After our spring getaway to New Zealand we returned to Montana just in time to jump right into guide season. We got back to Philipsburg on May 8th. I took the tarp off the drift boat. I scrambled together my fishing gear. I was guiding the Big Hole on May 9. Throughout the month of May, and into June, I split my time between the Big Hole and Rock Creek. Both rivers fished well through the month of June. Rock Creek had some epic dry fly days during its floating season.
As we moved into the month of July, I started branching out. I began fishing the Missouri River and the Blackfoot River. I also spent some time on Georgetown Lake. As the heat of the summer rolled in, we saw the flows of most of our rivers drop drastically. This put most of them on restrictions. This meant a lot of early mornings and monitoring water temperatures to protect our trout. Thankfully, our local options remained reliable. We still had a great Damselfly hatch on Georgetown Lake. We had many fun days wading on Rock Creek.
August was highlighted by spending time on the water with family. I was able to take my twin nephews on a float for their 10th birthday. We caught a few fish, got rained on and capped it off with ice cream. I also managed to get Jessie and Eliza on the water. Jessie was the queen of the Blackfoot River for a day. She floated down the river on a unicorn tube while soaking up the rays. Eliza enjoyed cruising around Georgetown Lake and helped her dad land a nice Rainbow.
By fall we welcomed some cooler weather and enjoyed time on the water with some of my best returning clients. For the past eight years, I have had two groups of clients. They fill the first week and a half of September. I look ahead to fishing with these friends every fall and I have finally trained them enough to catch a few nice fish.
Fall has quickly turned into winter and have finally retired the Chaco’s in exchange for some snowboard boots. I hope you are all doing your snow dance! Fingers crossed for lots of snow pack for our rivers in 2025.
McKinnie Fly Fishing Outfitters of Montana 