Missoula Fishing Report 5/19

May 19, 2024

The fishing in May on our major rivers is usually a wash in May forcing us to lakes and smaller streams, but this year is a little different. With a cooler than normal spring and first few weeks of May, the water hasn’t come up as drastically as past years, which is creating some good windows of fishing on the Bitterroot, Blackfoot, Clark Fork and Rock Creek.

While the fishing has been decent, safety is the biggest concern.

The water is running fast and you really need to be careful of where you decide to wade in if you do. In most cases, it’s best to keep your feet dry and fish from bank as most of the fish will be holding close to the bank in soft water anyways.

In other news, All tributaries are now open as of Saturday May 18 and are all good options to fish right now. Smaller water is obviously less dangerous than bigger water. AND the fish in the tributaries haven’t seen a fly in months.

We have already seen a few Salmonflies kicking around during the recent warm spell that didn’t last long.

Yes we’ve seen them, no you should not focus on them as a consistent dry fly yet.

Salmonfly madness will be here soon, and probably sooner than expected depending on water temperatures, so keep an eye out for our next fishing report!

Focus your time on nymphing and streamer fishing on the soft edges and any slower holding water where the fish will stack up during these flows.

As the water temperatures warm up, be ready for Salmonflies, Golden Stones, Yellow Sallies and Green Drakes starting to hatch.

Good luck wherever you decide to go and as always, stay safe and don’t hesitate to stop in or call the shop for any advice.

Bitterroot River

Missoula Fly Fishing 5/4

May 4, 2024

Fly Fishing Report Brought To You By Our Missoula Fly Fishing Guides And Fly Shop Staff.
Enjoy and Good Luck!

Bitterroot River

The Bitterroot river continues to drop and fishing has been good. We’ve experienced some unseasonably cold weather with plenty of snow and rain mix over the week. Not only has this cold spring helped flows stay low and fishing good, it’s also giving us much needed snow in the mountains. We’re still seeing a few Skwala’s here and there, but it’s been mostly a March Brown and BWO game out there as of late. With the cooler temps in the forecast, we may see some good dry fly fishing for the first part of May, depending on how much rain we see in the coming days. Be prepared for some Mothers Day Caddis to come if the clarity is good for the next few weeks.

Scroll to the bottom of this page for additional fly patterns and tips for each hatch

Bitterroot Streamflow

Blackfoot River

The Blackfoot river has been fishing decent and much better than earlier this spring. We’ve been seeing good hatches of March Browns and BWO’s and some steady dry fly action in the warmer afternoons. The nymphing and streamer fishing has been the most consistent though, and should continue to be the go to strategy until true runoff hits. Keep your focus on inside seems and slower walking pace water until water temps warm up a bit.

Scroll to the bottom of this page for additional fly patterns and tips!

Blackfoot Streamflow

Clark Fork River

The Clark Fork river fishing has been producing some great fishing this spring and it looks like we may get another good week or two until flows bump and water clarity turns darker. Still decent numbers of Skwala’s, March Browns and BWO’s hatching and fish are eating the dry fly. Nymphing and streamer fishing has been more productive in the morning, and dry fly fishing kicks on in the afternoon. We’re excited at the possible chance of some decent May fishing that we don’t often see on the Clark Fork and a Mothers day Caddis hatch that usually isn’t much of a factor in the Missoula area due to it usually happening around peak flows. We’ll keep an eye on weather and see how much moisture we get, but we’re optimistic that we’re going to have some decent fishing the first few weeks of May on all of our Missoula rivers.

Scroll to the bottom of this page for additional fly patterns and tips!

Clark Fork Streamflow

Rock Creek

Rock Creek continues to fish great and that shouldn’t slow down anytime soon if the weather forecast stays true. The main game up here is March Brown and BWO’s, but the fish are still eating Skwala’s decently even though there aren’t many around lately. The streamer fishing has been really good and it’s worth it to commit a day to just streamer fishing.
Take advantage of the May fishing we have right now because it won’t last long and is a bit of an anomaly for this time of year.
Scroll to the bottom of this page for additional fly patterns and tips!

Rock Creek Streamflow

Spring Hatches

Click any photo below to find out more information on each individual hatch. Includes life cycle, best fly patterns, helpful tips and where to find these hatches in your Western Montana fly fishing adventure.

Best Skwala Patterns

Best March Brown Patterns

Top BWO Patterns

Best Nemoura Patterns

Capnia Overview

13 Tips For Fly Fishing Streamers

Bitterroot River

Missoula Fly Fishing Report 4/20

April 20, 2024

Fly Fishing Report Brought To You By Our Missoula Fly Fishing Guides And Fly Shop Staff.
Enjoy and Good Luck!

Bitterroot River

The Bitterroot river has come back into good fishing conditions with dropping water levels and warmer temperatures. Overall the fishing this spring has been great on the Bitterroot river, although there has been better windows than others with the fluctuating flows and water temperatures.
It looks like the weather will stay decent for the next few weeks and that should keep the flows somewhat stable and fishable.
There are still some Skwala’s kicking around and the March Brown fishing in the clouds has been spectacular. We’ve also seen a good amount of BWO’s in the clouds as well.

