August Fly Fishing Tactics

Monday was my first chance of the season to get out with long-time local anglers, Mike and Nancy. We picked a stretch of the upper Bitterroot for a short float before the temps got too hot. Mike has really taken a liking to streamer fishing the past couple of years so he was all set to throw big stuff out of the back of the boat.

Nancy opted for the dry fly route and when the hopper we started with didn’t get any attention in the first couple spots we switched it up for a smaller bug. That started raising some fish, but it was mostly smaller guys with a couple decent ones.

Meanwhile, Mike was moving some bigger fish that chased and bumped the streamer, but they wouldn’t really eat it. We changed flies a couple more times with Nancy with moderate success. A few fish liked a “twitched” bug but then that faded so we pulled into the shade for lunch.

That was one of the highlights of the day as we watched an immature bald eagle on the gravel bar across the river. It wasn’t far from his nest and from what we could observe it seemed like maybe he had made his first flight out of the nest, but now on the ground he couldn’t quite figure out how to take off again.

It provided some good entertainment. In the afternoon the streamer action dropped off to nearly nothing. Mike had a couple other follows but that was it. We did find a dry for Nancy that the decent trout would eat occasionally.

The little guys were still pecking at it and she connected with 4 or 5 in the afternoon that were 14″+. It wasn’t an action packed day, but we had a great time on the river and brought a few to the boat.

Pretty view from the upper Bitterrooot - Spruce Moth Hatch Fishing — Pretty view from the upper Bitterrooot – Spruce Moth Hatch Fishing

This young eagle was across the river throughout lunch today - Spruce Moth Hatch Fishing — This young eagle was across the river throughout lunch today – Spruce Moth Hatch Fishing

One of the nicer cutthroat in the net - Spruce Moth Hatch Fishing — One of the nicer cutthroat in the net – Spruce Moth Hatch Fishing

August Fly Fishing Tactics

Tuesday I fished with local anglers, Tom and Dick. We have had an annual float up the Blackfoot around this time for the past few years so we met early and headed up to the canyon. I started the guys with dry/dropper rigs and Tom hooked 2 and Dick had an eat in our second run.

That was a good start, but the dropper fishing was a little sporadic from there. We hooked a few more and landed a couple smaller trout. Then I noticed a couple spruce moths around and switched Dick to a single dry just to see what would happen.

Right away he picked up a couple small cutts and I changed to Tom to a moth as well. There were not a ton of naturals around, but enough to get some fish looking up. From there we were hooking up in just about every run, but we did have some tough luck with 4 or 5 nice fish on the line that came unbuttoned before hitting the net.

There were plenty of 6-12 inchers willing to eat the moth and that kept us busy until lunch. In the second half we fished hoppers with some success. Again, it was mostly smaller fish looking up but we managed to get an eat or two in the majority of the spots.

It was a beautiful day in the canyon without too much traffic and we hit the ramp right as the heat of the day settled in. Always fun to fish with Tom an Dick with lots of bird dog talk in between trout.

Morning view of the Blackfoot - Spruce Moth Hatch Fishing — Morning view of the Blackfoot – Spruce Moth Hatch Fishing

Tom hooked up on a dry fly - Spruce Moth Hatch Fishing — Tom hooked up on a dry fly – Spruce Moth Hatch Fishing

Nice cutthroat on a spruce moth - Spruce Moth Hatch Fishing — Nice cutthroat on a spruce moth – Spruce Moth Hatch Fishing

Dick tight to a quality trout in cutthroat alley - Spruce Moth Hatch Fishing — Dick tight to a quality trout in cutthroat alley – Spruce Moth Hatch Fishing

August Fly Fishing Tactics

Wednesday was the start of a 2 day trip with local angler Bob. This was scheduled as a carp fly fishing trip as we have been dedicating a couple days to chasing those big goldfish the last few years, but we had a cloudy weather pattern and last minute tip that led to a change of plans.

It’s hard to sight fish in the clouds and a friend texted me the night before saying that the Land of the Giants has been fishing well. We motored out onto the lake first thing and anchored up. The plan was to fish the lake while Bob smoked his morning cigar and I rigged the 3 other rods for the river. 5 or 10 minutes into fishing and Bob came tight on a smoking hot 19″ bow.

I still had one rod left to rig so Bob kept fishing and a few minutes after that he set the hook and the water exploded under his indicator. I knew it was a good fish, but didn’t know how big until we got her in the net. It was a slab 24″ rainbow that was an impressive specimen.

That trout was a day maker and after that we decided to go check out the river. The nymphing was super solid with Bob connecting on multiple big bows every pass that we made. After lunch we fished a couple more runs with back to back big rainbows, including a fat 21″ male.

