Great Fly Fishing in Western Montana in the Montana Fishing Company Report
By Kjel

Posted: July 27, 2012

The Blackfoot River has been hot this week.  The spruce moths are out in force.  The fish are taking size 12 to 10 tan caddis just about every cast.  You have to be a great fly fisher to get the bigger fish to feed.  Lots of anglers are on the river and the fish are a bit gun shy.  If you see a fish come up for your fly and turn without eating your fly. Then return to the bottom of the river, you know that your drift was not good enough.   Use 5x to 6x for your tippet.  Remember to be kind to your fellow anglers.  Try not to sit in a hole too long.  Remember your back cast as tubers or other fly fishers are passing you on the river.  Take your time and wait your turn at the put in and take out.  We are all out in the wild of Montana so just breathe the fresh air and have a great time.

The Bitterroot is doing well for dry fly action.  The river has dropped so a lot of log jams are exposed.  This can be very dangerous.  Remember safety first when you are on the Bitterroot River.  It changes day to day with the water levels dropping like they have been. Flies that are working, Hoppers with a dropper like a copper john or some bead head nymph.  Golden stones, Caddis, Green drakes, Purple haze, just to name a few.

The Clark Fork is fishing well.  The water does heat up in the mid-day on the upper section.  The lower river is the place to be in my opinion.  St Regis to the Flathead River is where I will be guiding for the next few days.   Hoppers are a good choice here. Be ready for a fight when you hook into a trout on this stretch of water.  They are lively critters.

We all have to do our job in making sure that the fish in our rivers are returned to the river in a proper way.  As the temps in the rivers rise the fish get exhausted.   If they float upside-down please revive them by holding them gently in the water facing up stream.  If we do this we will have great rivers to fish for generations to come.

 

 

If you are interested in a guided fly fishing trip please give us a call.  We are doing pike on the fly on Noxon and the lower Clark Fork River.

Contact Scott Anderson, outfitter #12494, at www.montanafishingcompany.com or call (406)210-0971

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