Clark Fork Coalition Fall volunteer opportunities

Fall field season is here...

Help us squeeze in the last few projects of the season! We need volunteers to assist with cleanups, fall plantings, and getting kids excited about the river. So bundle up and come enjoy the changing colors and crisp air while working to protect Missoula's favorite river!

1) Reserve St River Cleanup:
Friday, October 14th:1-3pm and/or 3-5pm
Help remove tons of trash from the floodplain near the Reserve St bridge during this unique river cleanup. This is CFC's 4th year of partnering with the Water Quality District and the Poverello Center to remove abandoned encampments from along the river. We need lots of hands for this event... last year, volunteers cleaned up over 3 tons of trash! Contact Katie to learn more or to sign up!

2) Dry Cottonwood Creek Restoration Workday: 
Saturday, October 15th: 7am-3pm
We're looking for 2 or 3 volunteers to help put the finishing touches on a large-scale restoration project on the Clark Fork Coalition's ranch property near Deer Lodge. Volunteers will be planting willows and other native riparian vegetation. Transportation from Missoula provided!

3) Volunteer Educators:
2016/2017 School Year
It's back to school time! Throughout the school year, we'll be looking for help with teaching watershed science to kiddos in Missoula and beyond. Contact Katie to learn more about how you can help!

To get involved, contact Katie at katie@clarkfork.org or (406) 542-0539 ext. 212. If you haven't done so already, please fill out a volunteer application. 

(Pictures and info were copied from an email)

Where the Clark Fork begins

Outlet spillway for the Anaconda Settling Ponds

The Clark Fork River is the largest river by volume in the great state of Montana, USA.  Technically, its name is the Clark Fork of the Columbia River.  It get's its name from William Clark, the white explorer of the Lewis and Clark, Corps of Discovery.

The Clark Fork is a beautiful stream that exhibits a variety of personalities as it meanders westward out of the high Deer Lodge valley towards Lake Pend Oreille in Idaho.  Some famous MT trout streams make up the major tributaries including Rock Creek, the Blackfoot, and the Bitterroot.  The Flathead system also empties into the system down by Paradise.

The Clark Fork also has a gnarly history of abuse.  I mean seriously gnarly abuse!  If you have been a reader of this blog for any amount of time you've got an idea of the insanity that this stream has gone through. Abuses include being a dumping ground for a century of industrial scale mining and smeltering in the headwaters, smaller-scale (but no less destructive) mining in the tributaries, agricultural damage, interstates and railways, urbanization, de-watering, dams, sewage, invasive species, and much more.

If you root for the underdogs of the world like I do, the Clark Fork is sure to make you smile.  Despite the insanity, this river is still a world class trout fishery for most of its length.  It runs through some absolutely beautiful country and learning the history is super interesting.  In many ways, the Clark Fork is like the aorta which runs out of the historic heart of Montana - Butte.

The future of the Clark Fork is bright.  If you get the chance, fish it, learn about it, and love it.  You will not be disappointed!

Missoula area fishing report - late October

The East Coast does not have a monopoly on fall colors!

So far it has been a busy fall here at RBM headquarters.  Since I've been back I have taken three sets of people out fishing and finally yesterday, I got to fish Rock Creek until it hurt.  I've been waiting until I fished most of our local options before I wrote a report.

The Clark Fork:  The lower river was amazing last week.  It is one of my favorite places to fish in the fall.  We were still in that sunny, hot spell so the hopper dropper was king.  Those huge Clark Fork rainbows and cutbows were all over it.  Watching those big trout come up from the deep swirlys and slow sip your hopper is just too much fun.  Every type of hopper we used worked with the largest fish succumbing to the Unabomber.  Now that fall weather has arrived, it will be back to a mayfly game.  BWOs, mahoganies and the flies that represent them will catch you fish all day down here.  Look for sippers everywhere along the banks, in the scum lines, and the big swirlys.  Throwing streamers on the lower river in the clouds can also be amazing.

