Well one week ago I made the prediction that we would be fishing in Missoula in one week. Yesterday I floated lower Rock Creek and we fished the dry fly all day and caught some very nice brown trout. 6 or 7 fish 16 inches or bigger. Today I am heading to the Blackfoot for a guided trip.

The water is still high and a bit off color, but we are fishing in Missoula.

The Clark: The upper river looks great. It is running high and not extremely wade-able, but fishing it from a boat would be great. There are bugs, big ones and little ones hatching and the fish are noticing. The Lower river will take some time to come into shape, but when it does… That’s where I will be.

The Creek: SALMONFLIES are river wide. They are there in numbers and the fish are noticing them. It’s good and it’s just about as much fun as you can have. Get up there if you can. Just be very very careful if you are wade fishing. The river is moving right now. There is a lot of water and it is stronger than you are.

The Root: Good words coming from the few folks who are fishing The Bitterroot right now. It’s still very big but in the right spots they can and will eat a dry fly. I would look for the soft water and nymph ’em up.

The Foot: It’s going from brown to green and that means that the big fish are eating. Look for the soft inside seams and work big stonefly nymphs, Worms, and streamer stuff close to the bank. It’s the time of year that some of the biggest fish come out of that river.

Stop by the shop before you get on the water. We have everything you need to catch a trout in Montana right now. We also have boats on the water every day so we can give you an up to the minute report.

-The MAngler

…Because You Fish