The Missoula fishing report hasn’t changed much in the past week. The Skwala hatch is still sputtering along. If you are in the right place at the right time you could see a good push of bugs, but overall through the system they are still just trickling off. The added challenge this week is the increased boat traffic. Fishing pressure always spikes at the end of March and beginning of April and we’ve been seeing that this week. A little creativity goes a long way in getting away from the pressure, and at this point in the hatch it can pay big dividends. The fishing has been solid with the dropper game carrying the lions’ share of the workload. The dry fly fishing is decent and can be good with the absolute right drift in the exact right spot. The fish have seen enough big bugs that they will eat them in the soft water, but they aren’t blasting them in the random spots when the hatch is full force. Right now the fishing is decent most days and skilled anglers are rewarded with a solid dry fly bite. A little drag on the drift or a fly 6″ out of place go untouched. Things are progessing though, I saw the most bugs of the season so far today, and if our water holds the coming week could be when the fly fishing busts wide open. Time will only tell, but I for one am looking forward to getting back out there in hopes of bugs rolling and fish gobbling.
