Salmon Flies on the West Fork of the Bitterroot

Sunday was day 1 with group 1 of the Extravaganza. This is also the 20th anniversary of the event that Ron has been putting on each June. We had 8 boats on the water today and I was fortunate to have Ron and Matt Simms in my boat.

Matt and I used to guide together at the Grizzly Hackle and now he is an excellent pottery craftsman and did a bunch of work for the 20th anniversary. We made a long drive up the West Fork today in hopes of dry fly fishing. Ron started with a single salmon fly while Matt had a dry/dropper. A few runs into the day and Ron had one cutthroat take a swipe at his dry and then another decent cutt eat the big bug.

That was enough to convince Matt to go single dry, and his next cast with a salmon fly produced a big slab curt bow. We were off to the races from there as Matt put on an absolute clinic for fishing a dry in fast water. He moved nice fish in most of the likely water and then Ron doubled up with him as we boated a pair of cutts. We decided to grab lunch as dark clouds were building around us. Thunderstorms were in the forecast but they were holding off for the time being.

The afternoon was just as good. Matt was putting the fly in all the right spots and super tight to the structure which produced some awesome dry fly eats. He was leaving just enough scraps behind to keep Ron entertained in the back of the boat. We had another good double in the afternoon as Matt picked off a thick 19″ cute bow in front of a rock while Ron tagged a colorful cutthroat off the bank.

Not long after that, I realized we still had some river to cover if we were going to make it back to town on time. Matt raised a couple more on the big dry and then we had to push to the takeout. River traffic was super light and we lucked out with the weather. It looked ominous all afternoon but we didn’t get a drop of rain.

Matt fished as close to a perfect day as maybe I’ve ever seen. He made casts under trees, around branches, tight to rocks, and didn’t lose a fly all day. And he only missed a couple of fish, if they ate his fly they were taking a ride to the net. It was a great day of single dry fly fishing.

Salmon Flies on the West Fork of the Bitterroot

Monday was day 2 with the big crew and today I was paired up with Jay and Kim. Based on the forecast I thought the upper Blackfoot would be our best bet so we headed up to the canyon for their second float trip ever. We launched on the North Fork and fished it with a dry/dropper rig since the water was fairly clear.

Not even a strike in there so we switched to a streamer/slop rig at River Junction since the main stem was dirtier. We had a couple of maybe strikes but never connected with a fish so I decided to change to single salmon fly dries as we approached the canyon. We fished a few runs with nothing and then Jay connected with a cutthroat on a big dry to get the skunk off the boat.

Then Kim had a couple of eats on her dry but didn’t come tight before we stopped in the shade for lunch. We stayed with the dry fly through the rest of the canyon in the afternoon and had a decent number of eats. Both Jay and Kim picked up a couple of fish each as they proved a little difficult to hook on the big bug.

Once we were out of the canyon we switched over to a dry/dropper setup and immediately started finding fish on both the dropper and the dry. Kim had the hot hand early with a couple of solid fish on the dropper and then a nice 17″ cute bow on the dry. Then Jay got going with the next several fish. It was decent action in the afternoon and we finished up the day by cutting off the droppers and fishing tight to a shady bank.

Jay tagged a fat 17″ cuttbow and Kim picked up one more cutthroat on the dry to finish the day strong. It was challenging conditions with dirty water, but Jay and Kim did great for their second float ever and we put some nice trout in the boat today.

Salmon Flies on the West Fork of the Bitterroot

I was back out with Jay and Kim on Tuesday and wanted to show them a different river after 2 days on the Blackfoot. We headed down the Bitterroot south of Hamilton and I was a little shocked when we got to the put-in. The river had looked fine on the drive up, but it was muddy at the launch with only a foot or so of visibility.

It was already late enough in the morning that I didn’t feel we had time to make a change so we decided to go for it and hope for the best. I rigged both anglers with dry/dropper rigs and we set off. When Jay hooked the first cutthroat around the corner from the put in I breathed a huge sigh of relief.

We got the skunk off early and I knew we could find some more fish. He picked up another decent cutt not far below that and I switched Kim over to the same fly. The very next side channel yielded a cutthroat for her on the new fly. We still had to work for them, but in the right spots, there were trout willing to eat.

Up to that point for a day and a half everything broke in Jay and Kim’s favor as they hardly missed or lost any fish. In the afternoon we got a lesson in, “If it can go wrong, it will.” The fishing improved in the afternoon but we had a lot of fish get away for one reason or another. Sometimes it was too much slack, other times it was too much pressure, and others still seemed like just bad luck.

If you fish enough you learn that kind of stuff can happen. We persevered though and got back on track later in the day. Kim finished the day strong with two nice cute bows in the last mile. I was nervous about the water clarity in the morning, but we had pretty solid fishing considering the conditions as Jay and Kim was into fish throughout the float. This was their first trip to Montana but it definitely won’t be their last.

Salmon Flies on the West Fork of the Bitterroot

Wednesday I fished with local angler Jim. With water clarity issues on the main Bitterroot and East Fork, we opted for a day up the West Fork of the Bitterroot throwing salmon flies. We launched early at the dam and it wasn’t very busy. In the first quarter mile, Jim stuck a big rainbow on the salmon fly dry and that’s when I realized the net wasn’t in the boat.

