Catching the Big One’s in Montana
Monday was the first of two days with Alan and Bruce. These guys have been coming out to fish the Skwala hatch for years and are always fun to have in the boat. With colder temps and some snow we pushed the meet time later to take advantage of the warmest time of day.
We launched on the Bitterroot around Hamilton and started off with single Skwala dry flies. Bruce didn’t waste any time as he connected with a healhty rainbow in the first run. His streak continued with a few cutthroat in the next spots and then Alan tagged a nice fish in the backseat.
The action was steady right out of the gate with quality fish on dries all morning. After lunch we had some tough luck early with a few big fish lost and broken off, but then got back in the groove. Alan picked up 3 in a back eddy as we continued to move fish in most of the likely spots. Early afternoon it was a lot of smaller and mid-sized fish, but the bigger ones were on the hunt toward the end of the day.
Alan ended up with a fat cutthroat and a nice colorful brown trout that jumped a couple times while Bruce ended the day with a big 18″ rainbow and then one more cutthroat right at the takeout. Despite the snow in the morning, we had reasonable temps and good dry fly fishing all day.
Catching the Big One’s in Montana
On day 2 with Alan and Bruce I picked a stretch of the middle Bitterroot with a bunch of woody debris and lots of good dry fly pockets. We started off with single dry flies again and the trout were definitely not as aggressive as yesterday morning. We worked over plenty of great water and by the time we stopped for lunch Alan had one decent cutthroat to the boat and we had two other fish eat the dry.
The slow fishing continued for the first 45 minutes after lunch to the point that I was contemplating dry/dropper fishing. There’s so much wood on that stretch that I really didn’t want to fish a dropper so we stayed with the dry, and just like a light switch the river came to life. We saw a rising trout that Alan got to eat his dry and just downriver we found 2 or 3 other risers and Alan connected with a healthy rainbow.
From there the likely spots started to produce and Alan put together a nice string of rainbows and browns in the next few runs. We switched it up and put Bruce up front although Alan maintained the hot hand for a bit with a big brown over 20″ that spit the hook before making it to the net, followed up by a thick 17″ rainbow.
Bruce stuck a solid cuttbow in a side channel and then we found more rising fish and the guys doubled up. Bruce landed a dark cutthroat while Alan wrestled with a thick 18″ cuttbow. That run produced another brown for Bruce and a rainbow for Alan. Toward the end of the day Alan put his fly on a soft little current and a big hooked jaw came up.
He missed the hook set but got the fly right back in there and the fish came back. This time Alan came tight and the fight was on. It was a big 21″ brown, and the reason that I love Skwala season so much. Bruce picked off a 17″ rainbow in the same run and the guys boated a couple more on our way to the takeout.
It was a little slower start to the fishing today, but once it kicked in the guys were rewarded with lots of quality sized trout today and all on dry flies. I look forward to seeing Alan and Bruce again later this summer and they are already planning a return to Missoula next March.
Catching the Big One’s in Montana
Wednesday was the first of two days with long-time angler, Bob, from Spokane and he was joined by Jerome who came out for the Skwala hatch the first time last year. We met later and set off for the Bitterroot around Hamilton.
We started off with single Skwala dry flies and Jerome got the skunk off the boat with a cutthroat in our third run. Just downstream Bob saw some action with 3 dry fly eats in a back eddy and then he connected with a fourth fish at the bottom of the run. We were finding fish in specific spots but it still wasn’t really happening yet so we stopped for lunch to let it warm up a little more.
That turned out to be the right call as the guys doubled up with nice fish in the next spot. Bob had a quality cuttbow and Jerome landed a fat 18″ rainbow. The action was fast paced from there. We had fish eating in just about every run the rest of the day. The guys hooked up multiple doubles and landed a couple of them. We found rising fish to target and also brought fish up blind in the likely spots.
Everything from 10 inchers to the big ones were on the hunt in the afternoon. We landed a lot of quality 14-17″ cutts, cuttbows, and rainbows today. Toward the end of the float Jerome had a violent eat on his Skwala tight to the bank and after a spirited fight he put a gorgeous 20″ brown in the net. Those are special fish on dry flies and it was the perfect way to cap off our day.
Catching the Big One’s in Montana
Thursday I met Bob and Jerome early to get ahead of boat traffic and so the guys could get back to Spokane tonight. It was noticeably cooler this morning as we launched on a stretch of the middle Bitterroot. With the early start we rigged up dry/dropper rods in the morning and focused on the slower water.
It wasn’t red hot action but we did find some trout early. Bob hooked a solid rainbow that gave us a couple jumps before spitting the hook and then he converted one to the net in that spot. He landed a flawless 18″ bow in the following run to keep things going. It was slower for Jerome in the back with nothing happening until we settled into a deep pool with a big back eddy.
He came tight on a heavy fish and fought it for quite a while before it came unbuttoned. He got some redemption with a smaller fish before we left that pool and took an early lunch. At that point we switched over to single Skwala dries and saw a rising trout in the first spot of the afternoon.
Jerome worked several drifts to that fish and as I was giving up hope it came up and smashed the dry. Jerome had a bit of a rodeo as he had to fight that rainbow through a bush that was hanging in the water but it all worked out. Bob’s first dry fly fish of the day was a big, brightly colored cutthroat that ate the fly on a twitch.
We had fish looking up and that was a good thing. The action wasn’t quite as consistent as yesterday, but all the fish that ate our flies with quality trout that were 14-19″. We had a brief sunny period which slowed things down, but Bob managed to coax a 19″ rainbow that was sitting tight to a bank. Then the clouds moved back in and our prospects improved.
Just like yesterday, Jerome stuck another great brown trout just above the takeout. This one I saw rise and then the fish moved a couple feet to eat Jerome’s bug going downstream. We had a lot of fun over the last 2 days, told a bunch of stories, and put some really nice trout in the net. Bob and Jerome were very happy with the fishing and already have their March dates on the calendar for next year.
Catching the Big One’s in Montana
Friday was my first day of the season with local anglers, Marcelo and Constance. They are dry fly fanatics so we met later to take advantage of the best window and picked a stretch of river around Hamilton that didn’t have much traffic. The trout were looking up as soon as we hit the water.
Constance had a massive trout sip her dry on the first bank. She was hooked up for a while, but that trout got away. Marcelo connected in the next spot and then both anglers picked up nice trout a little further downriver. Fish were eating tight to the bank, out on foam lines, and in back eddies. After lunch the fishing continued at a fast pace.
There were a lot of smaller and mid sized cutts and rainbows that kept us busy, and just enough bigger trout to keep things interesting. Constance had played with enough fish by the time we hit the diversion dam that she took the rest of the afternoon off while Marcelo finished the day off in the front. The action tapered a little in the late afternoon.
Not as many of the smaller fish around, but there were still quality trout willing to eat in the right spots with several nice rainbows and cuttbows from 15-17″. Marcelo capped off the day with three more in the net just above the takeout. The last one was the best rainbow of the day sitting tight to an overhanging bush that at the fly at the last moment. The weather was gorgeous today and we put a bunch of dry fly eating trout in the net.
Catching the Big One’s in Montana
The second half of March provided some incredible fishing. Other than early starts to avoid boat traffic, we have been fishing single skwala dry flies everyday. The Bitterroot has been the main attraction so far, but the Clark Fork is on the verge of fishing well and we will start exploring some new options this week.
The guide staff has had some great fishing as well and produced an impressive number of big browns in the past week. Conditions look good for the week ahead!
Tight Lines,
Tony Reinhardt
Montana Trout Outfitters
406-544-3516