Scroll to the bottom of this page for additional fly patterns and tips for each hatch

Bitterroot Streamflow

Blackfoot River

Fishing on the Blackfoot river took a bit of a hit with the rising flows and cold water temps over the last week. We’re still seeing decent streamer and nymph fishing even through the cold temps and rising water. There has been a decent window of dry fly fishing in the afternoon with March Browns, BWO’s and Nemouras. But those windows are short lived.
Focus your time on inside seems with deep nymph rigs and slowly retrieved streamers.

Scroll to the bottom of this page for additional fly patterns and tips!

Blackfoot Streamflow

Clark Fork River

The Clark Fork river fishing, like the other rivers in the area, has seen up and down fishing over the last few weeks with the rising flows and cool temps. The fishing has been good when conditions are good with Skwala’s, March Browns and BWO’s. It looks like the weather forecast will help and give us some better conditions for the next week or two.
This should be a great week to go fish the Clark Fork river with flows trending down and water clarity improving every day.

Scroll to the bottom of this page for additional fly patterns and tips!

Clark Fork Streamflow

Rock Creek

Rock Creek fishing remained decent even through the rising water and colder water temps. The fishing should keep getting better for the next few weeks if the weather forecast holds true.
We’ve been seeing decent numbers of Skwala’s, March Browns and BWO’s hatching on rock creek and we expect that to continue for the near future.
Streamer fishing and nymphing will be your most effective strategy for numbers, but the dry fly fishing has been good in the afternoons.

Scroll to the bottom of this page for additional fly patterns and tips!

Rock Creek Streamflow

Spring Hatches

Best Skwala Patterns

Best March Brown Patterns

Top BWO Patterns

Best Nemoura Patterns

Capnia Overview

13 Tips For Fly Fishing Streamers

Bitterroot River

Missoula Fishing Report 4/14

April 14, 2024

Fly Fishing Report Brought To You By Our Missoula Fly Fishing Guides And Fly Shop Staff.
Enjoy and Good Luck!

Bitterroot River

The Bitterroot river fishing has been incredible this week up until a few days ago when the flows bumped and slowed fishing down. The dry fly fishing with Skwala’s, March Browns and BWO’s was some of the best fishing we’ve seen this Spring so far. Big fish and dry flies, what more can you ask.
We’re hoping flows level off a bit with some cooler weather on tap and cool nights. Keep an eye on flows over the next few days and hope for a level or dropping trend. Be prepared with Skwala’s, March Browns and BWO’s.

Scroll to the bottom of this page for additional fly patterns and tips for each hatch

Bitterroot Streamflow

Blackfoot River

Fishing on the Blackfoot river has picked up a bit over the week. Still mostly a nymph and streamer game but we have been hearing a few reports of decent dry fly fishing on March Browns. Like the rest of the Missoula rivers, the Blackfoot flows have been rising steadily over the last few days. We’re hoping the flows level off or begin to drop over the next week with the cold front moving in.
Focus your time on inside seems with heavy nymph rigs and slowly retrieved streamers.

Scroll to the bottom of this page for additional fly patterns and tips!

Blackfoot Streamflow

Clark Fork River

The Clark Fork river flows have bumped over the last few days. While fishing still stayed fairly consistent, the water clarity has started to turn a bit darker. As with the rest of the rivers, we hope to see the flows level off as cooler weather moves in early this coming week.
The March Brown and Skwala dry flies was the name of the game and we expect that to continue in the coming week.
We’ve also started to hear a lot of good streamer fishing with patterns like the Double Fuego, Dirty Hippie, Mongrel Meat and Sparkle Minnows.

Scroll to the bottom of this page for additional fly patterns and tips!

Clark Fork Streamflow

Rock Creek

Rock Creek continues to fish good even through the rising water. The dry fly fishing has really picked up with plenty of Skwala’s, March Browns and Nemoura’s.
The Nymphing and Streamer fishing has stayed consistent and should continue to produce fish for the coming weeks.
If flows level off, the fishing should be really good up here this coming week.
We’ve been hearing good fishing from the lower end all the way to the top, but a little better dry fly fishing on the lower half.

Scroll to the bottom of this page for additional fly patterns and tips!

Rock Creek Streamflow

Spring Hatches

Best Skwala Patterns

Best March Brown Patterns

Top BWO Patterns

Best Nemoura Patterns

Capnia Overview

13 Tips For Fly Fishing Streamers

Bitterroot River

Missoula Fly Fishing Report 4/7

April 7, 2024

Fly Fishing Report Brought To You By Our Missoula Fly Fishing Guides And Fly Shop Staff.
Enjoy and Good Luck!

Bitterroot River

The Bitterroot river fishing has been inconsistent over the last 3 days or so with rising flows followed by snow. The river flows have leveled off and started to drop which should bring a little more consistency over the next few days.

Even through with the rising water and cold snap, the fish were still eating dries, you just had to work a little harder for the dry eats. We’ll see what the weather does over the next week but it looks like we’ll continue to see good fishing in the coming weeks on dries.

We’re still focusing on Skwala dries, but more and more March Browns are showing up and fish are taking notice, especially in the cloudy weather. Don’t forget to have some BWO patterns handy in the clouds as well.

