ROAD TRIP: HEBGEN HOSTS BIG TROUT

The Yellowstone-area lake is home to challenging rainbows and browns known as ‘gulpers’ for their surface feeding, but also excellent nymphing.

By Mike Wright

One of the very best trout fishing destinations in the entire country is where Southwest Montana and Southeast Idaho come together. The region boasts several outstanding blue-ribbon streams, such as the Madison, Henrys Fork and South Fork Snake Rivers, plus a multitude of smaller, but highly productive streams.

However, as good as these flowing waters are, probably the best trophy fishing in this area lies in the stillwater fisheries within roughly an hour’s drive of West Yellowstone, Montana. That includes two outstanding trophy fishing lakes in Idaho, Island Park Reservoir and Henrys Lake (Northwest Sportsman, November 2020), and four lakes, Hebgen, Quake, Cliff and Wade, in Montana.

Henrys Lake is managed specifically as a trophy fishery, but the other five do not have any special regulations. However, each does contain a considerable number of trophy-sized fish. Although most anglers would consider Henrys to be the top trophy lake in the area, all of these other bodies of water offer excellent fishing opportunities for large trout.

As an example, the Treasure State’s

It’s a fair pedal from our region, but the Yellowstone area’s Hebgen Lake is a trophy trout destination that shines in late

current state record brown trout was taken from Wade, while the former state record rainbow (just over 20 pounds) was caught in Cliff. However, of the other lakes, none contain more trout in the 16- to 18-inch range than Hebgen. It probably also grows more rainbows and browns in excess of 20 inches than other lakes in the vicinity.

HEBGEN LAKE IS without argument one of the finest dry fly fishing lakes in Montana, or for that matter the entire Northwest. Located not far from West Yellowstone, it is a very large lake, covering 6,500 acres, over 16 miles in length and 4 miles in width. Although fish and insect hatches are found in all parts of the lake, the vast majority of angling pressure is centered on the upper arms and small bays.

A major reason for this is the fact that Hebgen, like Henrys Lake, lies on a high-altitude plateau subject to very strong winds that occur on a near- daily basis. These bays can provide at least some semblance of protection from these relentless midday winds. In addition, the arms also contain larger concentrations of submerged vegetation, which in turn attracts aquatic insects in prolific numbers.

There are three major arms on Hebgen: the Madison Arm, the South Fork of the Madison Arm and the Grayling Arm, each of which contain smaller bays that mitigate some of the severe wind conditions on the lake. Nutrient-rich feeder streams flow into each arm, resulting in huge hatches of midges, tricos and callibaetis, along with lesser amounts of damsel and caddis. During certain times of the summer, the surface of the water is literally covered with dead trico and callibaetis spinners.

THIS CORNUCOPIA OF insect life leads to a unique feeding habit on the part of the trout. With the massive amount of feed carpeting the water, fish will leisurely surface several times in a somewhat straight line to devour the dead or dying insects. In doing so, the fish make a clearly audible gulping sound. The noise helped coin the term “gulpers” for the fish and in turn has made Hebgen world-renowned for its dry fly opportunities.

Although the emergence of the gulpers, which ordinarily occurs sometime in July and reaches its peak in August, is the most popular and highly anticipated time of the year for many anglers, it is most definitely not the most productive time of the season. Indeed, it can often be one of the most frustrating tasks any angler will experience. It may appear to be a rather easy proposition to simply put a fly a few feet in front of a gulper and wait a short time for a fish to suck it down. Unfortunately, many times this is not a very successful strategy.