This weekend I had the honor of taking an international visitor, a policeman from Japan, out on a short float through town.  It was the last day of hot, sunny weather and the last of the summer hee-haw's were out in force.  We struggled a bit and even though we had an interpreter, the language barrier was tough.  I owe that guy a big long float down the MO or something.  This stretch of water should improve drastically with the clouds and cooler temps.

The Bitterroot:  The lower end of the 'Root was also slow in the sun and heat of last week.  We did get some nice ones on the hopper dropper rig though.  It was rough because right as things started to get good, the wind came up.  For whatever reason, the fish in the root are very sensitive to the wind as compared with the other streams in the area.  That same float on a cloudy day like today would be a whole different story.  The lower root is a great place to throw streamers in the fall as well.

Rock Creek:  I had been playing guide since I got home from CA so yesterday, I took advantage of the incoming storm and went out to Rock Creek for a whole day of intensive fishing all by myself.  The morning was tough.  It was still sunny and there were dudes everywhere.  I mean everywhere!  Then, the storm came through and all of a sudden, I had the place to myself.  Rain, clouds, October, no wind, and some new wading boots; I was in freaking heaven.  I put on a white bunny streamer and moved so many fish it was unreal.  The big boys were out in force.  I caught some great browns and the large cutts also came out to play.  I fished and covered water until it hurt.  I put in a full ten hour day and limped and moaned the whole way back to the truck in the dark.  I'd been waiting two months to do that!  There were fish up on BWOs and mahoganies but the streamer fishing was too good and exciting to even think about throwing a dry.  Nymphing was really slow, even with eggs.

I'll have detailed reports from the Mo and the Blackfoot soon as well as the upper Clark Fork. 

The Big Hole Crawler - Thoro-ly-good

The Big Hole Crawler

The Big Hole Crawler is just bad-ass.  It is basically a dressed up yuk bug.  As you'd imagine, it works great on the Big Hole River here in Montana, especially in the spring time.  It also works in other freestones where large stoneflies are present (ie. the Clark Fork and Rock Creek)

Hook: size 2-6 streamer hook (size 4 is great)
Thread: black 6/0
Weight: medium lead free wire
Tail: squirrel tail
Beads: large 3/16 dia. gold
Legs: white rubber legs
Body: medium grizzly chenille
Hackle: grizzly hackle

Put it on a double streamer rig with a big Thingamabobber on the up or down side of runoff and hold on.

The sky is going to start crying and I think all of us who love the fall mayfly game are pretty happy about it. Is it still an Indian summer if it now happens every year?

Missoula area fishing report - July

They're here 

Clark Fork:  The CF is still big but clear and fishing great!  You'll want a boat and someone who can row or hit your safe high-er water spots.  I saw a lot of summer weekender fishers struggling this weekend with the current conditions.  So, maybe this report will be more effective if I write about what not to do.  First off, it's summer and fishing on a bright sunny day at 3 in the afternoon is about the worst time ever.  Yet, for some reason, it seems that a lot of people wait all year to go fishing and then go at that time.  You need to get up early or get out at dusk.  As you can see from above, the tube hatch is in full swing.  A good rule of thumb: If there's tubes on the water, you should not be.  Also, if you'r not catching fish, move on.  I saw about 10 people fishing the Double Tree hole last night like they were on the Salmon River in NY with a guy skipping stones in between them all.  I mean, give yourself a chance people.  There are tons of rising trout less than 1/4 mile up or downstream and all these people were in the wrong spot and all over each other.  Weird. 

In the early morning there are tons of PMDs and huge Clark Fork trout gorging on them until about 11.  There is some mid-day fishing to be had but it tapers off hard in the afternoon.  Then, at about 7:30 +/-, the PMD spinners and swarms of caddis cover the water, and it is on all over again.  I caught some great fish on caddis dries this last weekend.  Finally!!

The Blackfoot:  I try to stay away from the shit show of guides, dudes, and tubers that take over the best reaches of the Blackfoot for the summer time.  Can anyone say “river permits are on their way?”  However, just like on any other body of water, the Blackfoot has its secrets.  If you actually spend the time to do your homework, you can have the best of the fishing and the whole place to yourself.

