vis beetle pattern that just flat out will catch fish. We like this one as a high mountain lake silver bullet in case you have a big fish that you just can't seem to fool, toss on one of these.
Curtis' Hi-Vis Flying Ant
 The biggest key in success with Ant patterns is being able to see the take. This is a sexy little flying ant pattern you can see when the fish engulf it.
Ninja Cicada
 You might hear them, but you usually don't see many by the water. But Cicadas do find their way into trout's bellies in the summertime. Find a few of these in your box as a go to on the Upper Yellowstone if it's slow.
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| The Great Hopper Debate | |
 August means that it's time to start pitching terrestrials and get that dry fly floatant and dry shake ready to rock and roll for the next couple of months in Montana. Hoppers are getting going on nearly all of the major water bodies around Montana, and some might argue it's been good for a while now, but really the best is yet to come if you ask us... Read on for a few of our tips on hopper fishing this summer!
Big Rivers vs Small Streams
Common summer hopper haunts include all of the big name rivers like the Yellowstone, Madison, Gallatin, Missouri etc. The big rivers offer a great chance and opportunity to stick truly large 20" plus trout on dries and also offer the opportunity to float and fish grasshoppers all day long which is hard to argue with. Big rivers win if you're looking strictly for pure size of fish.
But oftentimes some of the most interesting places to fish grasshoppers are on smaller rivers and streams that offer up a more intimate setting where you can pick the water apart and drift hoppers tight to the undercut grassy banks where the hogs lay up all day waiting for an easy meal. Small streams also offer solitude from hoards of anglers and in Montana can produce some monster fish - nothing is better than sticking a twenty plus inch fish in small water on a hopper, nothing.
Compromise - do both! Before the bigger rivers begin to cool back down in September and get consistent Hopper action you can get on the smaller streams where the fish see less pressure and get more aggressive hopper takes earlier in the season. When late summer rolls around, the big rivers shine because the water temps stay warmer longer and fish are active on the top a fair bit longer. Small Hoppers vs Large Hoppers The small hopper and large hopper controversy will rage on - the biggest determining factor we find in selecting size is simply time of year and size of water. Although not a perfect science, smaller hoppers work better early on when the hoppers aren't fat and large. They also tend to work better on creeks where a big hopper can make an unwanted big impression on smaller bodies of water. Bigger hoppers typically get better in the late season when there are more late stage giant hoppers around. Bigger hoppers also work better on bigger bodies of water as well where a size 6 just doesn't look as intimidating to larger trout accustomed to seeing large hoppers all the time.
Verdict - Carry both in your box... Dead Drift vs Skitter & Skate Read up a bit more on our Featured Tip of the Month from Kris on the BLOG on this. Certain times and places the dead drift is just plain deadly, other times you'll find more consistent action skating or popping your hopper along. Read up HERE
For more info on our area click the link below for the most detailed up to date fishing reports!
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Greetings!
 As we sit down to write our August Newsletter, we can hardly believe it's August in Montana already! How time flies when the fishing is good - which would explain how all that time slipped away as we were waking up at 5AM to get out on the water early and soak in the sunrise on the river basking in some good dry fly fishing in July... Our Fishing Guides have been baking a nice crispy tan all of July and are ready for August and hoppers! We've been getting out on some small streams lately too and dry fly fishing has been incredible.
August means that it's terrestrial time, bouncing to a river near you will be plenty of hoppers along with some ants and beetles. Staring in the crystal ball we're going to predict some incredibly good hopper fishing in August and September as everything is dry and all of the grasshoppers are congregating near the river banks now with most of the hay cutting coming early this year unlike the last two years when mid to late September was the best terrestrial fishing of the year.
If you're worried about low water and hot temperatures, don't be. We've talked to our Region 3 Fisheries Biologists at Montana Fish Wildlife & Parks and they have assured us that with evening temps coming down and days getting shorter and evenings longer, the fish are going to be in good shape and they aren't worried, so we're not worried!
The only thing we're worried about is running out of the good hopper patterns this year, because it's already getting going and it's only the second week of August. Be sure and check out all our advice on Hopper Fishing. We've got a new installment of popular patterns for this month's Newsletter - our focus - "Lesser Terrestrials." And in this Month's Tip from Kris we're talking all about Skating Hoppers for Big Trout.
We've got a pile of stuff going on these next couple of months and August is going to be fun with the Cast a Winston Contest and the Photo Contest just getting warmed up. We've got our August Fishing Update for you, and if you want to get out to Montana this August or just get out on the rivers for a few days, check out our Guide Trip Special for August this year!
