Montana TU has weighed in on FWP’s proposed changes in the boating regulations for the Clark Fork, Blackfoot and Bitterroot Rivers. We linked to an article in the Missoulian when the issue surfaced last week; the issue’s drawing a bit more attention this week. Here’s Montana TU’s spin on the issue – In recent years […]
Blackfoot
Personally, I can’t wait until this damned heat moves off and we start getting some real fall weather. Could be I’m just old and cranky, or it could be that fall is my absolute favorite time of year in Montana. The Blackfoot, while it is fishing well right now, will be fishing great when the […]
Flows on the Blackfoot have been dropping on a rapid basis. Looking at the flow chart this morning, it is an impressive downward trend. The lower water might make floating a little tricky, especially up high, but it is good news for us wade fishermen. I have been hearing some reports of October Caddis on […]
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 […]
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 […]
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. […]
The Blackfoot bumped up in the past few days with the rain we received. Flows briefly popped up above 1,200 cfs and water temps cooled off, just what the river needed. The water is coming back down now, as you can see from the chart. Fishing is starting to get a little tougher over […]
The Blackfoot has hit its summer stride. Hoppers are here, the lower river is full of drunken tubers, and there are caddis and mayflies in abundant quantities. Flows have been slowly dropping down, as of this morning they were just over 1,000 cfs. The lower flows mean a couple of good things. The fish […]
Summer seems to have settled over western Montana. These are the days to leave the screen door open and all the fans on in the house. The hot weather is somewhat negatively effecting fishing, but not too badly. In fact, the Blackfoot is fishing quite well. There are good hatches of PMDs, caddis and […]
The Blackfoot is in great shape. Flows are coming down, the water is clearing up and there are lots of insects in the river. This is one of my personal favorite times to fish the Blackfoot. PMDs, green drakes, golden stones, caddis and Salmonflies are all coming off as of this time. Barring a short […]
The wait for Salmonflies on the Blackfoot is over. The big bugs are all over the water. Despite the recent rains over here, flows are remaining to drop and the water is clear. The dry fly fishing is very good. Lots and lots of caddis are around. So are PMDs, golden stones and some green […]
Due to some rain in the past few days, flows on the Blackfoot are up a little bit today. As you can see from the chart, the river has come down a long way this last week. Visibility on the river is decent, almost a foot, but that will decrease today and tomorrow as the […]
The Blackfoot has dropped quite a bit in the past week, over 4,000 cfs in fact. Even though flows are much lower, the fishing still isn’t great. Water clarity is improving, but visibility is less than six inches. We are much closer to good fishing on the river than last week. Shouldn’t be too long […]
The Blackfoot is still way up and very muddy. Don’t even think about trying to fish it for at least another few weeks. Instead, head for the tailwaters or a local lake or pond. It is kind of nice to mix your fishing up a bit every now and then.
The Blackfoot is completely blown out. I drove down the other day with the intent to get a few pictures, but the view made me so sad I couldn’t bring myself to snap a shot. Flows are on their way back up this week with some warmer weather and possibly rain on its way. It […]
