Big Sky Anglers Covid-19 Operating Procedures/Protocols and Status
Updated 5/31/2020 Big Sky Anglers is currently open for business in both the fly shop and our outfitting service, and looking forward to seeing you! Our lodging facility, the Golden Stone Inn, will be opening its doors for the season on June 1st. Please refer to...
BSA’s Top Producing Green Drake Fly Pattern – JoJo’s Green Drake
This fly first started out as a #14 rusty spinner and I tied it for the Madison River. At Lyon Bridge, the mornings can be filled with spinning mayflies dancing in the air above the boat ramp. It is always a wonderful sight to see, that's for sure. For me, fishing...
Big Sky Anglers Fishing Report – May 28, 2020
The month of May has flown right on by, that's for sure, and it's certainly been like any other May we've known. Slowly but surely we are starting to find some added sense of normalcy. The fly shop is now OPEN daily from 9am to 5pm. As always, we are selling flies,...
Big Sky Anglers Fishing Report – May 21, 2020
Hello there from West Yellowstone, MT - the Trout Capital of the World! We are starting to wrap our minds around what this season will look like, even though it seems to be changing by the day. The one thing we do know is that flexibility is key and at some point just...
BSA’s Best Flying Ant Pattern from Yellowstone Country to Argentina – JoJo’s Royal Ant
Back in 2004 I came up with this flying ant pattern while sitting at the vice in my house outside West Yellowstone. Back then, I lived on Denny Creek and my tying bench overlooked a meadow filled of three foot tall sage and high priced breeder bulls, and the southern...
BSA’s Top Producing Attractor Dry Fly for Midges, Caddis, and Mayflies – JoJo’s Comparabuzz
Years ago, Gary La Fontaine tied the original buzzball on the Missouri River. Some say this fly looks like dead and decaying matter often seen floating in back eddies and that Gary tied the fly for midges shucks while hanging out at the Trout Shop in Craig. The...
Thank You, Mr. Prine
If you’ve ever worked in a fly shop, you’ll know that a good soundtrack makes the time go by a little easier in between customers, when restocking the fly bins and folding t-shirts is the order of busines. At Big Sky Anglers, we believe that great music leads to the...
BSA’s 4th Annual Grand Opening Celebration – June 27, 2020
Yeah, we have this party every summer. We are still calling it the Grand Opening because we still have those original GRAND OPENING signs. Maybe someday they will fall apart or get stolen, but at least until then... Save the date and join us for Big Sky Anglers...
Argentina Fishing Report – Rio Grande Sea Trout
Dan Vogel, Steve Dixon, and I just finished a week of sea trout fishing on the Rio Grande River in Tierra Del Fuego. At the very bottom of South America, TDF is an unbelievably unique, harsh, and beautiful place. From the scenery, to the wildlife, to the wind, and...
Fly box deal of the Century!
We are doing a late winter, pre season sale on fly boxes here in the shop. If you're looking for a smoking deal on a fantastic fly box, look no further. This is a buy one, get one free deal on select fly boxes only available online! Click here to view the boxes....
Chukar Camp
The air was chilly and steam pushed out of my nose when I poked my head out of the sleeping bag. The last memory from the evening before was watching the fly tying scene in Dan Bailey's fly shop from Rancho Deluxe on the canvas wall of our tent. Technology...
Argentina Fishing Report – Estancia Tecka
I have spent close to two decades fishing the waters that surround Estancia Tecka, but never experienced Tecka myself until this year. Estancia Tecka is a massive 400,000+ acre ranch located between Esquel and Rio Pico in the Chubut Province of Argentina. Over the...
Argentina Fishing Report – Golden Dorado in the North
Dan Vogel, Steve Rewick, and I just finished an awesome week of fishing for golden dorado in northern Argentina. We spent the first half of the week at Pira Lodge located near the Ibera Marsh and the second half at Suinda Lodge located on the Upper Parana River. Both...
The Lakes of Patagonia
Stillwater fishing with flies is, in some ways, the final frontier of fly fishing to the United States angler. Our rivers get all the attention and most people’s romantic mental images of fly fishing are of standing waist-deep in a trout stream, making long casts to...
Big Sky Anglers / Category 3 Fly Company – NZ Essentials Fly Selection
This assortment of flies for New Zealand has been hand-selected by BSA co-owner Jonathan Heames and most excellent New Zealand guide, Sean Andrews. These fantastic flies from Sean's own, Category 3 Fly Company, are exclusively available online in the US through Big...
12 Days of Christmas – Day Twelve – BSA logo Simms Taco Bag
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...
12 Days of Christmas – Day Eleven – BSA Sili Pint Set
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...
12 Days of Christmas – Day Ten – KG Mini Streamer Selection
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...
12 Days of Christmas – Day Nine – Echo Gecko Kids Kit
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...
12 Days of Christmas – Day Eight – Learn to Fly Fish Book Set
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...