For instance, there are miles and miles of Blackfoot and some fantastic tribs up around the Lincoln area.  See my Mike Horse Mine post to understand why the fish numbers are lower up here than on the lower river.  However, when you consider people per fish per mile (something that should always be considered), you’re in the money. Instead of other fisherpeople and tubers, the only thing you’re going to run into up here is bears and moose.

Streamers are great in the morning and there are some great brown trout up here mixed in with the cutthroat. My best brown was caught dipping a Prince Nymph into a root wad hole.  In the evening, there is a massive rusty spinner fall and caddis are everywhere.  These fish don't see a lot of artificial flies and will destroy your Elk Hair Caddis without thinking twice. 

Buy a map, some gas, some bear spray, and some elk hair caddis and get it done!

The Bitterroot:  I can't give a really accurate report here.  I haven’t been on the Root since before runoff.  I imagine it’s shaping up like nobody’s business.  The caddis and PMD spinners on the lower Root are great this time of year.  You’re still going to want a boat for a little while longer with the above average flows.

Rock Creek:  This stream is so much fun this time of year!  An attractor with a dropper is all you usually need unless you get into a specific hatch.  Instead of tubers, you’re going to have to deal with a bunch of dudes.  The thing that you have to remember and keep telling yourself is that the majority of them have no idea what the hell they are doing and they are not catching all the fish, by any means.  The best way to avoid them is to get up early, get off the paved road, cover some miles on foot, and you will catch more awesome fish than you ever thought possible.  Don’t drive up next to the hole, make 1,000 casts in the same lame spot 500 other fisherpeople have pounded on for the past 3 months.  Try to remember Montana’s stay-out-of-sight ethic and try as hard as possible to make it happen.  

For this time of year, I like to fish a smaller golden stone attractor with a short nymph dropper in the daytime. Fish the knee deep riffle water. If you can't get up early to avoid the other fisherpeople, you will get double rewarded right now by staying out late.  As I mentioned earlier, most people want to fish in the heart of the afternoon.  Most of them will go home right before some great evening caddis fishing starts to shape up. In the evening, your favorite caddis pattern or a rusty spinner will nail em. 

Area lakes and ponds:  The trout lakes are fishing great.  For the most part, the summertime rules of early morning and evening still apply here.  I'd love to be up at Georgetown right now as I'm sure the damsels have the big rainbows all worked up.  I'll be fishing the Seeley-Swan region in the coming days and will have an expanded report on that.  The little stocker ponds are not the place to go right now.  They get fished out and hot and filled with swimmers etc.

So in a nutshell, avoid tubers, stale water, the middle of the day, and you'll have some really great, classic Montana, summertime fishing.

Urban trout

Downtown brown

Rainbow eats the wire body soft hackle

In the name of science

It has been raining for days in western Montana.  It whooped my ass in the field and it's putting the breaks on the receding rivers.



The graph of the Clark Fork below Missoula is a good place to look for the general trend because all of the  westside rivers drain into it.

The Blackfoot tributaries are a pretty cool wade fishing option this time of year.  They are clear and manageable.  There's still a lot of water in all of our streams so be careful.

And now, science!

University of Montana greenhouse

Corn growing in soil samples taken from Mt. Sentinel (big M) and Mt. Jumbo (big L) and MPG Ranch.  This study is comparing soil biodiversity and chemistry between the soil in grasslands dominated by native plants and those heavily invaded by leafy spurge (Euphorbia esula).

And on a larger scale, I've also been involved in a very large project assisting the United States Forest Service.

Reading cover and plant species richness in the Helena National Forest

The US Forest Service sprays herbicides aerially from aircraft on a large scale.  They are mandated to control invasive species and this is the cheapest and most effective way to cover a lot of ground with chemicals.  But does it even work to control the invasive plant invasions?  Is it harming the native plant communities?  Is it an unnecessary waste of money that is doing more harm than good?  These are the questions our research is trying to answer.  As you can imagine, this heavy management of plant communities by use of chemicals in headwater drainages has indirect effects on fish and invertebrate communities.

A day at the office, guest photographer: T. Willis

Castilleja miniata - greater red Indian paintbrush, guest photographer: T. Willis  

Weekend full of fishing ahead.  More trout - less plants next post!

