2016 Fishing Outlook

     Hello everyone so far 2016 has been a good year.  After a lot of very hard work we completed our house just a week before Christmas and we could not be happier.  The start of the ski season was stellar all the way through January, everyday there was powder to be found.  February not so good but March is looking hopeful with snow in the forecast.  As far as the fishing this spring, it looks like it's going to be a good one with most of the drainages recording average to above average to slightly below average... Silly huh?  Anyway it seems like we are going to have a normal run-off.  I will keep you posted as we get closer but my prediction is its going to be a good year the more water the better.  

     I will be doing Jet Boat trips again starting around the end of April and hope to be able to take you out to experience the craziness which is the Missouri in the Spring!   If you have never been check out www.effersonoutfitters.com  for more information, it is under the tab at the top of the page "jet boat trips".   

    Hope you all have a great rest of your winter wherever you are!  

Sean Efferson

www.effersonoutfitters.com 

Spring Fishing is in Full Swing

    Hello everyone, I hope you all are having a good Spring.  Just wanted to give everyone a fishing update and share a few pictures.   This was one wierd winter up in Big Sky country, I have seen dry ones before but not one that was this warm.  That being said the runoff has begun and will probably not last long.  I would expect the great fishing to be about a month early this year, meaning the best will probably be in early to middle June instead of July but who knows what will happen with the weather.  The guys at accuweather.com are saying a wet and cool summer for Montana and I hope that they are right.   

    If you have not been on the Missouri for a Jet Boat Trip or if you have you should remember that now is the time.  The Spawn is on and the fish are eager and fiesty.  It should be prime fishinng for the next month up on the Land of Giants.  I have taken several trips so far and it has been incredible as usual and will be headed back for more real soon.  I will keep you all informed if we catch any record breakers.  I hope that I see you all soon!   Check out this crazy fish...Never seen one of these before.  Think in my be a "Sucker-Bow"   

Thinking about Spring

    Here we are in the middle of winter praying for snow while thinking of Spring and Summer's great fishing oporutinities which are right around the corner.   Most of the drainage systems are at or a little above average while the Madison and the Gallatin are slightly below, but there is a lot of winter left to gives us a more solid snow pack.  Could be a good year to come out early for some awesome spring fishing.  We had a great season last year which ended with a couple 10 pound class Missouri river brown trout, pretty fun stuff.  When I landed the second one I decided that it was a good time to hang it up for the year, but now I am thinking more and more about the next season coming up here soon.
     I will be ready to begin jet boat trips again in late April , so if y'all are interested in going then give me a call or send me an email  rsefferson@gmail.com   I also plan on this next season exploring other opportunities on other sections of the Missouri River as well as Hebgen and Quake Lakes.  The best lake fishing will be right after ice out which is usually in May.  So if you are interested in doing something different this year let me know I would love to take you out.  If you have not been out before in the early Spring you should check it out.  A lot of the standard rivers may be blown out but there are so many other places to go if you know where to go and a lot less people.
    I hope y'all are having a good winter and I hope to see you soon!

Fall 2014

     Hello Friends.  So here we are approaching the Fall fishing season and all I can say is wow.  This has been a record water year for Montana with abundant rainfall and some rivers flowing almost double their normal.  The landscape is still so green that it resembles June.  So what does this mean for the fishing?  HAPPY FISH!  When the Yellowstone is not muddy from rains it is fishing just like the "good ole days"  Hoppers are out and the fish are still tight against the banks making them easy to find. The Upper Madison is still fishing great with nymphs, streamers and dries.  The Lower Madison is really starting to come around as well and the weeds are currently breaking off which is nice and early so that hopefully we will have clean fishing for the fall when this river fishes its best!  There were no water temperature problems this year which is such a nice change from last year.  One more great thing about this time of year .... School Starts!  Which means the crowds are gone.  And this was one busy summer probably the busiest I have ever seen in this little town.
    And there is the Missouri.... Reports are that the MO is fishing great including the Land of the Giants  witch is already producing some huge fish and great numbers.  My Jet Boat is coming out of the shop today for servicing and a new gasket and should be tip top.  There is a meeting coming up for all the captains that use the Gates of the Mountains marina to discuss the changes that will be taking place next year which may require some advanced booking but I am not sure exactly what is going to happen but I will keep you all posted, but for now everything is business as usual.  The talk is to

try limit the number of boats out there but I have not seen more than 8 other guide boats in day so there should not be much of a change.
   Anyway I hope you all are doing great and look forward to fishing with y'all soon!

