Missoula Fly Fishing Report
Bitterroot River

Missoula Fly Fishing Report 3/23

by MAngler

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 started to fish, and with this cold spring, none too soon. The Skwalas are on the surface, as are the Nemouras and BWO’s. The fish aren’t rising with reckless abandon, but they’re certainly looking up. The Gray/Olive Plan B and the Olive Water Walker have had some early success, along with the Rogue Skwala and El Camino. Drop a dry Nemoura off the back of a Skwala, you’ll be surprised at how effective that little guy is. The BWO’s are getting the fish to rise in pods on cloudy days, while sunny days shorten the hatch duration. Have a Quigley Split Flag BWO or a Last Chance Cripple to take the bigger fish.
Don’t sleep on the nymphing. The SR French Bullet or Keslars Black Widow in a 12-14 are excellent Nemoura nymphs, well worth dropping off a dry or as the point fly behind a 20 Incher or Double Bead Stone Peacock. The Duracell, Caramel Jig and Newbury John Brown are all working as a Western March Brown nymph, while the Olive SR Bullet and Jake’s Olive Perdigon are doing the job for BWO nymphs. Don’t forget the worm
If you can take your eyes off the surface, the big fish are moving to streamers. Work the edges, tail outs and deeper riffles with a mid-size streamer. The Baby Swim Coach, Baby Gonga and the Articulated Silver/Gunmetal Kreelix have been taking some impressive trout. A 3ips sinking leader helps get the fly down, but can be a bit intrusive.
Scroll to the bottom of this page for additional fly patterns and tips for each hatch

Bitterroot Streamflow

Blackfoot River

You can get it done on the Blackfoot river, but be ready to go deep and work the slower water. The Blackfoot is the farthest north and highest elevation river- it takes the longest to get into shape. A deep TJ Hooker or a 20 Incher have been effective, and a San Juan Worm dropper is highly recommended. Find the best water and work it hard, that’s going to be more effective than fishing the marginal water that has fish in the summer.
Keep your streamer selection smaller than expected, Baby Gongas, Double Fuegos and the Dirty Hippie have been moving some fish. LOW AND SLOW. Give the fish a chance to see and react- too fast and it passes by. The water is cold, and the Blackfoot trout are still in their winter lies. Not many people up here, but be ready to work to move the fish.
Scroll to the bottom of this page for additional fly patterns and tips!

Blackfoot Streamflow

Clark Fork River

The water in the Clark Fork river is cold- the ice along the edges tell you that! That doesn’t mean it’s not fishging. BWO’s are being seen on the lower Clark in size 16-18. If the BWO doesn’t work, they could still be rising to midges, so be ready for both. Trout are taking a Tiltwing BWO and a Split Flag Quigley- it hasn’t gotten very tricky yet. They’ve been feeding on midges for the last 3 months. Be ready to switch flies till you find exactly what they’re eating.
The Clark Fork is fishing better sub-surface. As with most late winter fishing, low and slow is the way to get it done. TJ Hookers and Pats Rubberlegs 4-6 feet deep have been moving fish with regularity. A skwala nymph along the edges has proven effective in the middle section, and we expect that to move to the lower Clark Fork as well. Make sure you have some gray/brown nymphs in a 12-14 for the Westernb March Browns. The Duracell and a Hare’s Ear Jij are working for the mymph. And if you want to go small, use an Olive Bullet to imitate the BWO nymph. Don’t forget the worm.
Streamers have been performing fairly well. The fish aren’t crushing the streamers, but the ones that do have been big. The upper and Middle Clark Fork have more fish moving, while the lower Clark Fork is kicking up fewer fish to streamers. But the Lower Clark Fork trout are well worth talking about. Mid-size articulated streamers like a Baby Swim Coach or a Barely Legal have been good, and of course the Sparkle Minnow. The new Sparkle Yummy has been effective as well.