Opportunity, Montana: Big Copper, Bad Water, and the Burial of an American Landscape - a review

Brad Tyer's debut book Opportunity, Montana: Big Copper, Bad Water, and the Burial of an American Landscape is a must read for anyone involved in stream restoration and conservation - at any level.

The book does a great job chronicling the rise of the Copper Kings, the history of Milltown, Opportunity, Anaconda, and Butte and the brutal treatment and destruction of the Clark Fork River watershed in the name of progress and profit.  Tyer also archives the lead-up and movement to remove Milltown Dam which held back millions of cubic yards of toxic, metal laden sediments.

Interwoven perfectly into the discoveries Tyer makes regarding the Clark Fork Restoration Project, is a touching story regarding the relationship he has had with his late father.  I am a stream restoration guy who has spent most of my professional career working on some aspect of this project.  More than one person Tyer interviews in the book has been my boss at some time.  I have done it all with the backdrop of a shitty relationship with my father.  It was like Tyer wrote this book for me personally!

The heart of the book revolves around the case of environmental injustice Tyer makes for the town of Opportunity, MT.  This tiny "town" is centered in the middle of a sea of toxic mine waste dumps called "tailings ponds."  Google Earth Opportunity, MT to get an idea of the scale of this mess!  When Milltown Dam was removed, the toxic sediment needed to go somewhere and Tyer highlights the decision making process which led to Opporunity paying the price for Missoula's restored river. 

Brad Tyer's writing carries you swiftly through a lot of history and litigation which is no easy task.  I found that his slight sarcasm, use of some great quotes, and a little bit of snark to be the perfect way to hear some of these stories that I was already pretty familiar with.  This book is a treasure trove of history and research and is a great resource to have on the bookshelf after you've read it.

I did find a couple of irrelevant errors in the text.  The book gets some minor technicalities wrong like the location of the mouth of Blacktail Creek and it also says that brown trout are native to MT, which they're certainly not.  These minor details have no effect on the story but did make me a bit nuts when I came across them.

The Opportunity, Montana blog provides many national reviews and stories from brad from the lead-up to the book release last fall.  Check it out for more info on the project, the town, and a bunch of great pics.

The spawn is on!

The rainbow and cutthroat trout of Montana are on the spawn.  Last week, I witnessed the massive trout orgy that takes place near Holter Dam on the Missouri.  There, the trout make dinner table-sized, community redds.  I can sit there and watch them for hours.  The big colored male and the female getting it on while three smaller males wait in formation for the opportunity to sneak in there when the big guy is distracted chasing away other males.  I was surprised to see that the other people around were oblivious to the redds.  People were fishing them (I honestly don't think they knew they were there) and dropping anchors and parking boats over them.  It was hard to watch.

Yesterday, I took a walk along the banks of Rattlesnake Creek in a local park here in Missoula. Rattlesnake Creek is a major spawning tributary for the fish in the Clark Fork around Missoula.  It is a beautiful creek that comes out of the Rattlesnake Wilderness.  It mostly gets ignored by fisherpeople but it is a fine trout stream all year long. Right now, the Rattlesnake is lousy with spawning fish.  They are everywhere!  

Go check them out and show the kids but do not mess with them.  The creek is closed to fishing for two more weeks to allow the spawn to take place.  It is a great way to see the WILD,  amazing, huge, and beautiful trout that live in the Clark Fork and watch real world biology in action!  Real fish porn.        

large male rainbow on redd

mating pair of rainbows on redd

Betula occidentalis - western water birch blossoms

The phantom of the westslope

In only the most wild, clean, cold, and complex streams on the the west-slope of the northern Rockies, there is an ancient relic that is big, bad, beautiful, and sacred.

Image Credit: Joel Sartore/National Geographic Stock with Wade Fredenberg

In most of Montana, it is illegal to intentionally fish for bull trout due to their listing as a Threatened Species by the ESA.  Historically, all of the westslope streams in Montana, where trout could distribute themselves after the last ice age, were cutthroat and bull trout streams.  Rainbows are not native to Montana except for one strain in the Kootenai.  Brook trout are from the east of the continent and are bad news for bulls because they can breed and create sterile offspring (like horse + donkey = sterile mule).  Brown trout aren't even from this continent, they're European.  I won't even get into the lake trout/bull trout thing, it's super contentious and complicated.

