Better eat a big breakfast before heading out on the Bitterroot. Despite the heat the past few days the upper river is beginning to fish all day. I haven’t fished it this week below Florence, but the word is down that low things have been slower during the middle part of the day. It’s not […]
Al the Pal
I know I probably sound like a broken record, but the evening Caddis on the Clark Fork have been killer of late. From about 7 until 9 in the evening it’s been pretty damned crazy; my daughter, her husband and I made it out three evenings this past week and had some of the best […]
I love Rock Creek. And anyone who fishes it at this time of year will too. Flows are still way higher than normal for this time of year; 440 cfs this morning, which is above the 80th percentile for average flows this time of year. Fish are eating a variety of insects along the entire […]
Though Jake and Mark over in Bozeman are talking about how much it looks like fall over there, we’re still looking summer right in the eye over here. The next few days in fact look to be damned sunny and hot; some of my long-time friends are thinking this may be the last really hot […]
Despite some weather earlier this week, the Blackfoot is back to decent shape. Flows dropped a few days ago, and are now down to just above 800 cfs. The damn tubers still hold the lower river, but their numbers should start to drop once school starts. Fish are taking dry flies, but not with the […]
I guess I’ve shared before that my daughter lives in Missoula; she and her husband have an affinity for the Clark Fork that goes beyond the fact that it basically runs right through town and their backyard. They’re on the river 2 afternoons and evenings during the summer and fall or more. Last night they […]
Once again, the skies in the area are going to darken and pour rain. Personally, I am thrilled, as the rain means the only folks on the river are going to be fishermen. We might even get a shot at the lower stretches, as the drunken horde waits for the sun. The rain, scheduled to […]
There is a lot of water in Rock Creek. Flows as of this morning were sitting just below 500 cfs, in the 90th percentile for this time of year. Flows have actually come down quite a bit from what they were earlier this week. The rain is likely going to keep flows high for a […]
The Bitterroot has been fishing pretty damned well despite the weather roller coaster we’ve been experiencing for the past several weeks. We’ve seen everything from searing heat (at least for us anyway) to flooding rains. The big push of water from back on the 7th and 8th has moved through; clarity is back in the […]
The Clark is settling, at least above Missoula and the Blackfoot confluence, after last week’s bountiful rains pushed flows up and dumped some color back into the river. From what I heard late yesterday, from Missoula down the river is still off quite a bit, though above the Blackfoot it’s better and clarity is just […]
This is something I have not seen in many years. Over the past several days, flows have come up on the Rock to over the 80th percentile again. Usually this time of year we are running out of water, not watching it come up. All the rain recently has put some mud in the water, […]
I just got off a morning on the upper Blackfoot and am sitting on the shady and sort of cool porch of one of my favorite friends over here on the Blackfoot. Great day but I left my camera in a friend’s car who is now halfway back to Hamilton by now. Damn it. […]
What a nice break to have a few days of clouds, cooler, weather and some rain. I’ve been out a couple of times this week on the upper river and yesterday in particular was very much a better day. What more could you ask for? Temps are 15 degrees or more cooler than they were […]
After last week’s respite from the dog days, it’s back to summer this week. That means it’s time once again to be on the river early for PMDs, Tricos (kinda spotty), and probably some early Spruce Moth action. On the hot days due earlier in the week, by noon or so, it will be hopper […]
I don’t know what it is about the Rock this year – despite a great start to the season and plenty of water and bugs through the season – the Rock just hasn’t seen (at least in my simple mind) as much traffic as in years past. The rain induced spike in flows that moved […]
