Blackfoot River Early Morning Fishing
Monday I fished with Jim and Doug. Jim was out a couple of years ago and decided to bring his good friend Doug along this time. We met early for a trip up the Blackfoot. It was a refreshing 42 degrees at the put in as I rigged the guys up with dry/dropper rigs.
It only took a few runs before both anglers had fish in the net. The dropper fishing was solid all morning. We had a few eats on the big dry too, but most of the action was on the dropper early with a fish or two coming out of nearly every run.
Toward the bottom of the canyon there were enough spruce moths around that we switched to a single dry. There were lots of fish looking up for the moth. A couple of nice cutts and a bunch of smaller cutts, cuttbows, and browns were hammering the small dry.
The fast action continued through the rest of the canyon and down into cutthroat alley. After that we put on a couple hopper patterns and picked up right where we left off. There was a better class of fish looking for the hopper in the next few runs.
Doug and Jim picked up 4 or 5 in the run just before we stopped for lunch. In the afternoon we still had decent action but it was definitely a lot of small fish on the hunt. I put Jim back on a dropper for a bit to see if that would help,
but it was just a little guy afternoon. Doug picked up a solid 15″ cutt on the hopper late and Jim finished off the day with a nice hard fighting rainbow on a small ant. Lots of fish to the boat today. It was mostly cutts from 8-14″, with some rainbows and a surprising number of browns thrown in.
There were a handful of bigger fish up to 16″ at times too. Jim and Doug have a great sense of humor and we had a bunch of fun on the river today.
Blackfoot River Early Morning Fishing
Tuesday I had repeat anglers, Bob and Leon for an early morning trip up the Blackfoot. Leon got us started in our first run with a fat 15″ rainbow on the dropper. Then Bob put a decent cutthroat in the net around the corner.
The dropper fishing was solid this morning with some good quality fish but not quite as much action as yesterday. The guys picked up a couple out of Munchmore and a pair of fish at the mouth of the canyon but then the dropper fishing faded and we switched over to single dries.
A PMD spinner was the ticket for Bob as he picked up several thick cutts and once I switched Leon over he got in on the action too. We picked up a couple on spruce moths, but the mayfly was more consistent.
The hopper fishing below the canyon was a little off too. The first few runs were good and Bob came into lunch with a nice cuttbow on the line, but the afternoon was sluggish. It mostly small fish looking up and some good water didn’t yield a strike.
The mayfly dry produced a bunch of little guys for Bob but we had to work hard to move a quality fish. Leon stuck a couple decent ones on a hopper and Bob had one final good fish in the run just above the take out.
While it wasn’t as action packed as yesterday, overall it was a decent day on the water. The guys boated some quality 14-16″ cutts and rainbows and plenty of fish in the 10-13″ range. We even doubled up a few times on dry flies.
Blackfoot River Early Morning Fishing
Wednesday I was back out with Bob and Leon and the guys wanted to do the Blackfoot again so we left town early. This morning Bob had the hot hand with the dropper rod as he tagged the first 4 or 5 fish before Leon was able to come tight in the back of the boat.
The quality was better as Bob had a couple 14-15″ cutts in the early going on the dropper. A little further downriver the guys had the first double of the day. By the time we got into the canyon there were enough PMD spinners that we switched over to single dries a little earlier.
Leon struck first with the dries as he connected with a pair of nice cutts and then Bob doubled up with him. We had solid dry fly fishing from there through the rest of the canyon.
Again, a little better class of fish looking up this morning too with a fair number of fish from 12-15″. Cutthroat alley produced a couple good cutts and some smaller browns. The fishing held up well all the way to lunch as we pulled in with another double.
The afternoon started well with a couple of solid eats in the first run. Then Bob pulled a decent rainbow off a logjam. After that the fishing started to fade. We could still move the occasional smaller fish, but the trout were sluggish.
We switched flies a bunch and even fished droppers again for a while. There wasn’t any secret pattern. We boated a couple more on our way out but it was clear that the fish were pretty much done eating for the day.
Fortunately, the mornings right now make up most of the day and the fishing was solid through the canyon. The last two hours after lunch were slow however. Bob and Leon enjoyed the trip and have their dates for next year already. I always enjoy hearing the stories of these well-traveled anglers and they are a pleasure to fish with.
Blackfoot River Early Morning Fishing
Thursday I was on the Bitterroot with local angler, Herb. I first fished with a group of his over 20 years ago and we have been on the water together for various events over the years, but it had been quite a while since we just went fishing together.
Herb brought his dogs, Grace and Molly, to keep us entertained as we launched on the upper river. We fished a single dry from start to finish and had to work at it all day. There were lots of fly changes through the float.
The fish ate everything we tried but they didn’t show a real preference for anything. Mayflies, nocturnal stones, and hoppers all put some fish in the net, but Herb would stick a couple in one run and then we might go through a few other good runs and not move a fish.
It just never got consistent enough to have confidence in a fly or even the water we fished. Trout came out of some of the likely spots but there were also fish that ate the fly in unexpected lies. A little black ant late in the day raised some of the nicest fish.
The first was a solid brown trout that outsmarted us on a submerged branch and got away, but there were a couple healthy cutts that fell for the ant too. Eventually the weather heated up enough that we packed it in for the day.
Overall the fishing was fair at best, but we had the river to ourselves, the dogs were able to swim and play, and it was great to catch up with Herb. Next week we will get another chance to find some better action.
Friday was my annual float with local anglers, Dick and Tom. The guys like to try for the spruce moth hatch up the Blackfoot, and even though the hatch isn’t really happening we left town early for a float in the canyon.
I started off fishing some of the upper runs this morning and not much was happening. As we worked downstream there were a couple of “maybe” eats until Tom connected with the first cutthroat of the day.
He had most of the luck early on the dropper with a couple out of Munchmore and a decent fish in most of the runs. Dick got the skunk off with a little guy and then doubled up with Tom a couple of runs after that.
We switched over to dries just before the canyon and Tom hooked up on his very first cast. He added a couple more smaller cutts before Dick came tight on a solid cutthroat a couple runs into the canyon.
From there it was respectable dry fly fishing with mayflies. Tom picked up a nice, bright cuttbow and we boated several other native cutts. In cutthroat alley both Dick and Tom stuck nice fish on dries before we pulled into the shade for some lunch.
The afternoon was typical for right now. The fishing wasn’t quite as active as the morning, and there was a lot of boat traffic behind us today. We had to fish a little faster than I wanted to.
The hopper didn’t get much attention so I changed both guys over to small ant patterns and we did manage to find some fish looking up for those. It was Tom’s day for sure.
Didn’t matter if he was in front or in back, he had the juju working in his favor and did well with the dropper, the mayfly through the canyon, and the ant at the end of the day.
Dick picked up his share of fish too but it was just one of those days where Tom wasn’t going to be denied. Plenty of 10-14″ cutts today with a couple bigger and some rainbows and one brown trout in the mix.
I always enjoy fishing with this pair, lots of talk about bird dogs and they are just fun to be on the water with.
Blackfoot River Early Morning Fishing
It was another hot week in Missoula and early start times helped to find some decent fishing and avoid river traffic. We might have some much needed relief on the way. Heavy rains are forecast tonight and possibly tomorrow. That might muck up the fishing for a couple days but we could certainly use the extra water and cooler temps. Fingers crossed that the rain actually arrives!
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Tight Lines,
Tony Reinhardt
Montana Trout Outfitters
406-544-3516
