Well it finally happened.  Winter has finally landed in the Bitterroot Valley.  Don’t fret too much, there is still some fishing to be had, you just need a pair of ski gloves, a down parka and on any given day a pair of goggles might be helpful.  Seriously though, you can fish the Bitterroot 12 months out of the year, you just need to know where to go.  Our water is still open and ice free for now and should remain this way until we see the temps dip into the low teens – single digits.  Look for the fish to be holding in the slow deep tail outs of runs – this is where they will be until spring.  Remember that trout are a “cold” water fish, and they actually enjoy these cooler water temps.  Nymph fishing will be far and away your best option this time of year.  You might see some midges or BWO’s in the afternoon if your lucky, but I wouldn’t count on it.

Hatches:  BWO’s and Midges

Upcoming Hatches:  Snow flies and Icicles

While the weather is still holding with day time temps in the mid 40′s to low 50′s our fall hatches are starting to wean off a little.  There is still some opportunity for dry fly fishing during the warmest part of the day, mostly with BWO’s and still a few Mahoganies.  Your best bet is to fish nymphs or streamers in the morning or evening with a 2-3 hour window of dry fly in between.  Look for this window to get smaller as we get later into fall.  And remember SKWALA’s are only 4 short months away….get to tyin!!

We will be having fly tying classes starting in January.  Sign up today.

Our September was a little unusual.  With temps in the upper 70′s most of the month it has kept our fall hatches at bay.  There has still been very good trico fishing on the lower half of the Bitterroot and the afternoon hopper fishing has been staying pretty consistant.  We are starting to see more mahoganies and bwo’s finally!  Today is the first rain we’ve seen in a while, and my only wish is for some small reason to close up shop and go fishing, but I better stick it out.  Today will be some of the best fishing we’ve seen…I can feel it.  You could throw a #14 Cripple all day and do well.  If things get slow for some reason, throw a hopper with a worm or rubber leg off the back and hang on.  You will be hooked up all day.

Hatches:  Trico’s, Mahoganies, BWO’s, Hecuba, Hopper’s, Ant’s

Upcoming Hatches:  More of the same.  Look for the tricos and hoppers to disappear and mahoganies and BWO’s to take over.

The hopper fishing just keeps getting better.  The hot weather has these little critters hopping all over the bank side vegetation, and it’s just a matter of time before one ends up in the food line.  There will be some banks better than others, so stay with it.  A size 10 pink Moorish hopper or Camel/brown Mudfoot hopper will usually do the trick.  If you want some crazy top water action try floating into the late evening and throw a large golden stone, like a #8 Chubby.  The fish will go nuts for it, especially if you give it a twitch.  If things tend to be a little slow, put on your favorite dropper such as a Copper John, SJ Worm or Rubber Legs.

Current Hatches:  Spruce Moths, Hoppers, Ants, Caddis, Hecuba, Trico’s

Up Coming Hatches:  More Trico’s,  Hoppers, Ants and Hecuba (Fall Drake)

As we head into August, it’s time to break out the terestrial box.  Hoppers, Ants and Spruce Moths will all be on the menu for the next several weeks.  Right now there is still a big blow off of PMD’s in the morning and a size 14 or 16 Hi-Vis spent wing spinner will take as many fish as you can handle.  Then when things start to slow down around 1:00 switch to a Hopper or Ant pattern.  Late evenings will fish well with a LARGE Golden Stones or a caddis pattern. Look for a flying ant that happens around 4:00 it is spotty, but if your in the area, don’t be caught without some black winged ants…it is epic.

I would like to thank Cathy and Jeff for their company today in my boat. They are a local couple who purchased a trip through a local auction I donated last fall.   Check out the picture of Jeff’s 18″ Brown and Cathy’s 19″ Rainbow they doubled up on.  These were caught on dry flies I tied last night and sent them for a test run today (Jeff lost the only 3 I had of the ones that were working so well) I guess I will have to tie some more.

This is a great time of year to fish the Bitterroot, the traffic is a little lighter and the fish are on the feed.  Who wouldn’t want to fish with big dry flies all day and not see another angler, while the fish keep crushing everything that floats by.

Current Hatches:  PMD’s, Hoppers, Ants, Trico’s, Spruce Moths

Upcoming Hatches:  More of the same plus fall drakes starting towards the end of the month

This is as good as fishing gets around here.  There are still a ton of Golden Stones and Bitterroot Stones on the upper half of the river.  Plenty of fish are aggressive and willing to eat on the top.  If you feel the need you can drop a small dry or nymph off the back of your stone to maximize your success.  Rumors of tricos on the lower river along with plenty of PMD’s.  Get out your terrestial box, ants and hoppers will be on the menu very soon.  For those wade fishing, the river is still double what it should be, but there are plenty of opportunity on the east and west forks as well as a few select areas on the main stem.