Take care...
Sean Efferson
Efferson Outfitters Inc.

Jet Boat Project Complete

     Jet Boat modification is now complete.  What started as a stripped down jon boat is now a Fly Fishing machine.  I am very excited and thankful for my good friend Brad Hansel who helped me make this project happen.  What we thought would take about 10 hours ended up taking more like 30 and over a thousand bucks...shouldn't be any surprise to anyone out there that owns a boat.  B.ring O.n A.nother. T.housand...    I am proud to say she ran like a top and was very functional and easy to Fly Fish out of.  Also my USCG captains license is in and hand making it all legit..another thing that took a long time...shouldn't be any surprise to anyone that has ever had to deal with the government.
     I will be out of town going on my belated honeymoon to Puerta Vallarta, Mexico, with my beautiful wife Lorri.  I will gone from April 21 to the 28th.  When I get back I am headed over to the Missouri for some R&D.  I will do another post with photos from my research as soon as I come back home.
     I hope all of you are having a nice Spring and I can't wait to start this new venture.  Y'all take care now!

Sean Efferson

Land Of Giants! Jet Boat! Fly Fishing!

Hello Friends.  So if I did not mention the Land Of the Giants to you before here is the scoop.
     There is a section of the Missouri River between Hauser Dam and Holter lake that holds probably the biggest wild trout in Montana maybe even in the whole country, the catch is, you can only float/ fish it with a Jet Boat.  There are people that wade fish this section but it is pretty deep which denies the access beyond a few feet from the bank, so with Jet Boat access from Holter lake at the Gates of the Mountains, you drive across the lake ( about 5 minutes ) and up the mouth of the Missouri river!  Once  we are up the river,  I kill the motor then row the Jet Boat downstream like a drift boat, and you fish for some of the biggest and hottest trout you have ever seen or felt tug on your line.  The average size is 22 inches, and around 5 pounds, and they get  even bigger...
    This is an amazing stretch and I am very excited about it.  During the spring ( late april through June)  the rainbows stack up like you would not believe and the Browns are there behind them chowing on there spawn, and like I said earlier they are huge and mean.  These are some of the hardest fighting fish I have ever fished for,  but the fishing is not that technical its just landing them that is the hard part, did I say hard, I meant fun.  But seriously they can be hard to land, and seriously they are fun to hook into!
    Right now I am awaiting the final stages of my U.S. Coast Guard Captains License to be completed. It should be just a few more days till it is done, but I wanted to put the word out there for anyone who is interested to give me a call, because this will book up fast, and there are not many fishing guides who are Captains in Montana which is a requirement for taking clients out in any boat with a motor.
   If I am sending you this it is because you are the clients that I want to have first on my list and like I said earlier.. I am really excited.
   So this is how it works:  This area is closest to Helena Mt. (about 15 miles), which if you are coming out just for this you should fly into Helena.  I will work on some links to some nice lodging soon.  If you are in Big Sky then we can talk about transportation.  It is about 2 and half hours from Big Sky so I am trying to have my clients meet me in Helena.  The time to come out....  May and June... while the rest of the rivers in Montana are blown out and this one is fishing the best.  The costs:  $625.00  ... It is a little more expensive than the regular float trips but it will be worth it!  And while you are there if you feel like it we can go drift boat float the famous Missouri River around Craig, Montana.  You can check out www.effersonoutfitters.com which is my business that will be running these trips, but I would rather you just call me 406-580-5752  or email me rsefferson@gmail.com and ask for details... I would love to talk about this.

Thank Y'all  Lets talk soon!
Sean Efferson

  Hi everyone.  It was a busy summer as usual and things are starting to wind down which is nice.  Fall is in the air and usually means a nice transition into some great fly fishing in the waters of southwest Montana.  I finally got to go out and try my jet boat out on the Missouri yesterday in the place they call "Land of the Giants".  It worked great.  A couple of tweaks and additions to the boat are needed to make it more Fly Fishing friendly which is going to be a great off season project.  As far as our fishing over there on the Missouri, well we caught some really big fish.  It is crazy the size of these guys.  My friend Alex took some photos that I will hopefully be posting soon.
    So as far as booking trips for this unique Fly Fishing experience, well we are just going to have to wait for my captains license which will hopefully be done by the middle of November.  The times that I am going to try get people out there are going to be right after Ski Season ends (april 15ish) through May.
    I will keep y'all posted on the situation and I cant wait to start a new gig.  Hope to see you out on the river soon!