Nelson’s Spring Creek Ranch
If you are anything like me, you are fascinated with the beauty and challenges spring creeks offer. Having fished quite a few, both inside and outside the country, I had never visited Nelson’s Spring Creek Ranch in Paradise Valley, Montana….until recently that is! Yes, even with all the health concerns and set-backs 2020 had to endure due to the Covid virus, I was able to safely plan and execute an exploratory trip just before the Fall 2020 season- and then another more targeted trip in 2021. What I discovered was exactly as advertised: warm and friendly people, fantastic scenery and a world class, technical, fishery.
History: Andrew Nelson, Roger Nelson’s great grandfather, purchased the northern section of Nelson’s Spring creek in the early 1900’s and the adjoining land flanked by the spring creek was acquired in 1951. Operating as a working cattle ranch since day one, five generations of Nelsons have called the ranch home. Originally the creek was used for stock water, with an occasional fishermen stopping by to cast a fly. Joe Brooks, a close family friend, first saw the creek’s potential as a fishery and called it to the attention of Roger’s father. As fly-fishing gained in popularity it became necessary to limit the number of rods on the creek each day in order to regulate the flow of anglers and as a means of generating the funds necessary for proper maintenance of the creek. Over the years, many projects have been undertaken for bank stabilization, creek restoration, and habitat development. Today, in addition to a working cattle ranch, the Nelson family runs a well stocked fly-shop, offers world class instructional guiding and caters to the traveling fly-fisher with comfortable lodging and hearty meals.
The Property: Although perhaps documented as one of the “shorter” spring creeks in the area- I found the grounds to be quite expansive with plenty of stream and incredible scenery. The creek itself, is smooth flowing and quite wider than traditional spring creeks of the “Driftless” in the Midwest or legendary Chalk streams of the U.K. Preferring to fish from the banks, I didn’t find myself needing to enter the water very much. Plenty of bug life was abound and I am sure most hatch charts for the area would work just fine.
Fishing Methods and Flies: Murphy’s Law right! We showed up on the property just after about ten days of extremely, hot, dry weather. It was quite sunny with very few clouds. Not ideal conditions for fly-fishing in general, but, arguably terrible conditions for a challenging spring creek. Our plan was to invest time on the creek, patiently waiting for opportunities to present themselves. Which is a strategy that usually pays dividends on any water! We Terrestrial fished in the parts of the day that offered a breeze. Fly patterns of choice were Ants, Beetles and smaller size Crickets and Hoppers. We also fished with two-fly rigs, such as, an X-Caddis and a Clark Creek Caddis or Scud, while prospecting the water. Perhaps the most dependable hatch activity was early and later in the day when Midge were presenting themselves. We fished a Zebra Midge and several Adult Midge patterns on longer leader/tippet rigs with great success.
Fish and Gear: Almost forgot to mention what we caught! We caught rainbow trout, brown trout and native Yellowstone cutthroat trout with an average size range of 15″ to 18″. The fish were not as spooky as they were selective and we used several methods such as “sight fishing” as well as longer “light leader/tippet” set ups with standard gear of 9 foot 3 and 4 weights.
Fishing Nelson’s Spring Creek: If you have a chance, make sure you visit Paradise Valley and take in some of the fantastic scenery and fly-fishing. Whether you float down the majestic Yellowstone River or “book a rod” on one of the Spring Creeks, you are sure to create a great memory. Please visit Nelson Spring Creek Ranch to read about fishing, guiding and lodging opportunities.
