WRB friend Greg Thomas dives into the plentiful trout lakes of the Big Sky state and what they all have to offer.
“Be sure, I’ll be on the prowl this summer, visiting Hidden, Ennis, and Harrison, armed with damsel and Callibaetis patterns, looking for Mr.Big.“ - Greg Thomas
Montana's Trout Lakes with Greg Thomas
Trout lakes are abundant in Big Sky Country, but the most noted, and possibly the most productive, are located in southwest Montana near the towns of Ennis, Harrison, and West Yellowstone, which are all part of an area many dedicated fly-fishers call The Golden Triangle.
That triangle refers to America’s most desirable fly-fishing waters and includes Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming’s Teton country, eastern Idaho’s Henry’s Fork and Snake River watersheds, and southwest Montana’s generous allocation of blue-ribbon wild trout waters.
Nearly all of southwest Montana’s stillwaters offer rainbow trout, while others may also offer browns and cutthroats, fish that are typically much larger than trout living in rivers and streams. Stillwater trout are often recorded in pounds, not inches, and on a very good day, a competent western stillwater angler might bring a combined dozen or two-dozen pounds of trout to the net. While the average fish might measure 17 inches or so, it’s not uncommon to catch several trout weighing three or four pounds or more.
Montana's Trout Lakes with Greg Thomas
Productive fishing begins in spring as soon as the ice comes off these waters, but the most noted action arrives in late spring and on through summer, especially between mid-June and mid-September when anglers match damselflies and Callibaetis mayflies. These aquatic insects provide a one-two punch extending from mornings to late afternoons. In the mornings, anglers cast size-8 and 10 damselfly nymphs to match the actual insects swimming from submerged aquatic vegetation to shore. Once on shore, or at least while clinging to clumps of exposed vegetation, damsels break free from their nymphal shucks and become full-fledged adults. They are extremely vulnerable while making this migration, and trout take advantage. Anglers who cast and strip-retrieve damsel nymphs are in for some jarring strikes and generous opportunities to dip that net.
Callibaetis mayflies, in particular, are a summer staple for trout and are abundant on most stillwaters between mid-June and the end of August. They’re a big bug, matched early in the season by size-14 and 16 Parachute Adams’ and Callibaetis Cripples. Later, meaning late-July and August, those insects are smaller and matched by size-16, 18, and 20 patterns. On productive Callibaetis lakes, the emergences and spinnerfalls are immense.
Callibaetis typically hatch mid-morning with the nymphs swimming to the surface. Once at the surface, these grayish mayflies break free from their nymphal shucks, allow their wings to dry, and fly away, if a trout doesn’t swallow them first. This type of activity provides great dry-fly fishing with Callibaetis Cripples, Sparkle Duns, Gulper Specials, and Parachute Adams.
Montana's Trout Lakes with Greg Thomas
After hatching, Callibaetis gather in clouds to complete their mating process. Once done, they return to the water to lay eggs. As they do, most die and fall to the water as “spent spinners.” Their clear wings fall flat on the water, and trout key on that identifiable mark. Anglers who fish Callibaetis Spinners, Rusty Spinners, and Callibaetis Cripples often clean house during and after the actual hatch. All of those patterns are available at local fly shops in Bozeman, Big Sky, Ennis, and West Yellowstone.
The Callibaetis hatch is synonymous with Hebgen Reservoir, which lies south of Ennis and just north of West Yellowstone, and serves as an impoundment of the world-famous Madison River. Hebgen offers rainbows and browns to significant size; the average fish here measures 17 to 19 inches long, with fish in the four-to five-pound class being possible on any cast.
The Callibaetis action on Hebgen is called “gulper fishing”, a nod to the sound those trout make when sucking in mayflies from the surface. Hebgen’s gulper fishing is world-renowned, as it should be: this event offers some of the best dry-fly fishing of the year, and one of the best opportunities to take large trout on a dry fly, anywhere in the West.
Montana's Trout Lakes with Greg Thomas
But don’t be fooled—Hebgen isn’t the only place where you can take advantage of the Callibaetis hatch. Those bugs are also found in abundance on nearby Quake Lake, Wade Lake, which produced the former state-record brown trout, also on Ennis Lake, Harrison Lake, and a remote chain of lakes that includes Otter, Goose, Hidden, and Cliff. You can drive to Cliff Lake and very close to Hidden, but Otter and Goose require hikes of varying lengths to reach. If you want a truly wild Montana experience, give one of those lakes a try. All are located within an hour's drive of West Yellowstone.
There’s good reason why most fly-fishers prefer moving water over lakes and reservoirs, and, in the end, I might be included in that lot. But, it would be a mistake for anglers to focus solely on rivers, for a couple of clear reasons: stillwaters, in general, receive less fishing pressure than our blue-ribbon rivers, and the trout you’ll find in lakes and reservoirs are a whole different order of magnitude. Be sure, I’ll be on the prowl this summer, visiting Hidden, Enni, and Harrison, armed with damsel and Callibaetis patterns, looking for Mr.Big.
Montana's Trout Lakes with Greg Thomas
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About Greg Thomas
Greg, courtesy of Greg
Greg Thomas writes for various publications, including The New York Times, Forbes Alaska, Gray’s Sporting Journal, and Outside. His books include Flyfisher’s Guide to Washington and Flyfisher’s Guide to Montana. He is the former managing editor of Big Sky Journal and the former editor-in-chief of American Angler and Fly Rod & Reel magazines. He earned a journalism degree at the University of Montana, then made his rounds through some of the West’s most inviting trout towns, including Jackson, Wyoming, Ketchum and Boise, Idaho, and Ennis, Hamilton, Gallatin Gateway, and Missoula, Montana. He spends considerable time in Alaska each year when not chasing trout around the Rockies, or trout-setting on tarpon in salty environs. He is a former commercial fisherman and college basketball player who trained under legendary Washington state coach Ken Bone. He is an avid upland bird and big game hunter and now lives in Missoula, Montana, with his trusty Labrador retriever, Rye. He spends part of his life telling his two teen daughters, “Do as I say, not as I do,” an effective tactic, only part of the time.