The thing is, these absolutely amazing fish, while struggling, are still here and every once in a while, you'll catch one by accident.

If you fish in western Montana long enough, you'll hear of and eventually witness what we call "shark attacks." You'll catch a tiny cutthroat on a dry in mid summer only to watch a shadow appear from the depths and eat it off your line.  One time, up Rock Cr., I had a shark attack happen.  A shadow came out and whacked my tiny brown trout who just ate my stonefly dry.  I instinctively pulled the little trout away from the shadow and it disappeared.  I just kind of stood there stunned and as I pulled in my little wounded trout, the shadow came back without any concern of me standing there and grabbed my trout.  He didn't let go until I scooped him in my Measure Net. He was 20" long.  I've randomly caught other smaller bulls on streamers in the Blackfoot or Rock Creek and even caught an 18" bull on a skwala dry on the lower CF near Superior.

So why all this about bull trout?  It's because yesterday, I caught a 30" monster bull trout in downtown Missoula. It was about the craziest fishing experience I've ever had.  For the first 10 minutes, I thought I foul hooked a huge sucker.  You know how sometimes this happens and you think for a minute that you've caught the largest brown trout of your life until the sucker bellies up to the surface or you feel the tell-tale signs of a foul hook?

Not yesterday.  I was fishing a 6wt and for the sole purpose of conserving my flies while fishing dirty water, I had my upper nymph tied on 1x and my dropper on 2x.  When I first set the hook, it felt as if I hooked into a sinker log in the current.  My rod was just about ripped out my hand as this giant, throbbing, whatever ran into the main current.  After I figured out that whatever it was, it could not be a foul-hooked sucker, my heart started racing.  I could not pull this fish up in the water column or up river at all and I was confidently giving it hell due to my stout line.  My little rod was bent so hard I thought it would burst.  The fish was falling back with the current and taking me with him.  I caught it in slow, safe water and it was pulling me towards a raging, brown river.

It was about this time, that I noticed a small crowd had gathered on a footbridge about 50 yrds. downstream.  I didn't know if I'd be able to safely make it around some submerged trees and get to some slack water on the other side of the bridge.  I called out to the people on the bridge, "can you see it?"  A guy yelled back, "No, don't come this way!"  I got my answer and the only way I was going to ever see this fish and not die was to pull it back upstream.

When trout fishing, you don't normally have the time to think about a lot when you have a fish on.  Even the most epic battles are over pretty quick.  But this was like deep sea fishing.  Thoughts had time to creep into my head.  Is this a giant brown?  Did a pike eat a whitefish off my line?  I visualized all the knots on my hand tied leader.  I wondered if my cheap-ass rod would explode.

Eventually, some of the crowd made their way down to the bank behind me.  As I looked back at them, I saw that behind them, in the restaurant that overlooks the river, the staff and patrons were all standing at the windows watching me.  If you read my post yesterday, you know I don't normally fish around people.  Now, I had a genuine audience.  Oh god!

A minute later, I got my first look at the fish.  I screamed, "It's a fucking giant bull trout, oh my god!"  It took off deep again.  Now I had time for different thoughts.  I knew my net wasn't going to work - too small. I knew I had to do everything right as far as releasing this rare river phantom, especially because of my job, trout conservation reputation, and the audience watching.  I got him in close again.  It had to be getting tired because I kept having to switch arms because of burning muscles.

As I finally pulled the fish close enough to touch, I grabbed her by the caudal peduncle but she just shook me free.  On my next attempt, I thought I'd just go for the fly.  As I reached for it, she spooked and ran off again. On the last attempt, I grabbed the tippet right above the fly, the fish spooked, the fly dislodged, and the river phantom disappeared back to the darkness.

