The forecast for fishing the spring creeks looks to be better than last weekend for sure as the daily high temps are going to be out of the single digits. When looking to go fishing right now in the Bozeman area, the spring creeks might offer the best local option.
The world famous spring creeks in Paradise Valley provide some of the most reliable fishing in winter near Bozeman. The two main creeks are Armstrong's and DePuy's. They are actually the same creek, but flow through two different ranches. Like the Missouri and Bighorn River, the spring creeks often have very consistent flows and temperatures during the winter months, unlike the freestones in the area. Since these fisheries are fed by ground water they have higher than normal water temps in the cold weather month. Nymphing is the best option with a sow bug and a midge larva a good combination. Fly selection isn’t as important as presentation, so plan for small flies and light tippets. Read our blog on Choosing the Correct Leader to Catch More Fish. When fishing subsurface nymphs on the spring creeks, the takes will be very delicate so consider a yarn or small foam indicator. Mild days can also produce a few rises over midges to the watchful eye. Read some of our recent blog posts featuring: 5 Tips for Winter Fly Fishing, Winter Fly Fishing Tips that Go Beyond Just Dressing Warm, 5 Tips to Improve Your Fly Fishing with Streamers or Winter Fly Fishing Options Near Bozeman. Our tailwater fisheries of the Upper Madison and Missouri Rivers are good bets right now while a freestone river like the Yellowstone River may soon have shelf ice and where you can fish safely will be limited to certain sections.
The consistent water temps produces a higher metabolism in spring creek fish than trout in other waters and gives anglers a better chance to hook up. The more active nature of spring creek trout in the winter combined with high trout concentrations makes them a top choice in the cold weather months. You can almost always find a rising fish or two if you hunt hard enough that are looking for midges but on most days expect to nymph fish. The slower slots with will concentrate trout but they won’t move far to take flies so expect takes to be subtle. As a rule I always use yarn indicators on spring creeks – generally custom cut to be just big enough to not sink. These indicators allow you to detect very subtle disturbances resulting in more hookups. Fly selection doesn’t have to be very sophisticated this time of year and a scud trailed by your favorite size 22 midge larva should be good enough. Where you fish and your presentation is much more important than changing out lots of flies.
Winter rates are just $40 a day compared to summer rates of $120. The fish are still there but without prolific hatches you have focus on deeper runs and holes. This is where an experienced Montana fly fishing guide can be very helpful with success when fishing a spring creek in winter. Knowing the creeks goes a long way to ensure you are fishing an area that is home to more fish than another area. This is where a Montana fly fishing guide can come in handy. There are many guides who know the creeks well and this time of year fishing with someone who knows the Paradise Valley Spring Creeks well can be the difference between an enjoyable day of catching some fish versus spending the day scratching ones head wondering where the fish are.
Visit Our Shop for These Top Spring Creek Flies Right Now:
Juju Baetis size 22
Wondernymphs in black in sizes 18-22
Beadhead Zebra midge, black or red, size 22
Mole Midge size 20
Scuds, sowbugs like Ray Charles in natural or pink in sizes 18-22
Midge larva in red or purple in size 20-22
The Month Ahead:
Winter fishing on the creeks is relatively straight-forward, but still technical and requires special skills and fly and tackle selections. A guide is very helpful in winter, but, not essential if you have experience fishing small waters and techy situations. In winter spring creek trout are sluggish and feed on very specific insects. Presentation rules the roost when fishing the creeks in winter. Long leaders--12 feet is a good starting point--and light tippets are important. The standard spring creek set up is 12 to 15 leader tapered to 6X. Additionally in winter, fluorocarbon is crucial for fishing subsurface flies.