Blackfoot River Fishing 2022
Monday I was out with local anglers, Jim and Luke. We set a plan to fish the Bitterroot, but after getting reports from my guides we called an audible and decided to head up the Blackfoot in the morning.
When salmon flies are around I will fish the Blackfoot every day. It is definitely hit or misses, but the potential this time of year is worth the risk. We started off with dry/dropper rigs and Jim immediately hooked up with a small brown. Further down the same run and Luke hit a solid cute bow on the dropper.
It was pretty decent action on the dropper early with a few fish smashing the big dry too. Jim had the touch with the dropper as he picked up several good fish in the back seat before coming tight on something solid. At first, I thought he was snagged until it started moving.
Then the fight was on and after a great battle, Jim had a big 20″ brown in the net. Jim poked a couple more on the dropper after that, although he had 3 or 4 get away on him because at some point the hook point broke off his fly and his guide failed to check that! Luke stayed with the single dry and picked up a couple of decent fish on top. After lunch, we pretty much went with the single salmon fly dry the rest of the day.
Luke had a vicious eat tight to the bank and then had to fight a big fish through fast water before landing a gorgeous 21″ brown. That is what salmon flies on the Blackfoot is all about, big fish on single dries.
Another mile downriver and Luke connected with an even bigger brown in the middle of a rapid. It was an epic dry fly eat from a 21+” big male brown. By then it was starting to get hot so we focused on the shady banks. Jim smoked a fat 19″ cutthroat off a cliff wall and then the guys doubled up on dries in the last run of the day.
The story of the day was the big brown trout, but we had good action from 12-16″ Cutts and rainbows through the day too. I will take any June day on the Blackfoot and Jim and Luke made the most of their opportunities today.
Blackfoot River Fishing 2022
Tuesday I went right back up the Blackfoot with local angler, Bob. We put in at the same spot this morning and Bob stuck a little brown in the first run on a dropper. He added half a dozen or so more in the next few runs, and it was obvious that the smaller trout were on the hunt early.
We changed flies a few times and as the morning progressed Bob started finding some bigger fish. We had a dry fly rod rigged up too and switched back and forth depending on the water we were in. Bob connected with a big slab cutthroat late in the morning on the dry and that convinced us to stay with the big single dry the rest of the way.
There were all kinds of bugs in the air including salmon flies, goldens, green drakes, pmds, and sallies. After lunch, we were able to anchor in a spot with some rising fish and Bob fooled a pair of big cuts in there. It was a big salmon fly or golden the rest of the way with fairly steady action.
Lots of small to mid-sized fish looking up in the afternoon with a handful of thick cute bows and rainbows. Bob capped off the day with one final rainbow on the big dry with the takeout in sight. It was another solid day on the Blackfoot.
Blackfoot River Fishing 2022
Wednesday I had local anglers, Marcelo and Roger, and we went further up the Blackfoot to a stretch the guys had never floated. There were salmon flies in the bushes at the launch and it was a dry fly-or-die kind of day.
We moved some smaller fish early on and the first good fish of the day was a nice brown tight to a bush that came up and looked at Marcelo’s fly and then Roger got in tight and that brown ate the fly going downstream. The fishing went hot and cold all morning.
The guys would bang two or three fish in a spot and then there would be stretches with nothing which is not uncommon during salmon flies. Marcelo picked off a nice fish we saw crushing naturals and we doubled up once early. Just before lunch along a big rock wall, Roger got his fly into this small foamy bucket and a giant brown blasted his dry.
It was a great eater, and after a fight through fast water, he had a 21″+ brown in the net. The fishing in the afternoon was similar, as the guys found nice fish in spots. We had some of our best action late in the day along some rock walls in the shade.
Roger stuck a hot 20″ rainbow that gave a couple of good jumps and Marcelo had some thick 17-18″ Cutts and cute bows. They even doubled up one more time. It was a solid day with some big fish in the net on dry flies. The guys fished incredibly well and had great drifts in some tight spots.
That was impressive because it was very windy from 10:00 am on. There are only so many salmon fly days each season and I was glad to have Marcelo and Roger along today.
Blackfoot River Fishing 2022
Thursday I was back out with local angler, Bob. We had some time restraints today so I decided to roll the dice on the lower Clark Fork. It is still very big, but I have had good days at this level before and I knew we would have the river to ourselves.
The first run had a clear feeder creek coming in and Bob got the skunk off with a small brown trout. Then we had to work a little. The first big back eddy that I was counting on didn’t produce. We picked up a couple of little guys on some foam lines and then the next big back eddy came through for us with 4 nice trout in the net.
A little further down Bob had a solid rainbow throw the hook on a jump and then landed a nice cutthroat before we grabbed lunch. I knew we needed to focus on specific water types in the afternoon and there were a couple of good seams that produced healthy fish. Then we finished the day at the mouth of St. Regis and it was loaded.
We probably could’ve fished that spot for hours, but we had about 20 minutes on the clock and Bob picked off 5 nice trout in that spot. The last fish of the day was a big 18″ curt bow. We only had about 4 hours on the water, and in that time Bob boated a good number of fish with not another boat in sight. The Clark Fork should only improve as the river continues to drop.
Blackfoot River Fishing 2022
Friday was my first day of the season with local angler, Martha. We usually fish the Bitterroot together so I was happy to hear that she wanted to give the Blackfoot a shot.
We launched on the middle river and she immediately had a few tiny fish slapping at her big dry. After a fly change, she started moving some better fish. The first was a nice cutthroat and then a brown raced up and took a swipe right in front of a big rock. We had two rods rigged, and in the slower water, Martha fished a mayfly that fooled a couple of fish.
It was decent activity in the morning as we stopped for lunch and hoped to see more bugs in the afternoon. The fishing kicked in even better in the afternoon, especially in the fast-pocket water.
The trout don’t have long to make a decision in that kind of water and they were jumping on a big golden stone. Martha landed a bunch of nice rainbows, browns, and Cutts today. There was a lot of 12-14″ fish on the hunt with a handful of bigger ones up to 17″.
We finished off the day with a smaller golden once we were out of the fast pocket water and the action continued. Martha’s hand was sore on the ride home from making so many casts, and battling a bunch of nice trout in the fast currents. Not much boat traffic and beautiful weather made for another great day on the Blackfoot.
Blackfoot River Fishing 2022
With the big water, this June our hatches are a little behind schedule. The big salmon flies are mostly finished, but golden stones are just starting along with green drakes, pmds, and yellow sallies. The weather is still mild for this time of year and it looks like July will offer some great fishing this season!
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Tight Lines,
Tony Reinhardt
Montana Trout Outfitters
406-544-3516
