Dec. 2015…
MERRY CHRISTMAS FROM ENNIS, MONTANA!
watch video of Madison River Gorge
Happy Thanksgiving from RBMF!
Montana Fall Colors…hen mallard, wigeon, green-wing teal.
Nov…2015. Having a hard time landing this morning!
Oct…2015. Late October dry fly brown…caught below Kelly Br. on #12 PMX…nice fish Bernie!
Oct…2015. Whopper brown trout from Jefferson R…guided by Mike Treloar.
Oct…2015. Overcast day in the Channels means large trout on the prowl with Andy and Terry.
October Channels brown…caught by Andy Stone…released alive.
Fat Channels rainbow caught by Terry Lamplugh on his rubber legs home-tie…released alive.
Sept…2015. A pair of nice brownies today on the Little Red Fly!…with Bill and Tanya Sullivan.
Sept…2015. Beast Mode…monster rainbow caught above Varney…with Mike Treloar.
Sept…2015. So here’s pretty much the view we had on today’s float trip in between the black clouds/lightning/hail/rain/north wind/south wind/chilly factor…did I mention it snowed a helluva lot in the hills?
Sept…2015…The kinda bow I’m talkin’ about…with Mike Treloar.
Sept…2015. Nice bow caught by Doug Brown fishing with Bill Sachs today!
Sept…2015. We be catchin’ and noodlin’…fun fishing the Channels with Ronnie and Fred!
Sept….2015…Really good this morning on the flats…many risers, gulpers and sippers…eleven trout…all rainbows…Parachute Adams and my PTC Midge home-tie. Good job Edward!
Sept…2015…Excellent late day with Jim and Connie…25 trout on the Foamy Ant…we fished the Palisades stretch…the fish are looking for ants and by the looks of the weather report for the next several days they are going to get their wish! Watch for the flying ant hatch this week!
Sept….2015. A great day in Varney…a dozen nice trout on the RB Bunny and the Little Red Fly. Good job Cindy B!
Aug. 26…2015. Major girth on this rainbow caught by Dennis Hall today on Cameron Flats.
Have seen some big bows this summer on the Madison…longer and fatter than ever before. Yessir!
Aug. 25…2015. Big ones today on the Little Red Fly…thanks Tom & Bob!
Aug. 24…2015. Good day on the Flats…thirteen rainbows to 19″ on the O-Leech and PTC nymph. Nice midge hatch AM then a good cally hatch mid-day. Still smoky. Water temps 62-66 degrees. No brown trout today.
Trophy crawdad…Madison Flats
Aug. 21…2015. Upper Madison flows and water temps…good news!
Hebgen- 900cfs…West Fork-994cfs…Varney-1020cfs…water temp @ Varney this morning: 58 degrees. We are in good shape!
Aug. 20…2015. Ghost trip today on the Flats and in the smoke. Many risers to midges and dusky duns. Caught four bows and a nice brown.
Aug. 19…2015. Red hot on the Flats today…16 fish…all rainbows and one big, fat 20″ brown trout…all on the O-Leech. Stood in one spot and caught a dozen…fun day!
Aug…2015. Raney’s excellent adventure… Girls Gone Wild Fly Fishing Hip Hop and Bee Bop Club.
Raney’s 18″ rainbow on a dry fly…yo!
Photo bomb by Peaches…yo!
Where are we?…yo!
Chillin’…yo!
Focus, breathe deep, be the fish…yo!
Aug…2015. My callibaetis spinner home-tie (speckled dun).
hook: Mustad 94840 #12, #14
tail: blue dun hackle fibers splayed
body: Hairline gray dubbing
hackle: blue dun
wing: drake mallard flank feather (I use the E. Hille Wingcutter to form the wings)
Aug…2015. A dozen big trout for Bill Sachs today…all on dry flies. #20 Griffiths Gnat and #12 calli spinner were the hot patterns.
Bill caught this 19″ rainbow on #20 Griffiths Gnat (trico)
Aug…2015…A great day on the Madison with my good friend Stu Apte!
Aug…2015. It was a trico kind of morning…nice catch Elinor!
Aug…2015…I don’t often catch big fish…but when I do, I prefer to catch a bigass rainbow like this one William McGee caught!
Aug…2015. Brown drake hatch on the flats tonight…we hooked six large trout on dry flies.
photos by Randy Brown
Aug. 4…2015. Great day with long time client Steve Hobson and son Adam. Nice brown trout on the Fat Albert dry fly! We have fished the Florida Keys and Montana together!
Aug. 3…2015. Top level Madison River fly fishing guides strategy session outside our executive office building today…
Mike T….”I smell something”
RB…”Me too”
Brandon…”Something’s dead”
Dirt…”Road Kill?”
Mike T…”You guys got any flies?”
RB…”I’m almost out”
Brandon…”I’ve got way too many”
Dirt…”I really don’t care”
Mike T…”Let’s go get a beer”
RB…”Fine with me”
Brandon…”I’ll sell you guys some flies”
Dirt…”Let’s go get a beer”
Mike T…”You got a dip?”
RB…”Nah, I quit”
Brandon…”I got one”
Dirt…”Let’s go get a beer”
Meeting adjourned…all problems solved…fish till you fall over.
July 30…2015. Sparky’s revenge! Good times with Sam and Kevin in Varney.