Current Hatches:  Golden Stones, Bitterroot Stones, Gray Drakes, PMD’s

Upcoming Hatches:  Spruce Moths, Ants, Hoppers, More stones

The fishing on the Bitterroot has been very consistent.  The mid to upper river has came into shape very nicely and we are seeing more and more bugs in the form of Golden’s, Drakes and PMD’s.  A nymph rig is still a good option, especially if you want to catch a lot of fish.  Afternoon/Evening will be the best dry fly fishing, but a dropper will definitely improve your catch rate.  The West Fork is still giving up some nice fish and traffic has dropped dramatically.  Fish a Chubby with either a rubber legs or worm 2-3 feet off the back for some fast and furious fishing.  The river is still a little high and fast for this time of year and there are a few areas of concern.  Pay close attention, always look down stream and don’t hesitate to put 0n a life jacket for the tricky spots.

Current Hatches:  Golden Stones, Bitterroot Stones, PMD’s, Yellow Sallies, Caddis, Grey Drakes, Green Drakes

Upcoming Hatches:  More of the same plus some terrestrials thrown in

With the river still dropping, the fish have been really eager to eat dry flies.  The flow @ the Darby station is @ 2600 CFS and still coming down.  This should make for incredible fishing for the foreseeable future.  All of the boat ramps are now open and the boat traffic is starting to spread out.  I am seeing more boat traffic on the main stem, so it’s time to start to get creative to stay away from all the boats.  I think the fish on the West Fork will be happier to not see so many flies in their face.

Fishing a Golden stone with a worm, large Pheasant Tail or stone fly dropper will keep your rod bent the better part of the day.   There are also PMD’s, Drakes and Caddis on the menu and you will see pods of fish that are starting to work in certain areas.  If your not catching fish, change bugs, the fish are on the feed!

WE ARE HAVING A FREE BBQ AND BEER THIS FRIDAY NIGHT STARTING @ 5:00 p.m.

Current Hatches:  Golden Stones, Bitterroot Stones, PMD’s, Green Drakes, Brown Drakes, Caddis

Upcoming Hatches:  More Golden’s, Bitterroot Stones, PMD’s, Caddis and Terrestials (Ant’s and Hoppers)

The Bitterroot continues to drop like a rock.  The fish are still eating salmon flies up on the West Fork, just be prepared for the rubber raft hatch that is going on as well.  The main stem is still fishing well with stone fly nymphs and worms, but we’ve also been taking some fish with Golden Stone Dries as well.  I personally don’t care to fish with a bunch of other boats, so I’ve been concentrating on what most people would say are less desirable areas, but I’ve been having some great days fishing and haven’t seen hardly any boats.    The mid river is starting to see some goldens, PMD’s and evening caddis activity.  If your looking for up to date  information call or stop by the shop.  We are open everyday at 8:00 a.m.

Current Hatches:  Salmon Flies, Golden Stones, Yellow Sallies, PMD’s, Green Drakes

Upcoming Hatches:  Golden Stones (smaller sizes), Caddis, Yellow Sallies, PMD’s

It’s been along time since I posted a new fishing report, partly because the Bitterroot has been all but blown out and partly because I didn’t want to give away the few secret fishing spots that were left.  I keep hearing it over and over…”when will the fishing start on the Bitterroot”,  well I can’t wait any longer, the upper Bitterroot has been fishing very well, especially with nymphs.   I guided a few days on the Bitterroot last week when the flows were at 5500 cfs @ Darby, and did quite well.  Yesterday I talked one of my friends into going, even though he was very skeptical.  I promised him a good day.  We only fished for 4 hours, but we hooked and landed atleast 20 fish, 5 of which were over 17 inches.   There are tons of Salmon Flies on the East and West Forks, but they are running very fast and your best option will still be to nymph fish.   Find the slower deeper water and you will find the fish, it’s that simple.  Fishing with a Stone Fly nymph and a worm will put many fish in the boat.

The river is running very high and fast, please be very careful boating.  There isn’t any wade fishing right now, except for a few select locations, but they must be accessed from a boat.

Current Hatches:  Salmon Flies, Golden Stones and Yellow Sallies

Upcoming hatches:  more Golden Stones, more Yellow Sallies, PMD’s and Green Drakes.