We managed to land that fish, and while I was certain I put the net in the boat I quickly ran up to the truck to double-check. No net there, so the net must have slid out of the boat into the river when I launched. I have lost a net 2 times in 25 years and both times have been at the dam on the West Fork.

It proved to be an interesting day landing fish but we got back underway without a net. The fishing was steady. The trout weren’t eating it everywhere, but good drifts in the right spots were being rewarded with some big fish. It was mostly quality trout in the morning and I was doing a pretty good job getting them into the boat with no net. Jim tagged a couple of chunky brown trout in skinny water and some colorful cutthroats.

The only fish I wish I had a second chance at was a super thick cuttbow that was at least 20″. Jim had it boat side and when I grabbed the leader it shook its head and got away. Would’ve been nice to get a photo of that one. Otherwise, we successfully landed some great trout all morning. By lunch, Jim had 8 or 9 big dry fly fish that was 17-20″, along with a mix of mid-sized and smaller cuts too. We did a double float today, so while Jim had lunch I loaded the boat on the trailer and we headed back upstream to stay in the thick of the bug hatch all day, and to avoid traffic.

The bugs were moving in the afternoon and we stayed clear of other boats, but the trout weren’t super excited. Jim caught some nice trout after lunch, but we switched bugs up a bunch and it seemed like we would pick up a fish or two on just about everything we tried but there was no secret weapon. Jim continued to pick away at them until the action dried up completely about a half mile above the takeout. It was a gorgeous weather day on the west fork. Boat traffic was light and the fishing was good enough to throw a single dry fly all day.

Salmon Flies on the West Fork of the Bitterroot

Thursday I had local anglers, Marcelo and Constance. It was cloudy in the morning and just felt like a big fish day so we headed up to the canyon of the Blackfoot. Constance started with a salmon fly dry in front while Marcelo fished a streamer in the back.

A few runs into the day and Marcelo came tight on a thick cutthroat. He had a couple of other grabs on the streamer while Constance had a couple of dry fly eats before I changed Marcelo over to a salmon fly too. There are only a precious few days of the season where we can throw these giant dry flies, and they can produce some of our biggest trout so we had to take our chances. It was unusually cool today so there weren’t a lot of bugs moving, but in the right spots, fish were looking for the dry.

Marcelo connected with a handful of chunky trout on the dry by the time we stopped for an early lunch to let it warm up some. The canyon was ahead of us in the afternoon during prime-time dry fly hours and it did not disappoint. A few runs into the second session and Marcelo had a huge eat on a rock wall. He came tight and I could tell it was a big brown trout. It proved to be an exciting battle but he eventually slid a big 22+” male into the net.

That was exactly the fish we were looking for today and Marcelo closed the deal. The fishing held up through the rest of the canyon with more nice cutts and cute bows on dries. Once we were out of the canyon Constance did well with a smaller golden stone and a green drake. We doubled up on nice cutts and we ended the day with a circus catch for Marcelo. It was fast water and the lines got tangled up. Marcellus fly was out in the river while he was trying to get Constance’s fly off his line.

Just as he got that sorted out his line came super tight in the fast water. We all assumed he was snagged on a rock and as he pointed the rod to break it off, that “rock” started to move. It turned out to be a big rainbow that he fought right to the boat ramp. It’s always nice to end the day with a 19″ rainbow at the takeout. It was a solid salmon fly day on the Blackfoot with some great fish in the net.

Salmon Flies on the West Fork of the Bitterroot

Group 2 of Ron’s Extravaganza started today and I had Ron and his son, Tyler, in the boat for Father’s Day. In an attempt to get out of the rain and away from people, we headed way down on the lower Clark Fork. It is still big and off-color, but can produce some great fishing this time of year when the conditions are right.

We started off streamer fishing to see if the trout were willing to chase down a big meal, but that wasn’t happening so I put Tyler on a dry/dropper rig after the first two runs. In the next spot, he hooked 5 and landed 3. Ron stuck with the streamer for one more bank, but after Tyler boated a couple more trout he was ready for the dry/dropper rig too. Almost all the action was on the dropper today, and we had fish eating in just about every likely spot.

It was good enough that the guys were hooking up even when we weren’t really fishing. It was steady action all morning long with lots of 13-15″ rainbows and cute bows. Ron wanted a shorter day so we let the boat coast while we ate lunch. As soon as we finished up Ron was tight to a cutthroat within seconds of his fly hitting the water. There were a number of doubles today with both guys hooked up at the same time, but for whatever reason we were never able to get both fish to the net.

Still, it wasn’t long until someone else was into a fish. I had Ron try a double dry rig for a bit and he had a couple of fish take a swipe at the big dry, but Tyler landed 3 or 4 in the meantime on the dropper so we switched him back up. We finished the day well. Tyler stuck a couple in our last run and Ron landed the biggest fish of the day, an 18″ rainbow just above the takeout. It was easy consistent fishing all day long with great weather and no one else on the river.