Scroll to the bottom of this page for additional fly patterns and tips for each hatch

Bitterroot Streamflow

Blackfoot River

Fishing on the Blackfoot river has been slow over the last few days with rising water and a major cold front that moved in over the last few days. Rising water flows and dropping water temperature is not a good combo for the Blackfoot river fishing in the spring. While the flows have leveled off, the water is still cold and will take some warmer weather to get it back up to where it was before the cold front. Like we’ve said in many spring fishing reports for the Blackfoot, if you want less people, this is the place to be, but you’ll sacrifice fishing and dry fly fishing for solitary. The nymphing and streamer fishing should continue to fish well for those who wish to head up that way. Focus your time on slow inside seems with deep nymph rigs and slowly retrieved streamers.

Scroll to the bottom of this page for additional fly patterns and tips!

Blackfoot Streamflow

Clark Fork River

The Clark Fork river like the rest of the rivers in the area was effected by the change in weather over the last few days. The water levels went up and has started to drop over the last couple days. The river has turned a bit darker in color which will slow things down for a few days but we expect the Clark Fork to be fishing good again soon. Keep March Browns, BWO’s and Skwalas handy. We’ll keep you posted on conditions.

Scroll to the bottom of this page for additional fly patterns and tips!

Clark Fork Streamflow

Rock Creek

Rock Creek has been solid even through the bump in water flows and cooler temps. They nymphing and streamer game has been the way to go over the last few days with the rising water. We are seeing Skwala’s, March Browns and BWO’s hatching and the dry fly fishing should pick back up this week with the warmer weather and leveling flows.

Focus on nymphs and streamers in the morning and go to the dries in the afternoon. The fish are still in their cold weather holding water, so hit the inside seems and slower walking speed water runs.

Scroll to the bottom of this page for additional fly patterns and tips!

Rock Creek Streamflow

Spring Hatches

Best Skwala Patterns

Best March Brown Patterns

Top BWO Patterns

Best Nemoura Patterns

Capnia Overview

13 Tips For Fly Fishing Streamers

Bitterroot River

Missoula Fishing Report 4/3

April 3, 2024

Fly Fishing Report Brought To You By Our Missoula Fly Fishing Guides And Fly Shop Staff.
Enjoy and Good Luck!

Bitterroot River

The Bitterroot river fly fishing has been hot over the last week, the skwala dry has been the name of the game, March browns and BWOs have been good in the cloudy weather. Anglers are having success with nymphs and streamers early morning, and then switching to the Skwala dry later in the morning and throughout the day. The river flow is on an upward trend, and with rain forecasted, we might see the bump in flows continue depending on how much moisture we receive over the next few days

Our favorite patterns are as follows:
Skwala – Gray/Olive Plan B, Water Walker, Rogue, Mill Creek and the True Skwala.
March Browns – Parachute Pheasant Tail, Brindlechute and the Carnage March Brown.
BWO – Tiltwing, Thorax, Parachute Hare’s Ear Olive and Film Critic.

Scroll to the bottom of this page for additional fly patterns and tips for each hatch

Bitterroot Streamflow

Blackfoot River

Fishing on the Blackfoot river is decent, particularly with streamers and nymphs, while the dry fly fishing is spotty at best. Effective strategies include fishing deep nymph rigs on inside seams and slowly retrieved streamers in deeper runs.

While the Blackfoot river may not be the best option for anglers at this point, the traffic is low and this is a great time of year to test out your streamer skills with some big fish being caught up here over the last few weeks.

Deep nymph rigs with stoneflies and worms are pretty hard to beat on the Blackfoot river now. For streamers, our favorites are the Double Fuego, Sparkle Minnow, Mongrel Meat and the Gonga.

Scroll to the bottom of this page for additional fly patterns and tips!

Blackfoot Streamflow

Clark Fork River

The Clark Fork river mirrors the Bitterroot in terms of hatches. The skwala’s have been out in the sun, while the BWO’s and March Brown dries have been good in the clouds.

Like the Bitterroot, the Clark Fork’s flows are creeping up as of this morning. The forecast is calling for a lot of moisture over the next 24 hours.

Our favorite patterns for the Skwala has been the Mill Creek Skwala, Gray/Olive Plan B and the True Skwala. The Parachute Pheasant Tail and Carnage March Brown has been our most effective March Brown Patterns. For BWO’s, try the Film Critit, Split Flag and the Thorax.

Scroll to the bottom of this page for additional fly patterns and tips!

Clark Fork Streamflow

Rock Creek

Rock Creek is in excellent fishing conditions. The Skwala adults have started to show up along with BWO’s and March Browns. The dry fly fishing in the morning has been a little slow, but by midday the dries have been effective. Nymphing and streamer fishing has been good in the morning while you wait for the dries to come into play.

Like the rest of the rivers, Rock creek is currently seeing a rising trend in water flows as of this morning and might continue its rise if the weather forecast holds true. Rock creek is one stream around missoula that still fishes decent in rising water.

Scroll to the bottom of this page for additional fly patterns and tips!

Rock Creek Streamflow