The Rivers
Ruby: On the Upper Ruby, you will find rainbows, browns, cutthroats, cutbows, brook trout, and grayling. It’s a dry fly fishing-oriented fishery, where you will find yourself mainly using dry dropper and single dry fly rigs. The Upper Ruby can give you amazing numbers where the average size fish ranges between 8” and 12”, but with the opportunity of finding the outlier 15” to 20” brown trout.
The Ruby then becomes a tailwater below Ruby Dam. “The Lower Ruby” provides excellent brown trout fishing, but also good chances of catching Rainbow trout and Mountain Whitefish. The average size fish on the lower Ruby is 15” to 18”, but with good chances of catching fish up to 19” and 20”.
There are a few tributaries that dump into the Ruby River, classic small water technical fishing. You may be introduced to different dry fly tactics that our guides use to find fish in those tricky undercut banks, against logs, and underneath trees.
Catch all seven species that we have in the Ruby Valley, and you will get yourself the Ruby Grand Slam!
Madison: A fly fishing mecca. It is classified as a blue ribbon fishery in Montana and is one of the most productive streams in Montana for brown trout, rainbow trout, and mountain whitefish. Famous for its Salmon Fly hatch. The Madison is an hour from UCO.
Jefferson: Known for quality brown trout vs numbers, the best time to fish the Jefferson is early and late season (June, September) when temperatures are moderate to cold. This river offers the best chances for trophy browns, and while not easy to catch, chances are always there! The Jefferson also offers good streamer fishing. It retains much of its scenic beauty and wildlife diversity from the days of Lewis and Clark, from broad valleys to a narrow canyon, and it passes through a region of significant geological diversity. The Jefferson is an hour from UCO. (Floats Only)
Beaverhead Pointdexter Slough: An offshoot of the Beaverhead River, this will have you thinking you are fishing a spring creek. This walk/wade fishery offers a good chance of catching gorgeous Beaverhead browns, with beautiful weed beds and deep pools. Also, it offers windows of dry fly fishing. The name of the Beaverhead originates from Beaverhead Rock on the middle river. This rock formation was recognized by Sacajawea when the Lewis and Clark Expedition passed the area in 1805. Pointdexster Slough is 1 ½ hours from UCO.
Big Hole: A destination for serious trout fisherman since the late 1880s. The Big Hole is known for its high numbers of wild and large rainbow and brown trout and excellent brook trout fishing. The Big Hole is 2 hours from UCO.
UCO will help anglers arrange an outside guide services for the Beaverhead and Big Hole Rivers.