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

Clark Fork Streamflow

Rock Creek

The lower and upper sections of Rock Creek are easily accessible- the road in the middle is still in winter form, so there’s no running the length of the river over the day. Skwala nymphs are taking fish on the edges, as is the Pheasant Tail Jig in sizes 12-14. The San Juan Worm has been very effective, as has the Gummy Worm. The nymphing has been really good up here, and while those nymphs have been strong, we’re hearing that a well presented nymph of your choice is working.
Skwalas are being seen on the surface, but don’t expect the dry flies to be lights out. Pick up a couple dries, but don’t lose your mind. That’s coming soon. The BWO’s are also showing, and a simple Parachute or Cripple are talking fish when you find them rising. The BWO’s have been better on the upper section, but are found top and bottom.
Streamers have been good, but not great. Again, low and slow will move the bigger fish, while working the faster water will get more fish, but of lesser size. Small to mid-size streamers like a Kreelix or sparkle Minnow have been strong, with a Natural Sculpzilla also making the list. Be ready for Rock Creek to get very good as the weather continues to warm up.
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
Nemoura Patterns
Top BWO Patterns

Bitterroot River

Missoula Fly Fishing Report 3/26

by MAngler

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 good lately with some decent dry fly action from late morning into the afternoon. With these colder nights we’ve been seeing, focus on nymphing in the morning and switch to a dry dropper or single dry during the afternoon. We are still not seeing many adult Skwalas but with the warm weather forecast, we should start seeing plenty. This weekends warm up might bring another push of water but nothing that should keep you from fishing. It’s been a long winter and this warm up is exactly what we all need in our life. Go enjoy it!
Scroll to the bottom of this page for additional fly patterns and tips for each hatch

Bitterroot Streamflow

Blackfoot River

Fly fishing the Blackfoot River is still cold and not much has changed as far as the fishing. It got a little off color with the last warm up but has leveled off and cleared up. We have been floating a few stretches and chucking streamers for a few good fish a day. The Blackfoot River is not a numbers game this time of year but focusing on slow inside seems and runs will get it done. This is a great option if you want the river to yourself, just don’t expect heavy action all day long. Nymphing and streamer fishing is the way to go.
Scroll to the bottom of this page for additional fly patterns and tips!

Blackfoot Streamflow

Clark Fork River

Clark Fork fly fishing is still pretty slow for the most part. Like the Blackfoot, it got a little off color with the last warm up and then started to clear up. Expect waterflows to bump a little with the warm up bringing more off color conditions. We have seen a few Skwala adults out but not enough to get the fish to excited at this point. Should be a decent option until the water turns dark as we expect to see with this warm up. Focus on slower water and inside seems with nymphs and streamers and possibility of some decent dry fly action in the afternoon.
Scroll to the bottom of this page for additional fly patterns and tips!

Clark Fork Streamflow

Rock Creek

Fly fishing on Rock Creek is starting to warm up with very few adult Skwalas starting to show up. Not a great dry fly option by any means but it’s at least a start. We’ve heard good reports from the top stretches to the bottom. Nymphing is still your most effective strategy followed by streamers. There are a few fish looking up for dries in the afternoon but don’t expect much on dries. Like the rest of our streams, focus on your fishing on the slow walking pace water like inside seems and slow runs.
Scroll to the bottom of this page for additional fly patterns and tips!

Rock Creek Streamflow

March 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.

Skwala Overview
March Brown Overview
Top BWO Patterns

Mangler Shenanigans

The River Rant

by MAngler

Brought To You By The Beef Stick Eating Brown Trout

Well it’s official, the first Skwala sighting appears and we can’t stay off the water now. To early? Yes. Good Fishing? No. Good beer and Company? You Know it.

Every year it happens to our crew, we start fishing hard in February with streamers and nymphs and by the time we see the first Skwala in March, we prematurely throw a single dry on. There’s always a few of us that go dry or die way to early. If you put a dry on your nymph rig, it might make you feel better but we all know that dropper is going to catch the majority of the fish and the dry will lull you to sleep just to be woken up by one big rainbow smashing the dry which you miss. Yes, a few fish will come up and smash the big bug but this is our way of pretending not to nymph.

What ever floats your boat right? Or in this scenario, what ever floats your nymph.

Many of you have been pretty excited coming into our Missoula fly shop after hearing that Skwala’s started too hatch. We’re excited too but I hate to tell you that the weather forecast doesn’t look pretty for Skwala adults. This upcoming weekend weather is looking a little chilly for the big bugs and even a few nights of single digits. So turn that energy into streamers, nymphs and your tying bench for the time being.

This time of year is when Missoula fly fishing guides start scouting the river for new changes in the streams from last fall, make sure their boat and gear is in working order, and buy a new cooler because the lunch from the last trip hasn’t been cleaned out since October.

Missoula Fly Shops are constantly getting shipments of flies in and stocking up for the anticipation for a good Skwala hatch. But after a lousy spring fishing season in Misssoula last year, there’s a lot less stocking to do this year.

