Missoula Montana Fly Fishing Report ( and some fun from the Missouri,eh?)

Yep. We're going fishing!

This was highway 200 headed up over Rogers Pass. One might ask why in the world we would drive through this kind of weather just catch a trout? One of our best customers from Calgary decided he need to scratch the itch a bit, after an insanely long Canadian winter. Too much back-bacon and Tim Horton's makes the soul restless. Anyway, he drove down on monday morning.
   Prickly Pear was roaring as we pulled into Wolf Creek. With all of the low-elevation snow and rain as of late, the first taste of un-off had begun. We would learn from the gang in Craig that the Dearborn was totally blown and the middle and lower river was shot. So off to the dam we went.

This Canuck can get it done!

   It was the usual fare. A # 12 czech with a short dropper, like an #18 zebra or #14/16 hot bead whatever,  took fish on nearly every good drift. Water temps were in the mid-30s. Clarity was great but there were releases both days. I would expect the flows to fluctuate. There is a ton of water coming into the upper reservoirs.
   We fished casually but effectively, and by the end of the day we had caught enough to be bored.  Plus, it was really freaking cold and rainy. How many frozen Canadians does it take to catch a trout? Just one, apparently. So it was off to Cascade for a warm drink, hot meal and some much needed sleep.

Someone finally ordered it!

 


The Driftwood Bar has long made some of the finest bar burgers east of the continental divide. In recent years they have featured a sandwich called "The Hutterrite". Now, I have never, ever seen anyone order this thing. But on this night our good Canadian friend decided that he had to. Long story short, he finished it. Oh, and he washed it down with most of a box of Nilla wafers. Impressive.

   If you ever want to actually meet this guy you can give Bow River Adventures a ring.  He is the owner. At least until he keels over from a massive heart attack. Clear!

This was the fish of the trip.

Day two found us sitting in the sunshine, contentedly drilling trout after trout. I thought the fishing was better, even in the sun. It was the same story, same rig, more fish. As much as I don't like to nymph, we had to do it. The pay-off was well worth it.

   So if you made it this far into this post, here's the scoop on the Missoula fishing:

BITTERROOT RIVER:  Blown!!!! The water is high and might come down this week. We have had so much valley snow and it is all melting.
CLARK FORK: Blowner than the 'root.
BLACKFOOT RIVER: Blown and wintery. We drove by it last night and it was mocha-licious and looking cold. Ice to the water's edge and raging. Don't bother.
Think warm thoughts for the rest of the month. The Bitterroot might come in. If it does, it's gonna be awesome. Big flows, fewer wade dudes, and trout that haven't been assaulted for a month. It is nice to get all of the early season pressure off the river. There's always a silver lining, eh?

Missoula Fly Fishing Report 1/24/14

Clark Fork River on Thursday

Missoula weather has been very conducive to fly fishing as of late. The Bitterroot river has been seeing some traffic, according to one of our guides who lives on the river. The Clark Fork has been great for the wade anglers in the afternoon.  You can try to pull a streamer on these waters but really the temp is a bit cold.  Try #12/14 BH Prince, BH Stones in appropriate colors to imitate the skwala nymphs.  Zebra midges might come in handy once you stumble upon risers.  Don't expect huge numbers, but if you don't hack it up you can put a few in the net.

Here is a link to our snow-pack reports. Make of it what you will.          

          SNOW PACK  ------->   http://www.wcc.nrcs.usda.gov/cgibin/precup-graph.pl?state=MT

You can go fly fishing in Montana NOW!

A couple of our guides have been out fishing in the past few weeks. There has been a midge emergence on the milder days and the fish have been on them. Jeremy Kneeland did well on Friday with several to the net. He said the best bug was a prince dropped off of some pink scud-thing that he ties.  The Bitterroot and Missouri might be good places to hit if you need to wet a line.  Griffith's gnat, small thread midges, small princes etc. I'd skip the mornings and focus on the warmest parts of the day. If you're on the Missouri look at the water near the dam.  Zebra midges, rainbow czech, pink amex should do the trick if you don't mind watching a pink bobber all day.  We have had guide trips in the past few years in late January, and our clients have had consistently good fishing. It's not for wimps, however.

Spring is on it's way and it's time to start thinking about skwalas. If you have never been in western Montana for this hatch, I would highly suggest trying to make the trip. This is when we take some of the largest trout of the entire year.

Everyone wish Zach Lazzari well on his adventure to Chile. He scored a guiding gig for the next couple of months. Never fear- he will be returning in mid-March, just on time for the Skwala hatch. We look forward  having him back for the 2014 season.