Then I drifted down further to look for some rising trout in a likely spot. We found a handful of risers sipping spent caddis and Bob worked on them with reach cast presentations. They were big fish and not easy to fool, but Bob was able to get 3 eats. The first one he set a little early, but the other 2 looked good to me but just didn’t connect with the fish.

It’s an accomplishment just to get those fish to eat a dry but we were both a little bummed we didn’t stick one. By then it was getting hot and we decided to call it a day.

Bob hooked up first thing in the morning on the lake - Spruce Moth Hatch Fishing — Bob hooked up first thing in the morning on the lake – Spruce Moth Hatch Fishing

Nice way to start the day - Spruce Moth Hatch Fishing — Nice way to start the day – Spruce Moth Hatch Fishing

Bob with a massive 24" rainbow - Spruce Moth Hatch Fishing — Bob with a massive 24″ rainbow – Spruce Moth Hatch Fishing

Land of the Giants lived up to it's name today - Spruce Moth Hatch Fishing — Land of the Giants lived up to it’s name today – Spruce Moth Hatch Fishing

A bright 21" bow in the afternoon - Spruce Moth Hatch Fishing — A bright 21″ bow in the afternoon – Spruce Moth Hatch Fishing

August Fly Fishing Tactics

Thursday was day 2 out of Helena and we discussed options at dinner the night before. We could give the carp fishing a shot even though the cloud cover would make it difficult, go back to Land of the Giants, or…..go meat fishing for perch and walleye on the lake.

A fish fry sounded perfect to Bob so after dinner we picked up a couple spinning rods and some basic tackle. The next morning we motored down through the Gates of the Mountains and set up on a weed bed with slip bobber rigs. It took a little moving around to zero in on a good school, but once we found that it was fast action for perch most of the morning.

We doubled a few times as a steady stream of perch went into the cooler. When that spot cooled off we hit another weed bed for a few more before stopping for lunch. Then we motored back up to the top of the Gates to check out a tip from one of the guys at the Marina.

We didn’t find perch there but Bob landed his first walleye and I was able to pick one up too. When we ran out of leeches it was time to head back to Missoula to clean a bunch of fish. It was a fun 2 days with Bob and I’m glad he was flexible to changing the plan. It definitely led to better fishing.

Working a school of perch on the edge of the weed beds - Spruce Moth Hatch Fishing — Working a school of perch on the edge of the weed beds – Spruce Moth Hatch Fishing

The view below the Gates of the Mountains - Spruce Moth Hatch Fishing — The view below the Gates of the Mountains – Spruce Moth Hatch Fishing

Perch aren't that big, but they make delicious fish tacos - Spruce Moth Hatch Fishing — Perch aren’t that big, but they make delicious fish tacos – Spruce Moth Hatch Fishing

August Fly Fishing Tactics

Saturday I had one more chance to get on the water with my son, Thomas, before he leaves for school. Today we were joined by his girlfriend, Izzy, looking to add a couple new species to her list. We were fishing a spot that was new to me so it took a little moving around in the morning to get dialed in.

Once I figured a couple things out we had pretty consistent fishing for smallmouth. It was mostly mid-sized bass with a couple of bigger ones mixed in. After lunch we hit a pike spot and Thomas immediately connected with a nice northern. Once Izzy saw her first pike she wanted to dedicate the rest of the day to fishing for them.

Thomas scored on another pike at the bottom of that bank and then a small cove produced a baby pike for Izzy. She was happy to add a new species, but was still hoping for a bigger one.

We struck out in a couple other spots and then she found success in our last run with a solid pike that made a couple of hot runs. It was a great day on the water and a good send off for Thomas.

Izzy with a nice smallmouth - Spruce Moth Hatch Fishing — Izzy with a nice smallmouth – Spruce Moth Hatch Fishing

Then she pulled a trophy stick from the depths - Spruce Moth Hatch Fishing — Then she pulled a trophy stick from the depths – Spruce Moth Hatch Fishing

A pair of nice pike for Thomas - Spruce Moth Hatch Fishing — A pair of nice pike for Thomas – Spruce Moth Hatch Fishing

Izzy was all smiles at the end of he day with a pike of her own - Spruce Moth Hatch Fishing — Izzy was all smiles at the end of he day with a pike of her own – Spruce Moth Hatch Fishing

August Fly Fishing Tactics

After a long, hot July we have finally caught a break with the weather. Cooler temps to end the week and some rain over the weekend is just what we needed around Missoula. Temps in the 70’s and 80’s for the week ahead should get the trout more active.

Tight Lines,

Tony Reinhardt
Montana Trout Outfitters
406-544-3516