Dry Fly Fishing on the Bitterroot
My kids are on spring break this week so I took the opportunity on Tuesday to get out with my son, Thomas, and my dad on the Bitterroot. Dad had the hot hand early as he picked up a couple of nice brown trout in the first few runs on a dropper. When he boated a fat rainbow a couple runs further down I switched Thomas over to the same bug.
Then we snuck into a little back eddy and Thomas connected with a gorgeous cuttbow on the dropper. Dad picked up one more before we stopped for lunch. There wasn’t much happening in the early afternoon. We missed a couple, but the fishing didn’t improve like I thought it would after lunch.
We played around with some different flies and then finally got back on track in a side channel with a cutthroat and a cuttbow. The next back eddy proved to be the highlight of the day though. As the guys were fishing it with the dry/dropper rigs I noticed fish rise tight to the bank.
When it came up a second time I pulled off and rigged Thomas up with a single dry Skwala. On the first drift he smoked a big cutthroat and fought him well to the boat. From there we just coasted down to the take out and both Thomas and dad each picked up a fish to finish off the day right above the ramp. Glad to get a day on the river with family before it starts to get busy.
Wednesday I decided to roll the dice with Peter. He is a former steelhead guide in Oregon and trout guide in Wyoming and Colorado. It is his first trip fishing the Missoula and since he likes fishing streamers I decided to see if we could find something big up the Blackfoot.
When we got to the launch I noticed the river was definitely more off-color than my last time up there. It was enough to be a little concerned but not so much to call it off. We worked the first run hard and I was relieved when Peter came tight on a solid 16″ brown trout in the tail-out.
That was enough to let me know the fish were eating, and the next good bucket produced a bright rainbow on the streamer. A little further down we were in another great run that we worked several times. On the first pass Peter connected with a substantial fish.
Despite the colder water this fish didn’t have any quit as it ran Peter all over the run and eventually took off downstream. Finally he was able to slide a big bull trout into the net. We both estimated it in the 26″ range before slipping the hook out and letting it swim away.
Peter picked up a couple more healthy cutthroat in that run on a nymph rig before we took a break. The first few runs of the afternoon didn’t yield anything on the streamer, but the next really good spot gave up a couple more fat cutthroat and a nice cuttbow on the nymph rig.
Peter came tight on a few more with the nymph rod before we switched over to the streamer for the rest of the day. A final 17″ rainbow ate the big fly a few runs above the take out. Peter ended up with a good introduction to the Blackfoot. He picked up the big bull trout and had quality 15-17″ trout of all the other species.
Tomorrow he will be looking for fish on Skwalas for his first Bitterroot day. Dry Fly Fishing on the Bitterroot
Thursday I fished with regular angler, Bob. Today we floated a stretch of the Bitterroot around Hamilton that I had not been on yet this year. The river level was up a little as we started off with a dry/dropper rig. Right out of the gate Bob picked up two cutthroat on the dropper in the first run.
The next good inside produced another cutthroat and a big cuttbow that shook free just before hitting the net. The dropper fishing remained steady in all of the likely spots. The afternoon was more of the same. Bob connected with a couple of browns early on before we slid into a big run that had back eddies on both sides.
The first side had 4 volunteers with trout so active that Bob was hooked up with another one before I could even release the first from the net. The other side of the run yielded a couple more cutthroat and the first dry fly attempt of the day. Around 2:30 we switched over to a single dry fly Skwala. Dry Fly Fishing on the Bitterroot
Immediately in the first spot Bob had a solid eat. When that cutthroat hit the net it took me a minute to realize the situation. This poor fish had a big bait hook stuck in it’s jaw along with a heavy lead weight and a couple feet of thick monofilament trailing behind. I’m not sure if that fish was hungry for Bob’s fly or just couldn’t pass up the chance at some medical assistance.
I removed all the gear and the trout quickly swam away. After that the fishing went dead. Unbeknownst to us, we were trailing the FWP shocking crew for a couple of miles.
They were surveying trout numbers and we didn’t realize it until I saw their big boat just above a river access. As soon as we passed them Bob had 2 more dry fly eats in the next run. We finished up the day with the dry/dropper as Bob came tight on one more before we yielded the rest of the water to some wade fisherman.
It was a solid day on the water. The fishing in the morning and early afternoon was excellent and we were happy to get a few dry fly fishing eats as well.
Friday I was out with local anglers, Mike and Gary. The Bitterroot was still on the rise and since it was Friday I picked a long stretch of the middle river to avoid the traffic. The rain was steady driving down the valley, but had stopped by the time the boat was in the water.
It was a noticeable difference in water levels this morning so I started the guys off with nymph rigs instead of dry/dropper set-ups. I rowed upstream to a big back eddy and Mike didn’t waste anytime picking off a cutthroat on the inside edge. He followed that up with a bright, hard fighting rainbow in the back eddy and we were off to a fast start.
Gary got in on the action with a cuttbow from a long run just downstream. The trout were very active again this morning and it seemed that either Mike or Gary was hooked up in just about every run. It was mostly 14-16″ rainbows and cuttbows with one lone brown mixed in.
We took a break for lunch during a window of decent weather. The afternoon had a different flavor for sure. The first couple of runs didn’t yield a strike and then Mike worked a back eddy thoroughly. The first dozen casts or so came up blank and then once the boat and casting angle changed, Mike hooked 3 and landed a quality rainbow out of that spot.
It was hit and miss fishing from there so we switched up tactics and fished dry/dropper rigs. Even though the action was still a little spotty the guys managed to dig out some nice fish. The dropper picked up a couple more and Mike had a good dry fly eat from a colorful cutthroat.
There was no shortage of wildlife either. In one spot we counted 16 eagles in the trees and also floated right by a moose. Mike and Gary were a pleasure to fish with and their season got off to a good start.
As of today the Bitterroot looks to have leveled off in flow. (You can always check the river levels and flows on our Fishing Reports Page) The extra water will make for easier floating and allow traffic to spread out a little more in the weeks ahead. The Skwala hatch is still just getting going. Fish have seen enough of them in certain spots to look up, but not enough yet to provide consistent afternoon dry fly action. My guess is that will start happening at some point this week. It only take a day or so of good numbers of bugs to show up and then the trout will really key on them. We are on the verge of some of the most exciting fishing of the season and I look forward to getting back on the water next week! More Dry Fly Fishing on the Bitterroot – stop back! or Book Your Trip with Tony Today! – Click Here
