Hoot Owl Trout Fishing
Long-time angler Chris was back in town so we met super early and headed up to his favorite stretch of water, the canyon of the Blackfoot. We launched the boat just as the sun was rising and it was only a couple casts before Chris was tight to a small rainbow on the dropper.
The next run produced a cutthroat on the dry and then a few runs downstream Chris landed a nice 14″ cutt on the dropper. At the Munchmore hole we switched to the dry fly rod and Chris had several eats on the dry and a couple fish in the boat. The small to mid-sized trout were on the hunt this morning as every run seemed to produce a couple little guys and a decent fish. It was fast action on the dry and we did have a few bigger fish eat but the hook just didn’t stick.
The early morning was cloudy, but then some heavy dark clouds moved in. It cooled off and we had a light sprinkle. The trout weren’t excited about that as our fishing dropped off for a few runs. Then toward the bottom of the canyon I noticed a few spruce moths and decided to try a moth pattern. Chris had 3 big fish eat in a fast chute and then we picked up 3 more in the next couple runs.
We changed back to a mayfly in cutthroat alley and Chris picked off a bunch of fish in there included a heavy 16″ cutt. A black ant fooled a few more and then we stopped for lunch. While we ate the clouds gave way to sun for the rest of the day. The ant continued to bring trout to the surface in the likely spots all the way to the takeout. Lots of dry fly action today with a bunch of 6-12″ cutts and bows and a handful of bigger fish with almost everything on dries.
Hoot Owl Trout Fishing
Tuesday I fished with local angler, Jim on a stretch of the lower West Fork down into the main Bitterroot. We met early and picked that float in hopes of avoiding most of the traffic. Jim started the day with a mayfly dry and the trout were all over it from the start.
It was great to have the action but it was mostly 6-10″ trout early on. Once it warmed up a little we had dry fly eats from some slightly bigger specimens. I changed over to a bigger bug for some faster water and the next spot produced a colorful 14″ cutt for Jim.
The bigger fly tended to move some better fish, but there were still plenty of little guys eating it in almost every spot. With a bunch of action in the morning we pulled into the shade for lunch. Most of the bugs faded out in the afternoon and we had to hunt a little more.
Fishing tight to log jams and other structure paid off with some solid cutts. A small golden stone was our best bug in the afternoon and once I made that change Jim had a nice run with some of the best fish of the day. A bright 16″ cuttbow was our biggest, but there were a handful of other 13-15″ trout mixed in.
The action faded some for the last half hour as the heat began to build. Jim still managed to stick one more of those little guys right above the takeout. It was a gorgeous float without much boat traffic and we had plenty of activity on our flies today.
Hoot Owl Trout Fishing
Wednesday I was back out with Chris and today we made the drive up to Georgetown lake to find some bigger fish and escape the heat in the valley. We started off fishing a damsel nymph on the edge of the weed beds, but the lake was flat calm and after 15 minutes with no takers we made a move.
The next spot had a handful of rising fish eating callibaetis but they weren’t very consistent and were extremely spooky. The next spot had a few more risers and Chris hooked up briefly with a nice one and then the risers quit so we tried fishing callibaetis nymphs at the edge of the weed beds.
That was the ticket as Chris started hooking up on a regular basis. It was tough to keep the fish out of the weeds and we lost a few, but we landed several including a fat 18″ bow. The nymph bite was hot but eventually tapered around noon and we stopped for lunch. In the afternoon we started seeing risers again as fish were busting damsel nymphs and large traveling sedges.
It was fun fishing the weed beds to trout cruising just below the surface. They weren’t easy, but Chris was connecting often enough to keep it interesting. The only trouble was all the fish got off in the weeds. We moved across the lake in the afternoon but there wasn’t much happening there with almost no rises. Chris did take one more thick rainbow off a seawall before we went back to the weed beds to finish the day.
It was pretty clear after a few minutes that the trout were done rising for the afternoon so we called it a day and hit the ramp. Not a ton of fish in the net today, but they were all good size and the temps were decent.
Hoot Owl Trout Fishing
Thursday I fished with local anglers, Cindi and Sandra. They are neighbors down the Bitterroot so we met early and set off south for the upper Bitterroot. The water is still cold on the upper river so I wasn’t expecting much fishing single dries early on, but Cindi had a couple strikes right away, and then connected with a solid 14″ cutthroat.
That was a great start and we actually had pretty good activity early on. There were lots of 6-10″ cutts and cuttbows along with a few better fish mixed in. Once there were enough PMD spinners in the air I switched Sandra over to a mayfly pattern and she picked off a few right away.