I looked up to the guy that was helping me.  He noted my undersized landing net floating away.  We both just couldn't believe what happened.  He was an old guy and he said he had never seen a fish like that in the Clark Fork.  He thanked me, I thought that was funny.  We laughed when we looked up in the restaurant and all the people were clapping and making the "how big?" gesture with their arms.  I love Missoula.

.        

Missoula area fishing report

Downtown March browns getting pelted with raindrops

Gorging swallows

Brown water fishing report:

The rivers are all huge!  There was a drop yesterday but the upcoming warm weather is going to make everything crazy.  This spring has been tough for fishing with all the low elevation snow.  Every time it rains or gets warm, there is a huge push of water on top of the already elevated flows.

Clark Fork (around Missoula)
Big and brown with the occasional tree.  Two days ago, I witnessed a very heavy March brown spinnerfall during a light rain/snowstorm.  There was a massive showing of shore swallows.  Some dinks noticed them as well.  The large trout are eating other things subsurface.  If you just need to fish and you don't have a plan B, you can make it happen here.

Fishing the Clark Fork during high water is possible and can actually be really good sometimes.  You just have to safely locate the various places in the river where the fish go when the water is high.  When the river is high and crazy, the amount of places that trout can hold is reduced.  Find these places and you'll find happiness. Don't be afraid to fish irrigation canals, side channels, and slow winter-type water (if you can find it).  The mouths of the tribs are the safest bet.  Throw your junk into the mud and let it drift into the clean.

The Clark Fork trout are generally less put off by colored water, relative to the other streams in the area. Sometimes, they will even eat on top.  Generally though, using bright worms, large rubber legs, bead head nymphs, and eggs is the most effective.

Bitterroot River (around Missoula)
See Clark Fork Report.  The upper river is fishing great but I have not been up there to give an accurate report.

Lower Rock Creek
The creek is also huge.  It will be a struggle to access fishable water on the lower stream but if you find it, there will be a lot of fish.  Going around the P-burg way and fishing the upper reaches is the way to go.  The problem with that is, you drive right past Flint Creek.  Flint Creek fishes great during high water.  Those brown trout love it.  Anyway.

Area Lakes/Ponds
This is a great time to diversify your fly fishing world.  All of the area lakes and ponds are fishing great.  The lake hatches should start with the warm weather and I'll report on that when it happens.

It's springtime in America

I looked through my logs and noticed that on this day in previous years, I was seeing Mother's Day caddis hatches on the Clark Fork.  We don't get monster hatches like the Yellowstone or Madison but we do get a solid showing if the conditions are right.  This has been a unique year and conditions have not been right yet and I don't know If they ever will be, so far as fishing is concerned.

Mother's Day caddis

March brown emerger

My old snapshot camera used to take great super-macro pictures like this old picture of a Mother's Day Caddis and March brown emerger.  I can't wait to get a macro lens for my real camera.

The Easy Mother's Day Caddis

HOOK: size 20-14 (18-16 is best)
THREAD: 8/0 color to match dubbing
DUBBING: Hand blend Super Fine dry fly dubbing in natural colors (tan, olive, yellow, brown)
WING: CDC oiler puffs
THORAX: Dub some CDC and develop a small thorax over where you tie in the wing

This fly is a great fly for teaching beginners how to tie dry flies.  This is a super effective fly and they are so easy to tie, you can do it while you are driving!


-RBM Chronicles does not promote distracted driving-

A little push in the bush

Just keep telling yourself it's good for the trout.  It kinda works.

Missoula County Fishing Report

I'm too broke to leave town.  That's ok, it's a big week for fishing here in town.  There is a lot going on with the fish and a lot going on for those who love them.

that downtown brown

Bitterroot: 
All of the local streams experienced a small push of water with the rain and then nice weather.  The "numora" is king on the lower half of the Root.  If you want to fish dries, it is where it's at.

For nymphing, use the same stuff you've been using all spring.  The worm in red is hot right now as is the SH Sow Bug.

I spotted one osprey on the Bitterroot yesterday, now it is really spring.  I'll keep my eye on osprey cam.