The Online Store is NOW OPEN, and we're adding items daily. We've been busy keeping you up to speed on the latest and greatest and this month we've got a little Product Review on the Echo Edge 784 - what we're deeming the "Ultimate Hopper Stick" so be sure to check that out as well.
If you haven't hooked up with us yet on Facebook and Twitter come and see what you've been missing with fun fishing report updates, chatter and fishing banter, contests and more!
Kris, Justin & Lisa
Kris Kumlien
Justin & Lisa King
Montana Troutfitters
800-646-7847
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What's Going on at Troutfitters?
The Online Store is finally OPEN for Business. Right now we've got all of our Troutfitters Logo Gear loaded into the store so you can look good in your Troutfitters t's and hats no matter where you live. We're getting the full range of products we carry in the store loaded into our online store as fast as we can! So keep checking and if you really need something, email us or call.
 It's time - the Cast a Winston Contest is underway and we've had several dozen folks stop in already and cast a Winston to get entered to win a $100 Gift Certificate along with some other prizes. Plus if you purchase any Winston in August you will be entered into a grand prize drawing for a New Winston B3SX. All you need to do is stop by Montana Troutfitters and talk to our staff and cast any Winston rod now through August 31st.
We've already seen some great photography for the 2012 Contest and now is a great time to use the excuse to "enter the contest" to get out on the water and do some fishing in your Troutfitters gear! This year we have the best selection of prizes from Patagonia Waders to Winston and Sage rods, Lamson Reels, Korkers Boots, Smith Sunglasses and more! |
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| Tip from Kris - Put Some Skate on It... |
There are various different lines of thinking on grasshopper fishing but fishermen seem to fit into one of a couple of categories when it comes to how to present a hopper - the Dead Drift Camp or the Can't Sit Still Camp. Now there's not necessarily a wrong way to fish a grasshopper pattern, because having fished as a member of both camps, I can say that both of them work. There's a time and a place for everything and refusing to belong to one ideology or the other is really the most effective way to fish. This little piece isn't a "Don't Ever Dead-Drift Your Fly" essay, it's really encouragement to try something different and have some success with it, it will make you a better fisherman if nothing else to have one more trick in your bag for days that your normal techniques aren't working.
Put Some Skate on It
For those of you who belong to the Dead Drift Camp, don't worry, you can still toss a hopper out there and watch it slowly drift along through the current, but I'd highly encourage you to step out of your comfort zone and put some movement on your fly every once in a while. Fish are given far too much credit for being discerning creatures that contemplate their meals and decipher situations in attempt to thwart the fisherman's pursuit of them. Really fish are just opportunistic feeders that at times will eat anything and at other times will eat seemingly nothing at all, and that's when you have to entice them a little bit... On the best of days during the summer when it's hot and windy and there's a lot of grasshoppers getting blown onto the water along a grassy bank and there's a nice little current feeding them all down to the fish that you can see dotting the surface, gorging themselves, you seemingly can't do anything wrong. But for those of us who fish in the real world, that doesn't happen very often, so be prepared to fish hoppers without ever seeing a fish rise. If you're going to get the attention of fish, sometimes you simply have to get some movement on your pattern.
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Get Out Fishing NOW!
There's no better time than now to come join us out in Montana for some fishing on a river, creek or lake. We've got an extra bit of incentive for you - book 3 days in August and get half off on your 4th day! After all if you're going to travel to Montana for fishing, why just fish 1 or 2 days?
Book any 4 trips to fish with us between now and August 31st and you'll save 50% on your 4th Day! CLICK HERE FOR DETAILS | Offer Expires: 8/31/2012 *Only applies to trips NOT previously booked
CLICK HERE FOR COMPLETE GUIDE TRIP SPECIAL DETAILS |
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Monthly Gear Review
8'4" 7wt Echo Edge - The Ultimate Hopper Stick
 So for those gear junkies out there who can justify having a rod for every fishing situation, rejoice, here's another rod for you...
For the rest of you who are simply looking for a good all around rod for every situation, you might not put this rod on the very top of your "All Around Rods" list, but it should be on the short list of "Must Have's" for anybody who fishes Hoppers in Montana in the summertime or fishes streamers out of a boat anytime of the year.
What are we talking about? The Echo Edge 8'4" 7wt.
A 7 weight for hoppers? Yep. Read the Full Review HERE
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