Bitterroot River Fly Fishing July
Monday I was back out with regular angler, Marcelo, and today we were joined by his brother-in-law Joe. We met early and headed for the Bitterroot around Hamilton. Apparently some other folks had the same idea as we had a bunch of boat traffic pile in behind us.
We were hoping to just fish single dries so that allowed us to roll downriver at a quick pace early to avoid most of the traffic. I started Joe off with a small golden stone and Marcelo with a PMD spinner.
Fish were looking up for both patterns. Marcelo would pick up a couple on the PMD and just when I was thinking I should switch Joe over, he would connect on the golden.
It was mostly smaller and mid-sized cutts and rainbows, although Marcelo did have a nice, bright rainbow sip the PMD close to a downed log. The action was steady. It was never crazy good, and we didn’t go long periods without a trout either.
I switched bugs a fair amount too trying to dial it in, but it seemed like the fish that wanted to eat on top came up for most of the patterns we fished. After an early lunch we started to get a lot of small goldens and yellow sallies and the fishing did improve in the early afternoon.
The guys doubled once and we had a couple other chances at doubles. Joe picked up a nice brown trout in a tailout and Marcelo fooled a few healthy cutthroat.
The best fish of the day was an 18″ rainbow that absolutely smashed Joe’s fly and put up a good fight in skinny water. There were a few rising fish that we picked off and others that wouldn’t play with us.
Considering the weather and the traffic, it was a good day of fishing single dry flies on the Bitterroot.
Bitterroot River Fly Fishing July
Tuesday I fished with local angler, Jim, a little further upriver on the Bitterroot. We started with a dry/dropper rig and picked up a few fish right away on the dropper.
Then there were a couple eats on the big dry so we switched over to a small golden dry. That produced a decent fish in just about every run until the PMD spinners showed up and we changed over the a mayfly pattern.
The fishing was even more consistent from there. Trout were looking for the mayfly in most all of the likely spots. Jim picked off 3 in one back eddy and there were a couple other great runs early.
After lunch they were still looking of the mayfly as we had one bank with 4 nice fish on the dry. Eventually there were enough golden stones around that we switched bugs again.
It took a couple fly changes as the first pattern trout would just look at or swat without eating, but once I figured out the right bug we were back in business. The average size fish was a little better on the golden too.
We happened into one run with several rising fish and Jim picked off 3 while we were anchored up. One was a super fat 18-19″ cuttbow and then he connected with two more in the tailout. The fishing remained steady the rest of the float.
Jim landed 2 more quality fish in the run just above the take out. We had action from start to finish.
In the morning it was mostly smaller and mid-sized trout, but the afternoon produced some quality specimens in the 16″ range and the one big girl. It was another hot, sunny July day but the fishing was outstanding.
Wednesday was my first day of the season with local angler, Martha. We launched on the lower West Fork of the Bitterroot for a long float with hopes of single dry fly fishing. We started the day with a small golden and picked up some smaller cutts right away.
After the first hour there were a good number of PMD spinners around and so we changed over to a mayfly pattern. The action improved and Martha started to connect with some nicer fish as well.
It was a lot of cutthroat but there were a few browns and rainbows in the mix as well. Around lunch the first wave of a thunderstorm moved through. No rain at that point, but some really heavy winds. Once it backed off some we stopped for lunch.
I was expecting a good golden stone hatch in the afternoon like yesterday, but the weather had different plans. The stormy weather kept messing with us. It was windy, we had 20 minutes of really heavy rain, and the bugs never really materialized.
As a result the afternoon was a little spotty. We fished a bunch of different bugs and there was no secret fly. It seemed that the fish that wanted to eat came up for just about any golden pattern.
Martha boated some nice ones in the afternoon too. One of the best was a fat 16″ cuttbow that came out from under a root ball for the dry. The morning action was very steady with trout coming from most of the likely spots.
The afternoon tapered off a little with every 2 or 3 runs producing a good eat. Still, Martha boated plenty of fish today and we had a great time on the Bitterroot.
Blackfoot River Fly Fishing July
Friday I picked up a trip on short notice with Richard and Joe. Joe had never fly fished before and Richard had been out once with friends.
So we launched on the lower Blackfoot and I went over the basics of casting, mending, hooking and fighting fish before we started floating downstream.
The trout were active right away as we had several strikes on both the dry and dropper as the guys were still figuring out how to set the hook and manage line.
Those early ones got away but Richard had a big rainbow crush his dry a couple runs down, and I don’t know how the line didn’t break but he stripped that big fish directly to the boat without stopping.
We had an extremely lively 18″ rainbow in the net in record time as Richard started the day in style. He continued to have the hot hand as he picked up the next several rainbows.
Then Joe connected on a little bow and right after that landed a decent cutthroat on the dry. It remained active for most of the day. Both guys each hand another big 18″ class rainbow on the line that got away, but we boated some quality 15″ fish, a bunch of smaller ones and even had a couple of doubles.
For their first time floating the guys did really well and enjoyed their day on the Blackfoot.
Bitterroot River Fly Fishing July
It is still hot in Montana and the best fishing has shifted to the morning and early afternoon. As a result we are meeting early and getting off the water before it gets too hot. We are primarily focused on the Bitterroot and Blackfoot where the water is coldest and giving the Clark Fork a rest until the conditions change. The fishing is still respectable although we would welcome some cooler weather at anytime!
Check out Other Days on the Rivers
Tight Lines,
Tony Reinhardt
Montana Trout Outfitters
406-544-3516