Clark Fork:
The river above the confluence with the Bitterroot just can't settle in.  It was close, but it got a push of cold water last week.  It basically ended the dry fly fishing that was shaping up and even put down the good nymphing.

Last week I hit the river below the Bitterrroot confluence on a cloudy day.  For a short while it was all out BWO heaven.  The big boys were up in the swirlys taking the adults (which look the size of green drakes after looking at midges all spring).  I love to go after the swirly fish with a "short leash" setup.

Blackfoot:
 I've seen boats heading up that way.  I would bet that the nymphing is good to great up there right now.  Deep nymphing big stonefly nymphs, small mayflies, worms and eggs will produce in the winter/spring type water.  Dry flies are probably a ways off.

Rock Creek: 
Shit-hot nymphing with stones, worms, and eggs.  No dry flies on the lower end.

Area lakes and ponds:  Beavertail and Frenchtown are 100% thawed.  Harper's will thaw next.
Walk the banks of Beavertail and look for red sided submarines.  Throw brown/green/white bugger at leading edge of submarine.  Hold on!  Repeat.

Rock Creek, MT is Sacred

I could sit here and write a 5 volume novel on what makes Rock Creek (tributary to the Clark Fork) such a wonderful place.  Honestly, I don't have the literary skills to do it justice.  I'm talking about everything too, not just the fishing.  I'm in love with the geology, the plant communities, the wildlife, and the local community.  I could go on and on but it is easier to just state the only thing that I don't love.  Sometimes, especially on weekends in the summer, I have to avoid the creek because everyone else loves it too.  That's ok, I can share.

I wanted to do a full spring photo essay but the lighting sucked.  While it ruined my chances at some vibrant pics, it made the fishing great!

It's at this point that my troubles disappear 

Pre-spawn female rainbow eats a SH sow bug

Lower Rock Creek Early Spring

Rock Creek last Fall

Here's some tips to make the Creek more fun for everyone.

• Pinch your barbs!!  This is an extremely important reproduction area for trout/char, whitefish, suckers, etc.
• Follow the old Montana "stay out of sight" rule.  It works because there is plenty of room for everyone here.  This is not NY or WA.  If you see another fisherperson don't jump in and start fishing, keep going.  Lot's of out-of-staters are unaware of this part of MT fishing culture.  It's best not to get mad at them but to tell them about our culture.     

Western Montana Dry Fly Report

Cut off your nymph rigs.  The bugs are here!

Mating midge swarm on the lower Bitterroot

Rock Creek:  You may want to wait to cut off your nymph rig until you actually see rising fish here.  I'd bet money that some BWO's and march browns float by and interrupt your nymphing.  Along with the regular winter nymphs, incorporating baetis and larger mayfly nymphs on a short leash system can be really fun.

The Bitterroot:  The fish in the lower river are keyed into the large sized midge hatch which is occurring daily at noon.  These midges are just a bit smaller than BWO's and the hatch is very similar.  The mating swarms even look the same (see photo).  These midges don't cluster so patterns which suggest a single hatching midge is the only way to go.  Yesterday was the first day I observed Skwala adults floating on the surface.  It was pretty funny to watch them wiggle through pods of large rising fish and go totally unnoticed!  I've noticed Numora in the air and on water and have been hearing those great sounding rises the fish make when they are on to them.  The weirdest thing, NO BWO's yet.  I've never seen Skwala before BWO's.  I hope they still come!

The Clark Fork:  The reports from the fly shops are saying that the lower river (below Missoula) is in great shape and that there are good hatches of BWO's and march browns daily.  When the Skwala's get going here, it's the real deal.  There are 500X more of them and 600X less guide boats, dudes, and fair-weather fisherpeople than on the Root.  The Clark Fork is my favorite stream and this is my favorite time of year.

The Blackfoot:  If your still looking for winter nymphing, go here.  You may see some fish looking up but there are safer bets for finding dry fly opportunities right now.

Area Lakes:  Beavertail Pond, Frenchtown Pond, and the secret bass pond are mostly thawed.  Detailed reports will come soon...        
      