Sometimes, it seems, these fish

Hebgen’s rainbows grow big, with many north of 20 inches, thanks to prolific insect life. The bugs lead to an interesting behavior in the lake’s trout, in which they feed off the surface, often in a straight line, which can make it easy to predict where to cast a matching pattern – though whether a “gulper” takes the cue is another matter entirely. (MIKE WRIGHT)

possess advanced degrees in artificial fly avoidance. Often a gulper will surface two or three times in a straight line, then after the cast is made, the fish will next appear moving in a completely different direction. The angler will then row or kick out in front of the fish, only to have it surface again moving away from the fisherman’s offering. This game of “cat and mouse” can go on for hours, with the angler hoping that he or she has brought enough beer to soothe a shattered ego. Another problem is that even if an angler has made a perfect cast and not spooked the fish, there are so many natural bugs on the water that a fish can take one right next to an artificial fly.

There are a couple strategies that can improve your chances of catching fish during gulper times. The first would be to use longer tapered leaders, usually around 14 or 15 feet. Since the water is usually crystal clear and the fish are closer to the surface, it might be advisable to use fluorocarbon leaders and tippet, which are far less visible to the fish.

Another tip would be to get on the water early and employ nymphs, emergers or trico patterns. Since the trico hatch starts rather early, it is quite possible to do well on a dry fly, but it will require the use of very light tippet because of the size of the fly. This means it is very easy to experience breakoffs. The trout on Hebgen tend to be very healthy and very strong fighters. A Parachute Adams or a Purple Haze can prove to be productive during this earlier time period and will not require the lighter tippet. Since the gulpers generally don’t start appearing until closer to the noon hour, for some anglers it is quite possible to do very well in the morning and then head for shore to wait for the evening fishing.

WHILE GULPERS DRAW the most attention and popularity, there is also some good dry fly fishing before and after that angling period occurs. The primary food source during this time are the tricos and callibaetis adults, but another major hatch on Hebgen is the midge hatch, which generally occurs in mid-May and continues into July.

Midge adults are the first major dry fly to appear on the lake and a Griffith’s Gnat or a Renegade, in sizes 14 down to size 20, will usually provide excellent results. Early in the season the midges tend to be rather large, but become considerably smaller as the season progresses.

After the rainbows have spawned and reentered the lake, they usually remain in shallow water and begin cruising the shoreline in small schools. This is the time when wade fishing

Some of the best fishing occurs in the shallower upper arms of the Madison River reservoir, and they also offer “some semblance of protection” from the area’s strong midday winds, though not always. The morning and evening can be calmer and provide good fishing. (MIKE WRIGHT)

Along with a self-sustaining rainbow population, you’ll find brown trout, along with westslope cutthroat, brook trout and whitefish. (MIKE WRIGHT)

can be most successful, especially along the north shore. Wade fishing in the Madison Arm can also be highly productive. A midge adult or a midge emerger are the preferred fly pattern during this particular time. A popular early-season strategy is to use a chironomid dropper tied 1 or 2 feet below the dry fly. This is most frequently employed in the Grayling Arm and the South Fork Arm with a good deal of success. If there is little or no rising fish, there really is not much of a need for a dry, but a black or red chironomid under a strike indicator will still work well, especially if there is a light breeze present, causing a chop on the surface. Since chironomids slowly move their way to the surface in order to hatch, the chop on the water adds additional movement to the fly and helps attract the fish.

WHILE HEBGEN’S KNOWN best for its

find the nymph fishing on the lake to actually be more productive. A hardcore fly fisherman can spend an entire day for one or two trout, while a nympher can often produce doubledigit numbers of trout. It is probably safe to say that most anglers prefer the excitement and challenge of using a dry fly, but if catching more fish is your primary goal, then nymphs or streamers on intermediate or sink-tip line is your best strategy.

A damsel hatch takes place in late June and early July, which coincides with the early stages of the callibaetis hatch, which means there will be a sizable number of callibaetis nymphs in the water. Since both types of nymphs are present at roughly the same time, a very effective strategy is to tie a damsel nymph pattern onto your line, then add a callibaetis imitation as a dropper a foot or so in back of the lead fly. A marabou damsel works well as a lead fly, but several other patterns have also proven to be effective, including a green and black soft hackle mini-leech, an olive or brown leech, a Sheep Creek, and a black, olive or brown Woolly Bugger. A flashback Pheasant Tail or a slenderbodied callibaetis nymph in black or light olive are very effective patterns for the dropper.

