Top 3 Fishing Stories of the Week: Fly Fishing Tigerfish, Bassmaster Classic Bubble Boys, Best Montana Trout Spots

From an African fly fishing adventure for tigerfish, to the unexpected impact of the Bassmaster EQ tournaments on the Classic, a tour of the 5 best trout towns around Yellowstone, these stories captured our Sports Illustrated fishing reader’s attention on Fishing on SI this past week.

1.) What It’s Like to Fly Fish for the Tigerfish of the Okavango Delta

The stuff of nightmares. | Photo by Ken Baldwin

We pulled up on the inside point where a tributary flowed into the main river. I was setting the anchor when the water twenty feet away blew apart and a huge head—mouth wide open—came up out of the deep. I moved from the bow back toward the guide. This wasn’t a zoo, and there were no bars between me and a hippo.


Adam Kapinga, the Nxamaseri Island Lodge fishing guide, assured me we were fine—and to rig up. This was a good spot for tigerfish. How did he know this? Because all of the crocodiles are crowding the point. Welcome to Africa…GET THE REST OF THE STORY HERE.

---

2.) Bassmaster Elite Bubble Boys: The Unexpected Impact of the New EQ Series

The new Bassmaster EQ Series is having a significant impact on the Classic race, giving bubble anglers like Crews, Norsetter and Sands one last shot at bass fishing’s biggest stage. | B.A.S.S. | Andy Crawford

For a few disappointed 2025 Bassmaster Elite pros, the 2026 Classic dream isn’t necessarily over yet. Thanks to the new Bassmaster EQ series the “bubble boys” have a few new ways of sneaking into the Classic, even after they’ve made their last cast of the season.

They’re the guys on the bubble—the Bassmaster Elite anglers who finished just outside the cut for 2026 Bassmaster Classic qualification. Since the season ended in late August on the Mississippi River at La Crosse, Wisconsin, they’ve known their fate. But they also know there’s still a faint glimmer of hope, because there’s more than one way to make it to the Classic…GET THE REST OF THE STORY HERE.

---

3.) The 5 Best Montana Trout Fishing Towns in Yellowstone Country

The Lamar Valley in Yellowstone National Park | photo by Jasper Taback

Yellowstone National Park had been on my trout fishing list for years – but the more I planned and talked with fishing buddies, the more I realized the park was just one piece of a larger region that I wanted to fish. Naturally, the park trip turned into a road trip. 

Now, I’m back at my desk after a week chasing trout across Montana's Yellowstone Country. The fishing was everything I’d hoped for, but what really stuck with me were the towns along the way. If you get the chance to experience this remarkable part of the country, these are the places to hit…GET THE REST OF THE STORY HERE.