Missoula Fishing Report
Bitterroot River

Missoula Fishing Report

by missoulaflyfishingoutfitters

Missoula Fishing Report

May 13th

Salmonfly

 

 

Well the rumors are true. The Salmonflies are hatching on all of our local rivers. While some people have been worried that this is too early and spells disaster for the rest of the season, have no fear. The bugs are actually only a bit ahead of schedule. In reality they bugs normally show up in the middle of May, however, during regular water years the rivers are just too high to even think about fishing.

Now as I am writing this there is a torrential downpour going on in Missoula. The forecast for the next seven days has rain in it everyday.  This will certainly push more water into the systems, and slow down the bugs. But that’s okay, everyday of rain we get in May and June is more water for the rivers and the fish. Bring on the rain.

As for the fishing… It was a game of what would the fish NOT eat? They were cart wheeling for the bug. The past few days have been the days you dream about. Just put it in a fishy looking spot and it got crushed. Really, that’s all there is to say. Who knows how long the rivers will hold before the rain blows them out, Get out while you can! Most likely this will be a short glimpse of the big bug, but why not enjoy it right now!

-The MAngler

#Missoulianangler

Missoula Fishing Report
Bitterroot River

Cinco De Mayo Missoula Fishing Report

by missoulaflyfishingoutfitters

Cinco De Mayo Missoula Fishing Report

The Water’s Rising!

Don’t panic. Easier said than done. The rivers are all on a fairly steep upward trend. There are parts of the local rivers that have remained fairly stable. But the combination of warm temps and the forecast for rain will almost certainly push everything into full runoff mode. But who knows, Maybe not.

There are lots of bugs out right now if you can find water clear enough for the fish to eat them. Flying Skwalas, March Browns, Beatis, Drakes, Nemouras, and Caddis. This is an awesome time of year to get out and explore some water that we don’t normally get to fish if you are focused on trout. There are lots of lakes and ponds in the area that hardly receive any fishing pressure at all. If  you are willing to switch your focus to warm water species you can catch Bass and Pike all through Run-Off and never have to take a break while the water is high. That’s a lot of fun, and who doesn’t get a kick out of throwing huge flies on wire tippet to fish that can bite you? 

Stop by the shop and let us point you int he right direction for May. Lot’s of great fishing opportunities even when the water is high. We have LOTS of warm water bugs. Stop by and check them out!

-The MAngler

#Becauseyoufish

Missoula Fishing Report
Bitterroot River

Missoula Fishing Report 4/30

by missoulaflyfishingoutfitters

Missoula Fishing Report

Spring Recap / Looking Forward

The last day in April. Wow. That was a quick spring. The weather and water were a bit weird. But all things considered, we actually are somewhat, right on schedule. 

In case you weren’t in town… Skwalas stared off with a bang in early March. The warm weather got the bugs moving early in the season. Fish were looking up and the low and mid elevation snow was flushed out of the system. When we recovered from the early push of water the Mayflies came into town, and boy did they put on a show this year. The Drakes and March Browns were out in awesome numbers and the trout took notice. 

Right now, we still have some fantastic fishing going on. The Bitterroot, The Clark Fork, The Blackfoot, and Rock Creek are all fishing well. You might have to hop around a bit to find level flows and clear water to fish with the warm temps and bumping flows. If you can find good water, The fishing will be fantastic. There are a lot of bugs out right now that we don’t normally get to fish during bigger water years. The caddis are out in impressive numbers, The Drakes are still hatching in the afternoons, and late skwalas can be a difference maker during the afternoons with high sun. This is a fun time of the year to get out and fish. We don’t get this very often so take advantage while you can. 

Right now in the shop all Montana Fly Company fly boxes are 20% off. So come grab a new Boat Box, Streamer box, or little dry fly box and get your bugs organized for a fantastic summer of fishing around the Missoula area. 

-The MAngler

#Becauseyoufish

Missoula Fishing Report
Bitterroot River

Missoula Fishing Report

by missoulaflyfishingoutfitters

Missoula Fishing Report

Tuesday 4/28

Bitterroot River Brown Trout

Yesterday the fishing on The Bitterroot was fantastic. While the dry fly fishing got started late in the day, (2:00 pm) when it got going it was lights out. There were mayflies all over the place and a handful of stoneflies around as well. When the fish started to look up they seemed to be in more typical late spring water. Shallow riffle drop off’s, the heavy side of the seam lines, and around the woody structure. 

The flies didn’t seem to matter. Lots of fish were up eating the Drakes and they ate the bigger Skwala when it went over them. The rouge, the Fat Frank, The Half Down. They all caught fish. The Classic Mayfly patterns also produced fish. The Para-Pheasant tail, The Hares Ear, and The para-Adams, were all you needed to get fish in the net.

The big fish were looking up, even with the high sun. The warm day today will probably bring a bump in the flows tonight, but the rest of the week looks cooler and the water should stabilize quickly. As along as we have mild temps the fishing should remain very good. If you have been tossing around the idea of coming to Missoula and getting on the water I would highly recommend it. We are setting up for another great week of dry fly fishing in the Missoula Area.

All Skwalas are 20% off till the end of the month. Stop by the shop and stock up for the last bit of Spring Action.

-The MAngler

#Becauseyoufish

Missoula Fishing Report
Bitterroot River

Missoula’s Friday Fishing Report

by missoulaflyfishingoutfitters

Missoula Fishing Report 

Friday April 24th 

Short and sweet.

The water is back on the spring Roller Coaster ride that we normally have this time of year. That doesn’t spell disaster for the fishing this weekend. It might make it a little bit harder to find fish, but they are still in the river. bigger water like this pushes them to the insides and focuses the trout on not spending too much energy. So keep that in mind when you head out there.

As far as bugs go. There are a lot of them. Stoneflies, Mayflies and Caddis are all in the air right now. If you can find a fish up eating they are going to eat. The coulds will make the dry fly fishing better. The bump in the water won’t. Win some. Lose Some. Don’t worry about it though, you can catch fish right through these little pushes of water. So Stop by the shop and pick up anything you need before you hit the river.

-The MAngler

#Becauseyoufish 

Missoula Fishing Report
Bitterroot River

Missoula Fishing Report 4/22

by missoulaflyfishingoutfitters

Missoula Fishing Report

Late Skwalas and Spring Mayflies

Over the past week the fishing has been nothing short of incredible. Really, there is nothing more to say. But this is a fishing report so I guess I have to give you more than that. 

Mayflies: The March Browns/Grey Drakes have been coming down river like the British Navy. Sails up. When you find the clouds the fish have been eating like college kids on a late night Denny’s binge. The most productive patterns have been old school. Hares ear’s and pheasant tail parachutes. The good stuff. The Root. The Clark. And The Blackfoot. The bugs are all over the place.  

Skwalas: They are still around on The Bitterroot and a sneaky low profile bullet head will catch fish at this point in the hatch. The Clark Fork’s “Flying” skwalas have just shown up as well. The only tricky part is the high sun. Those Clark Fork fish seem to get a bit sketchy in the sun. So don’t go unless we get clouds. But then again go anywhere when we have clouds. Get a monster brown on the root in the clouds or catch the feisty Clark Fork rainbows in the clouds. Pick Your Poision. 

There isn’t really that much more to say. The fishing has been awesome. Some would even say “Epic”. If you have been on the fence about coming out here, Do it. You can’t catch em in the office. 

All Skwalas are 20% off here at the shop. Stop by and fill those holes in your spring fly box. We would be happy to help you out with that. 

-The MAngler

#Becauseyoufish