CDC Guide Fly - The Hanging Midge

CDC Hanging Midge

• Size 22-18 1XL Dry Fly Hook
• 8/0 Black Thread
• Black Antron Dubbing 
• Olive CDC Oiler Puffs

This fly works great for the larger midges found on the lower reaches of the Bitterroot and Clark Fork.  It is a million times more effective than some more complicated flies.  You can tie up a dozen of these before you even finish a beer.  They also work for emerging baetis.  Since those two hatches overlap and happen in both the spring and the fall, this fly is a real asset to have in your box!  My first fish on the dry of 2014 fell to this guy yesterday in a scum line near Lolo.  That is a solid month later than when this normally happens.  We usually are fishing midge dries by Valentines Day.      

Western Montana Fishing Reports

Rainbow in downtown Missoula

The Clark Fork (at Warm Springs):
Some of the best fishing up there is during this time of the year.  It's all about the right flies up there.  They want pink tailwater stuff right now.  Midge stuff, pink scuds, eggs, and the sot hackle sow bug rules here!  I had a 40 fish day up there last week with many of those nice browns running over 18" in length.  There were midges and i noticed one rise but nothig in the way of solid dry fly fishing yet.

The Clark Fork (around Missoula):
Water levels are down to where accessing the good winter runs is not a suicidal act.  The water is still cold and there is not a lot going on yet.  I dredged up a few right in downtown yesterday.  Normally, at this time of the year, the CF has been nymphing great for months and is starting to pop BWO's.  Not this year.  I did notice some rises to the midges yesterday.  They were too few and far between for me to cut the nymph rig off.  Flies that work include: Smaller rubber leg stones in brown/green, worms, big prince and pheasant tails nymphs, eggs.  Fish the slow winter runs still.

The Bitterroot (lower)
For the most part, you wont see me fishing the upper Bitterroot.  It can look like the Salmon River in NY up there these days and I don't go fishing to hang out in a crowd.  I do fish the lower river consistently though.  It is a different beast and most fishing reports don't give it enough attention.  I hope to shine some light on it.  The water is still big but it is clear and green.  The nymphing is fantastic right now.  I caught lots of huge pre-spawn rainbows and some great browns on the soft hackle sow bug trailed below a rubber leg stone.  This river is normally on fire this time of year.  The trout haven't even got going on the midges yet this year.  Normally, they'd have been eating them on top since Feb. then weeks of BWO's followed by all the big bugs and the crowds.  It is still a total nymph game right now, but not for long.  Stonefly nymphs that look like skwala, worms, eggs, midges, baetis nymphs, and the soft hackle sow bug rules here!

Rock Creek
If you don't mind throwing nymphs, specifically egg patterns, you can have a life changing day up at the creek right now.  Just be sure to know what a redd looks like and stay the fuck away from it!!  The big Clark Fork rainbows and cutts are staging in the lower reaches and their brown friends are right behind them getting ready to eat eggs.  The chance to catch the fish of a lifetime, all day long is there, but you have to work for it.  Nymphing heavy and deep and losing all your flies is the only way to go about it.  You have to put in some footwork too.  Get away from the other fisherman, commit yourself to a full day and you will catch fish like you never have before.  Stonefly nymphs in any size or shape, smaller mayfly stuff, worms, egg patterns, the soft hackle sow bug should be illegal on this stream!  Pinch your barbs!

The Blackfoot
The same story as the Clark Fork around Missoula.  Still big and cold from the crazy winter.  The same nymphs in the same type of water will work.

Area Lakes
I'm excited to have this as part of my report because nobody reports on the lakes and that is just stupid.  Western Montana has thousands of awesome lakes and ponds and a ton of elbow room and great fishing.  I love to fish still water.  I think it can be incredibly hard and fun.  So here it is:  the area lakes are all still frozen!  Of course, but Beavertail Pond is normally open by now.  I checked last week and it was still frozen.  There was about a foot of thaw at the edge.  I'm going back to check on it today.  Ice-out in Montana should be declared a state holiday!  I'll keep you informed.  Once Beavertail goes, the rest follow in perfect succession in relation to their elevation.  You will certainly see pictures of big, nasty, steelhead sized, brood stockers on the blog soon.  Stay tuned!