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Ruby
River
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Originating in the snowpacked peaks of the Greenhorns and Gravelleys, the Ruby makes its way through an ever broadening valley to the Ruby Reservoir inlet. The Upper Ruby is home to populations of rainbows, brook trout and some cutthroat and brown. A pilot grayling introduction is underway in the upper most reaches of the Ruby River.
Built for irrigation in the 1930's, the 2,000 acre Ruby Reservoir is a sparkling,
uncrowded, rainbow trout filled gem.
Below
the Dam the Ruby takes on different characteristics, less of a mountain stream
and more of a small, intimate river averaging 40 feet in width. The Ruby is
easily wadable. It can only be floated with great difficulty. It is a favorite
Class II water of many fly fishermen throughout the lower 48. Every 50 feet
is a new discovery... an undercut bank... a pool... a riffle... an inside
corner... a downed tree. Extraordinary snags and intimate currents are home
to healthy, stocky, fighting fish. The seven miles below the Dam is approximately
60% rainbow and 40% brown trout averaging 16" to 17". Higher gradient in this
stretch of the river makes for mountain type flows and setting as the stream
gushes forth from Ruby Canyon and enters the broad plain of the Ruby Valley.
The valley is stunning, surrounded by seven mountain ranges. The area lies in the Pacific flyway. Waterfowling is spectacular, wildlife is abundant and views go on forever. Tributaries add volume and the river becomes serpentine in its lower reaches with brushy banks and an almost 100% brown trout population. The Lower Ruby from Silversprings Bridge downstream is a major spawning ground for fish from as far away as the Missouri River and fall fishing is spectacular. Populations range from 400 to 1,300, averaging about 700 fish per mile. Populations in the lower portion of the river can swell to 2,000 in the fall.
The public accesses on the Ruby can be crowded, and offer only minimal amounts
of water.
Fishing productivity declines at these accesses over the course of a season
due to Montana regulations which still allow bait and harvest of three fish
a day including one over 15". The Ruby is closed from December 1 to the third
Saturday in May except to fly fishing, catch and release only on trout, and
the State now employs a full time ranger to monitor the accesses and enforce
regulations. Privately managed ranches, all of which are flyfishing, catch
and release, constitute about 90% of the river and are terrific all year long.
Country Roads LLC, and Ranches of the West manage ranches providing almost
21 miles of private access to this incredibly wonderful waterway stream, almost
half of its total course from the Dam to its confluence with the Beaverhead
River.
Country Roads LLC |