For us at the Missoulian Angler Fly Shop, we’ve been dedicating a lot of our time in preparing for our first annual Skwala Fest. We’ve been constantly getting shipments in of donations from our vendors in the form of product to raffle off. At this point we are pretty sure we’ve annoyed just about everyone of our facebook followers with constant shout outs for the Skwala Fest. Don’t worry though, we are less then a month away from the event and then we’ll give you a rest until the second annual event.

March fly fishing in Missoula can be hit and miss with the weather and often fluctuating water but it is one of our favorite times of year on the river and in the shop. On the river big fish chase streamers and more often then not you will find yourself on a stretch of water all to yourself with some of your best friends. Being the largest fly selection and fly tying selection in Western Montana, most Missoula fly fishing guides shop at our fly shop and they are some of our favorite people. They’re patient demeanor means they can deal with Georges rants and bubbly attitude, they are excited for the upcoming season and they get just as excited about our new patterns for the season as us. Missoula fly shops get a little lonely in the winter and seeing familiar faces like the guides who often stop in the shop every day from June until October brings the life back into our shop.

Missoula Fishing Report
Bitterroot River

Missoula Fishing Report for March 5th

by missoulaflyfishingoutfitters

The Missoula Fishing Report

The Big Picture

 

Skwalas. When will the dry fly fishing be what we have all been dreaming about since November? Well your guess is as good as mine. The general idea is that Skwala’s need a water temperature between 42-47 degrees to hatch. Some people agree on the lower end and other agree on the upper end of that scale. The cool thing about Skwala’s is that they are a relatively “New” bug in the research sense. They have only recently (20 years) become a popular hatch and noticed by most anglers. Sure some people have been fishing the hatch longer, but for the entire community they are a new bug. The other piece of the puzzle is getting temp readings from the river. The USGS stations offer temp readings, but only on a seasonal timeframe. So to get a temp you are going to have to do it the “old school” way. Go out and stick your hand in the water. The only way to know for sure when the water is warm enough for Skwalas to show up is to take a temp reading when you start to see the bugs. Do it this year. It will give you a leg up for future seasons and a little science never hurt anyone.

Bitterroot Skwala Hatch
Bitterroot Skwala

March Brown/Rhithrogena/What Ever You Call Em’s: “The Difference Maker”. Some days the big stonefly pattern just doesn’t produce. When you are flummoxed and there are fish eating, Throw the mayfly. These bugs are the first big mayflies to show us since fall. There are many days when the trout will completely ignore the skwala and shift their focus to the mayflies. When that happens you can have some fantastic headhunting or some great pods of fish to shoot at.

When,Where, and How: This weekend and next week look to be about as beautiful as we can hope for in the spring. That being said, expect for everyone to have the same idea. Go Fishing. Cabin fever is the worst this time of year and a day on the water is a perfect remedy. If you are one of those people who cant stand seeing other folks on the water it’s time to think out of the box. Don’t out your boat in at Tucker or Bell at 10am. Maybe go for a long walk down a Bitterroot side channel that boats cant fit into. Maybe explore a part of The Blackfoot that you have never been to. Walk and wade the upper Clark Fork. Or spend a day on Upper Rock Creek. We are lucky in Missoula to have over 300 miles of water within an hours drive. Don’t confine yourself to 15 miles of The Bitterroot if you want some solitude.

All of that being said, there is some fantastic fishing on the main stem of The Bitterroot during the Skwala hatch. Remember that these are early spring stoneflies. They ARE NOT Goldens and Salmonflies. That means fish the early spring water. Of course you could catch a fish or two off the fast banks and the “Bouncy Summer Water” but the majority of your success will be on the slow inside bends. The same place you nymph in the winter. The “Boring” water. Have faith and let that fly drift. Don’t get antsy and cast over and over again, the fish can’t eat it in the air. Leave your fly alone once it’s out there.

Whatever you need for spring fishing is in the shop. As I am writing this boxes from MFC, Simms, Echo, And Spirit River are piling up with flies, gear, rods, materials, and other goodies for the spring. We are fully stocked and ready to rock this spring. If you need to tie a few more bugs come on in and let us help with your game plan. As always we are here for you. Let us help with Missoula Spring Fishing.

-The MAngler

…Because You Fish

*March Spring Guide Specials- Full day guided trip for 2 anglers only $385*