by Joe Moore
The 12 days of Christmas finishes up today! Stay tuned for more gear reviews this winter here on the Blog and a huge shout out to all those folks who participated thus far in our online fly shop, thank you very much.
The Simms Taco Bag is one of those simple pieces of gear that often gets over looked. Wader bags have been around for a really long time and once you’ve had one and used it, you’ll never leave home without it. While hosting and guiding in Patagonia, we move gear around from truck to boat, boat to truck and truck to lodge, that’s a lot of bags. Most of the rigs we roam around in are Toyota Hilux pickups with no topper; therefore having your waders and boots in one complete package is ideal, the plus side is that your waders don’t find their way out of the truck in that crazy Patagonian wind. You don’t have to travel to South America to see the benefits of the Simms Taco Bag, lots of our clients bring them to Montana on their fishing trips. Another upside to the taco bag is that your gear doesn’t get confused with your fishing buddy’s. We’ve all been on trips where everybody is rolling their Simms waders, boots and gore-tex jacket; a mix up is bound to happen. We love the fact that the Taco Bag doubles as a wader mat, protecting those neoprene feet from sharp rocks, making your investment in quality waders last a little longer. In the end, keeping your gear organized generally leads to catching more trout!
Check it out online.
by Joe Moore
The glass for the angler who can’t have glass. You know they guy, or gal, who just has that uncanny knack for dropping things. Why spill your beer and break the glass? You don’t have to any more! The only problem is that you’ll have a hard time getting this away from your kids or fishing buddy, therefore you’ll need to buy at least three of them. These make great gifts for the college kid, grade schooler or that fishy friend who knocked your glass to the ground way too many times.
Check them out in the online fly shop
by Joe Moore
Each year we get asked for streamer patterns that we personally like, flies we fish with and have success with. It’s no secret that Kelly Galloup’s flies work and their bin appeal is second to none. Kelly has spent a ton of time at the vise and at the river testing these patterns out, which is what every fly tyer should do before offering them to the public. A couple of winters ago I was down at the Slide Inn hanging out for little bit and watching KG tie. He was working on a new pattern and when he was done, we took our beers outside and he worked this fly through a pool. No shit, he smacked a fish on the first cast. Maybe it was because he was fishing the fly, maybe it was the fly itself. None the less, it was super cool to watch his process of tying and testing. We got excited when he finally came out with the mini versions of the Sex Dungeon and the Bangtails. These two patterns have fantastic profiles in the water, their articulation and movement in the water is life like, they push just the right amount of water and they cast super well compared to their larger cousins. A bonus of the mini versions is that the size of the fly pattern still triggers large trout to eat. In Yellowstone National Park, the law says that the lure must have only a single barbless hook. So our solution is to cut off one of the hooks. But…which one? Well, we debate this to no end here the shop and what we have come up with are two theories.
- When water temps are dropping or have been cold for quite some time (think mid October, November and most of the winter when swinging flies) we cut off the the front hook and leave the back hook. We like having the hook as far back as possible in cold water as fish tend to nip at the back of the fly and having the hook in the back will give you more successful hookups.
- Throughout the rest of the season (May, June, July, August and Sept), we cut off the back hook and leave the front as we believe when big fish are hunting in warmer water, they focus on the front of the fly and maybe even focus on the eye of the baitfish. We even go as far as oversizing the eye on our custom tied flies for South America.
Check it out on our online fly shop!
This selection Includes:
Free BSA Fly Box
8 x Mini Dungeons
4 x Mini Bangtails
by Joe Moore
All of us here at BSA remember our first fly rod like it was yesterday. For most of us who grew up in the 80’s and 90’s, Fenwick dominated the market with shorter fiberglass fly rods like the one my dad, Tom, built for me; I still use the 8’6″ 5 wt. from time to time and love the action. Echo came out with this kit several years ago and it’s been a huge hit with kids and adults alike. Don’t be surprised if you end up borrowing this rod from your kiddo sometime as it’s pure joy to fish cast and fish with. This rod is a blast on small creeks and for applications like swinging soft hackles on the Firehole. It works well out of the drift boat nymphing in the Box Canyon and on the Madison fishing single hoppers. If you have any questions about performance, know that the top distance casts with this kit were in the 85 to 100 foot range during the Gecko Shootout at our 3rd Annual Grand Opening Party! We’ve even even dialed this rod in for “Trout Spey” by pairing it with a 150 or 180 grain micro Skagit head in the 11ft range and an 8ft poly leader.
For the Christmas holiday we are including a small selection of flies and a box for FREE! Check it out in the online fly shop.
by Joe Moore
From our humble beginnings in Joe’s garage back in 2004, Big Sky Anglers has been committed to teaching anglers how to fly fish. We do our best to break down the techniques and offer insight all day long during guide trips. It is our goal to help anglers become the complete package. Everyday at our fly shop in the summer season, anglers from all walks of life come through the doors. We often are asked which books and maps are the best for learning; ask Justin and he’ll start with the Little Red Fishing Knot Book, then he’ll grab the Pocket Guide to Fly Fishing (which is waterproof and can accompany you to the river) and then he’ll grab the always famous Curtis Creek Manifesto. These books are fantastic for all ages of anglers and for those of you who think you have a grasp on fly fishing, Sheridan Anderson will definitely show you a thing or two in his cartoon book below. We tossed in a map of Yellowstone National Park from National Geographic as why not pour over a map of one of the finest places to fish in the World?
Check it out in the online fly shop.