July…2015. Many great years with these fine people…thanks Jerry and Tina!
July…2015. Dodging rain and hail this afternoon…but we caught a few nice ones!
Flow reports are still good: Hebgen Dam release-794cfs…West Fork 914cfs…Varney-1030. Water temp @ Varney this afternoon: 65 degrees.
Nocturnal (mutant) stone fly shucks today above Varney.
July…2015. We hit the trico hatch this morning…many large trout nosing, sipping and slurping…including these beauties…
Robert Mark…20″ brown on #20 Griffith Gnat dry fly
#20 Griffith Gnat
Rick Benners, 19″ rainbow on #18 trico cluster dry fly.
July 13…2015. Flow Report: Hebgen- 931cfs, West Fork 1050cfs, Varney 1270cfs…water temp @ Varney this morning: 62 deg. We are in great shape…”better than most”. Keep it rolling…
Nocturnal stone fly shucks…Madison River
July 11…2015. Turtle invasion on the Madison River!
July…2015. We hit the trico hatch today with Cindy B. The big trout were nosing and slurping. Caught several beauties on #14 PA and #16 PTC Midge…excellent!
TBT…Before knee locks, before foot anchors, before bead heads, before Gore-Tex…we had ash oars, Gluv-It, rubber boots and Pfleuger Medalists…and we caught a lot of fish!
Randy Brown, Jefferson R. below LaHood, Mt. 1977
July…2015. We caught fish on the dries early and wet flys just before noon. Flows still good…1090cfs @ West Fork today…water temp. 68 deg. @ 5pm. Keep it rolling.
July 8…2015. Eileen bags a big one on the Sparky fly!
July 7…2015. Good this morning…twelve on dry flies…heavy PMD hatch Pal-Mac…flows are still good…1200cfs @ West Fork. Saw quite a few fish rising to naturals this morning!
paint brush near Ruby Cliffs
July 6…2015. We had a welcome cool front along with a pretty good rain/hail storm that came through while the US Women were stomping on Japan in the World Cup Final. Caught seven on the Flats this morning…five rainbows, two browns…the PTC nymph, the O-Leech and the dry fly all caught fish. Water cooler on the Flats…temps were 65 deg. south end, 70 deg. north shore.
Stay tuned for more reports!
July 5…2015. Dodging Bullets.
The heatwave is giving way to north wind and cooler temps for a while. The river has made it through some 100 degree air temp days but good flows have kept the water temps from boiling over into the danger zone.
Flows today: Hebgen Dam: 1020cfs, West Fork: 1230cfs, Varney 1460cfs. This is GOOD NEWS. These flows are close to a 76 year average which is outstanding. When Hebgen switches over to the new release system at the dam (have they switched over yet?)things should get even better.
We have a long (short?) hot summer yet to go, but we have made it through a rough patch. Thank you Northwestern Energy!
July 3…2015. Whopper for Mary Ann this morning on my Sparky fly…awesome!
July 1…2015. Good again this morning…quite a few risers to midges, big callys and damsels. Six nice rainbows to 19″…water temps 72-77 deg. Now put on your dancin’ shoes and do The Damsel Fly Boogie! CLICK HERE
June 29…2015. Nice morning on the flats…a dozen trout on the fly…six bows, six browns…and broke a couple off! Hatches are good but not heavy yet…midges, callys, damsels…lots of risers but it will only get better. Water temps: 72-77 deg.
Watch video..nice rainbow from this morning…CLICK HERE
June 24…2015 Salmon fly hatch report.Hatch is still scattered from Varney upstream. Some very nice fish being taken on the big dry flies. Yesterday we found a hot bank that was loaded with the big bugs. We hooked four fish, had another half dozen come up and boil on the fly, and finished the run with a nice, fat nineteen inch rainbow. River is running clear with a good flow. We are headed for some possible record heat starting Saturday. Help the fish by releasing them fast and happy!
Paul Gulbas…salmon fly hatch rainbow
June 23…2015. Where’s the hatch? Salmon flies scattered this year. Fishing very good if you find the hot areas. Many other hatches mixed in…golden stones, large caddis, may flies heavy in spots. Get out there and have at it!
June…2015. Twenty inch brown today for Rian!
June 15…2015…Hebgen release flows cut in half…water temp. 60 deg. @ Varney…time for the big bugs…salmon flies whooshed through @ Big Hole R. and poof! Stay tuned.
June 2015…Click here to see…
June 2015…Click here to see…
June, 2015 Click here to see…
June 1, 2015. Rivers in full turbo runoff mode…be careful out there!
Kelly Bridge, Madison River
Big Hole River
Memorial Day, 2015…Honoring Our Vets.
May, 2015…Time for Montana Mushrooms!
Pictured above…two giant oyster mushrooms (pleurotus ostreatus). I found these growing out of the base of a downed cottonwood tree. Oysters are considered edible, choice mushrooms…great fresh with pasta or spaghetti sauce…or dry and freeze them. Tasty!
Morel mushrooms (morchella esculenta), tops!
April 15, 2015…Springtime in Montana…time for BBQs and…err, ummm…
April, 2015…Getting ready for my 43rd year fishing the Madison…come see me and let’s fish!
Artwork by Robert Szucs
Hungry Like A Wolf…Pioneer Bar…Virginia City, Mt.
Randy Brown photos
Jan. 1, 2015