It would be advisable to plan on fishing with nymphs before 11 a.m., which is roughly around the time the dry flies begin to appear in large enough numbers to trigger the gulper action, with the winds usually starting a couple hours later.

IN AUGUST 1959, an earthquake measuring 7.3 on the Richter scale struck Hebgen and the upper Madison River area. It was the most powerful earthquake recorded in Montana and the most noticeable impact can be seen in the canyon just downstream from Hebgen Dam. A landslide of

Hebgen Lake is not limited to fly fishing only, but if that’s your preference, a good selection of patterns would include: a black, brown or olive Pumpkin Head; a beadhead soft hackle leech; a couple damsel patterns; Sheep Creek; flashback Pheasant Tail; black and red chironomids; callibaetis nymph and an emerger; Goddard and Elk Hair Caddis; Parachute Adams; Purple Haze; Griffith’s Gnat; and Rusty and Trico Spinners. (MIKE WRIGHT)

some 80 million tons of rock and debris covered the Madison River near the mouth of the canyon, instantly creating Quake Lake, a 6-mile-long body of water with depths up to 180 feet. Large stands of dead trees stand like silent sentinels over the 28 people buried by the slide.

Although not as visibly, Hebgen Lake was also heavily impacted by the quake. The lake bottom actually dropped some 20 feet in places, and the tsunami, or seiche as they are known in lakes, created by the temblor swept over the 42-year-old dam, causing considerable damage to the structure. For some time, it was feared that the dam would give way; luckily it withstood both the quake and the big wave.

Because of the serious damage to the dam, the structure is closely monitored and periodic repairs are made to ensure its integrity. When that work occurs, lake levels are lowered, resulting in the stranding

and killing of a large number of insect eggs, which in turn reduces the feed available for the fish the next spring and summer. Fortunately, this situation does not happen often, but it does take some time for certain insect populations to rebound. About five years ago a drawdown is suspected in the less productive season the following summer. In the last three summers, however, Hebgen has returned to its usual excellence.

BEGINNING IN 1931, the Montana

Department of Fish, Wildlife and Parks began to stock Hebgen with rainbow and brown trout to augment the native population. An average of 20,000 to 30,000 were released annually, but in 1955 browns were discontinued and the last stocking of rainbows occurred in 2016. According to Travis Horton, state fisheries manager for the lake, FWP’s annual studies have shown that the trout populations have remained very stable, indicating that natural reproduction should be sufficient to maintain healthy numbers of both rainbow and browns.

In addition, there is also a smaller number of cutthroat, brook trout and whitefish in the lake. Unfortunately, chubs are also present, but not in large enough numbers to negatively affect the trout population. The cutts and brookies generally average in the 12- to 14-inch range, with the rainbows, browns and whitefish often exceeding 20 inches.

If you catch 10 fish in a day, chances are very good that at least five of them will be 20 inches or more. Frequently a fisherman can catch one exceeding 25 inches. Granted, the chances of landing a 20-pound brown or rainbow is remote to nonexistent, but catching half a dozen or more 20inch fish in a day is enough to excite almost any angler. If this sounds good to you, Hebgen is an ideal place to try your luck.

ACCESSING HEBGEN LAKE is rather easy,

since Highway 287 parallels it from the dam to the junction leading to West Yellowstone. To access the lake’s three arms, head toward West Yellowstone and turn onto Rainbow Road for the Grayling Arm; Madison Arm Resort Road for the Madison Arm; and Ranger Station Road off Highway 20, heading west out of town, to find the South Fork Arm.

West Yellowstone is a tourist hub, so you can find groceries and more there, along with fly shops in town and between Quake and Hebgen Lakes. There are also numerous campgrounds around Hebgen, but if you intend to camp out, it would be advisable to reserve a spot, since they tend to fill up early during the summer. NS