Then in a big back eddy she had a nice fish come up for the fly and then whip around and eat it going downstream. It was a big 16″ cutt and our best fish of the day. The mayfly action faded a little after that but a bigger stone was still working for Cindi so I swapped Sandra out as well.
We continued to move fish on that until we pulled into the shade for lunch. The afternoon posed a couple of challenges. There weren’t many bugs around and we got mixed up with a bunch of other boats. I switched flies a few times and Sandra had success with a small ant pattern while Cindi did well once I put her on a yellow sally dry.
We cleared the boat traffic but still had to work a little to get them to eat. Cindi stuck cutts in back to back runs above the takeout to finish out the day. It’s always a great time fishing with Cindi and Sandra and they made the most of the conditions with some nice dry fly fish in the boat today.
Hoot Owl Trout Fishing
Friday morning I met Chris super early for a trip back up to the canyon of the Blackfoot. We decided to go straight dry flies all day, and despite meeting in the pitch black we had other boats show up right behind us so we rolled downstream a ways before starting to fish. I had Chris on a big nocturnal stone pattern to begin with and he had eats in every run with 3 fish to the boat by the time we made it to Munchmore.
We hadn’t seen anything for bugs up to that point, but I just had a feeling so I tied a spruce moth on. A half dozen casts with the moth and Chris was tight to a nice cutthroat. Then he picked up another and we started to see a moth or two flying around. Over the next 20 minutes Chris landed at least 10 in there on the moth and they were all quality 12-15″ cutts.
The fishing remained strong after that. Chris picked up at least one in every spot and there were runs with rising fish that produced 2 or 3 in the net. The bottom of the canyon was loaded with spruce moths. Almost too many bugs as the fish started getting picky.
We worked a fast slot with some tough risers and managed to hook two and land one colorful cutthroat. After lunch in the canyon we stayed with the spruce moth for a few runs and connected in every spot. Chris stuck 3 or 4 on the moth in cutthroat alley before we switched over to a black ant once the moths went away.
The ant continued to hunt the rest of the way as Chris raised fish in just about every run to the takeout. We hit the ramp at perfect timing as the heat was really starting to build. Chris said it was one of the best days he has ever had in Montana. We fished dries from start to finish and put a pile of nice cutts in the net.
Hoot Owl Trout Fishing
Saturday I had a half day trip with returning angler, Gina and her grandson, Dean. Gina guides in the state of Missouri and I have taken her and fly shop owner, Carolyn on the river over the years so I couldn’t turn down the chance to get out with the next generation. We met early and launched on the lower Blackfoot.
I could tell that Dean, 10 years old, was a serious angler as we started running through some of the basics below the boat ramp. In the middle of that process while I was talking about mending, a trout ate Dean’s dry and he set the hook and then fought that fish perfectly to put a nice 13-14″ rainbow in the net to start the day.
At that point I knew we would be just fine. We started off fishing spruce moth dries and in certain spots the fish were all over the fly. It was a lot of 6-8″ rainbows but they were hungry and provided lots of action. When the dry fly bite faded for a bit we switched over to dry/dropper rigs and had a couple of nice fish come up and look at the dry.
Dean stuck a few more little guys and Gina had a little better fish on the dropper but it wasn’t a ton of action and that’s when the spruce moths really started coming off. We went back to the single dry for the rest of the day and had a ball. Again, it was a lot of 6-10″ fish but action is the name of the game with young anglers and Dean stayed focused all morning long as he was getting multiple strikes in almost every run.
He and Gina doubled up a couple times together and as we neared the end of the float Dean finished strong with two nice cutthroats on the dry. Then he picked up one more little guy on his last cast of the day. With young anglers it is all about making sure the day is fun.
Gina did a fantastic job of avoiding trouble so we hardly tangled at all. She didn’t catch as many fish as she would have had she fished “hard”, but that’s not what it’s about when you take a kid fishing. Dean had a stellar day. He put a pile of fish in the net and got photos with 3 nice ones. He is well on his way to becoming a great angler.
Hoot Owl Trout Fishing
The heat has made it’s way to Montana and it pays off to get on the river early right now. The mornings and early afternoons have still been productive until the heat really builds up. I expect we will see “Hoot Owl” fishing restrictions in the near future, but it won’t affect us much.
We are currently meeting between 5-6 am and off the water by 2-3 to take advantage of the best fishing. Spruce moths are here now but who knows how long they will last. Terrestrials like hoppers and ants are starting to produce and should get even better in the coming weeks.
Tight Lines,
Tony Reinhardt
Montana Trout Outfitters
406-544-3516
