Dog days of summer!

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Typical hot dry wether continues as we move toward the end of August. Not much in the way of hatches coming off right now. A few rusty spinners and caddis in the morning, but usually only bring up small fish.. Spruce moths have provided some great dry fly fishing in august but are now beginning to taper off.. The best dry fly action we’ve seen lately is with grasshoppers. There are a ton of them out and they are brining up some big fish.. If need be on the hot afternoons a dropper nymph a couple feet below the hopper will bring in a few fish. Tricos are just starting to show on the lower river below Hamilton and should provide great technical dry fly action in the mornings throughout september.. Forecast are calling for a cool down this week with highs in the 70’s. This should get the fall may fly hatches going.. see ya on the river…….

Gettin hot but the fishing is still good!

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Hot dry days continue with temps reaching the 90’s today. The river had dropped significantly in the last week and we are approaching average summer flow.. Cold water releases from Painted Rocks dam have begun and we should see another increase in flows this week. The mid summer hatches have dropped off especially in the warm afternoons. In the morning and evening you will see the best hatches.. In the am we are still seeing PMD’s, and rusty spinners. Evenings are filled with caddis and more spinners.. In the middle of the day terrestrials are the name of the game. we are seeing large numbers of spruce moths and most days the fish are on em. Hoppers are just starting to bring up some good fish. If you aren’t getting fish to the surface drop a nymph 2 feet below your hopper for more action.. See ya on the river.

August on the Bitterroot!

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Hello all, sorry I have not updated the fishing report in a few weeks. After a slow June everyone wanted to fish in July. Now that August is here the Bitterroot river is still in great shape. The hatches and river levels are about 3 weeks behind so the river is still fishing like mid July. Bugs hatching are Golden stones, the smaller Bitterroot stones, Pmd’s a few Green Drakes and Caddis. These hatches should begin to drop off overb the week as we transition into late summer conditions. Terrestrials such as (grasshoppers, spruce moths, beetles and ants) will be the main target for trout until fall. Get out and take advantage of the great summer fishing. See ya on the river……………….

Rivers dropping, fish rising!

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The Bitterroot has dropped significantly since last week. Water clarity is excellent and fishing is improving daily. While I have spent most of the last week fishing the East and West forks the main Bitterroot should begun to turn on. No matter what water levels are early July is a time of abundant hatches on the Bitterroot. You can still find some Salmon flies on the upper most West Fork but river wide now the stone fly of choice is the golden. We are having good luck on size #8 and 10’s and will fish smaller ones as the season progresses. In the may fly category Green drakes are out. The fish switched off the golden’s in the afternoon yesterday but would happily rise to our green drake imitations. We are also seeing large numbers of the smaller PMD. It is hard to fish this small pattern in the heavy water but if you can find some trout rising in a side channel or soft inside seem they are probably munching PMD’s. In the morning while the water is cool droppers will get lots of fish. While the river is dropping ,caution is advised as it is flowing more than twice normal volume. Life jackets are strongly recommended. Get out have fun and be safe. See ya on the river……….  ~><(((*>

Happy 4th of July!

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We all celebrate independence day in different ways. Usually a barbecue and fireworks. My celebration will be floating and fishing the Bitterroot. That’s right the Bitterroot is finally coming into shape. Water levels are still running higher than normal but the water is clearing and levels are dropping. The West Fork is providing the best dry fly fishing right now as the main stem is still carrying too much water. Salmon flies are out in big numbers as well as Goldens, Green Drakes and PMD’s. The river is still fast and a bit challenging so I am requiring all to wear life jackets. As the river begins to drop fishing should continue to improve. See ya on the river… Thanks to all that made this great free American life possible….

High water!

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The first day of summer is less than a week away and we are still waiting for the rivers to drop.. The million dollar question is when will the rivers peak and come into shape for fishing. The Bitterroot river is flowing about twice normal volume for this time of year. While I have heard rumors of people fishing the river it is ill advised and extremely dangerous. Most of my late June customers have rescheduled their trips to July and August. I am guessing the river should come into shape by the 1st week of July. When it does Salmon flies should be out and provide some of the 1st great dry fly fishing of summer. Until then I will continue to tie flies and keep evereyone updated on river conditions.