Fishing Report: Depuy’s Spring Creek

Yesterday, we were fortunate enough to fish Depuy’s Spring Creek. It was a beautiful Montana day, the sun was out, and the fishing was on. The majority of our morning was spent on the lower section, fishing near Eva’s Hut and the Creek’s confluence with the Yellowstone River. Chandler got into many a trout early on in the morning, using a nymph rig. All of the action he saw came on his bottom nymph, a Sawyer’s pheasant tail, size 18 (excluding one trout that gulped a scud). Most fish landed came from faster channels with deep pockets and eddies. They were taking the fly after it drifted from the shallower water and into the hole in which they lay.

Depuy’s Cutbow by Chandler

Later in the morning and into the early afternoon, fish began looking towards the sky. PMD’s began to surface and fish were rising steadily throughout the middle of the day. Size 18’s were doing the trick, but all of the looks Marshall got were to Parachute PMD’s and CDC Comparadun PMD’s, with seldom rises towards other mayfly patterns. Before heading into the water, try glancing over the stretch and sight fishing. After you locate a few trout, cast to those and see if they’ll rise to your fly. If not, keep on sight fishing until you find rises occurring elsewhere in the water and cast to the rising trout. Try to cast well above the fish and let the fly float down for a better presentation.

In the evening, Michael tied on a bead headed leech and tried stripping it through some of the deeper, faster water beneath the culverts. Out of the three holes he hit, a fish took the fly in each, but only one was landed on the south end at the border with Armstrong’s Spring Creek. Fish seemed to like the bead head and the flash chenille on the body. Takes were all soft, and came in the fastest part of the water while the fly was swinging through. Strip as fast as you can, and be ready to set the hook at the slightest touch. The water is also clear enough so that a watchful eye may be able to see the fish flash as it chases the fly through hole. You might slow the fly down a bit, but be careful not to let the current take it out of the hole, or flare the fish by a sudden change in tempo.

The months ahead are looking great. Give us a call at 406-222-9393 if you have any questions or want to fish the local waters with any of our awesome guide staff!