Flyfishing Montana 2022
Wednesday I fished with local anglers, Marcelo and Constance. Marcelo had a great day yesterday on the lower Clark Fork so it was an easy call to head back down there today.
I started Constance with a dry/dropper rig upfront and Marcelo with a single skwala dry. To my surprise, the trout were looking up right out of the gate as a curt bow drilled Marcelo’s dry on the first bank and then he picked up a nice brown trout in the next spot.
At that point, I switched Constance over to a single dry and she connected with a cute bow at the bottom of that run. Slower water was the key, but those spots all produced until we noticed a few big March Brown mayflies hatching. We make a quick stop for lunch so we could capitalize on the hatch in the afternoon.
Marcelo picked off a couple on the dry right away and then I put Constance on a dropper when the sun poked out and she stuck a pair of rainbows in a big back eddy. Then the mayflies really came off and we fished single dries the rest of the way. There were good numbers of rising fish and we picked off several of those.
Constance and Marcelo doubled up once and there were plenty of near doubles too. Lots of quality 14-17″ rainbows, Cutts, and cute bows looking up for dries today. It was nice that the weather cooperated, with mostly clouds, no rain, and decent temps. Around 4:30 the fishing tapered off and we motored to the ramp.
It was another solid day for Marcelo and a great first day of the season for Constance.
Flyfishing Montana 2022
Thursday was the first of 3 days with returning angler, John, and his crew. We had 4 boats total and split up in pairs on different stretches of the lower Clark Fork. I fished with John and his son, Bradley. After yesterday,
I started Bradley off with a single Skwala and put John on a dry/dropper rig. Bradley scored on the dry fly in the first 10 minutes and John followed that up with a decent trout on the dropper. Just downstream, John had a big rainbow break him off on a snag, and immediately after that Bradley stuck a fat cutthroat on the dry.
By the time we pulled into lunch each angler had a handful of fish in the net as we waited for the bugs to come off. We fished droppers after lunch and hooked a couple and then the hatch started.
It was a mega hatch today. The water was absolutely covered with March Browns and fish were blowing up on them downriver as far as I could see. The trout weren’t easy though. There were so many natural bugs to choose from that it was tricky to get them to eat our fly.
Bradley did well in the front as he picked off a number of nice fish down that long bank while John tickled a few too. When the bugs thinned out a little the fishing actually improved. Bradley stayed with a single dry all afternoon and had solid eats in most all of the spots.
I put John back on the dry/dropper and he connected the dropper with several fish including the biggest rainbow of the day. Just above the takeout the rain and wind really started so we decided to call it a day and head for the ramp. Good action from start to finish and a solid start to the trip for this crew.
Flyfishing Montana 2022
Friday I was back out with John and Bradley. John had never fished the Blackfoot before so we decided to give the lower river a shot today.
We started off with dry/dropper rigs and Bradley picked up a pair of nice rainbows on the dropper in the first few runs. Once I switched John over to the same fly he joined in the action with a good curt bow.
The highlight of the morning was a big bull trout that grabbed a fish on the end of John’s line. John fought that bull for quite a while until it slipped downstream into some shallow water and spit the fish out.
It’s always exciting to see those bull trout attack fish on the end of the line. It was fairly steady action through the rest of the morning with mostly rainbows, a couple of cutts, and one lone brown trout.
The wind was the story of the afternoon. We had a stiff upstream breeze the rest of the way which made casting a challenge. The guys preserved despite the gale and we found fish throughout the afternoon. We picked up a couple in a nice back eddy and then as we were floating out Bradley hooked up again and a few seconds later he had a bull trout in hot pursuit of his rainbow.
The bull trout grabbed his fish and the battle was one. We got that fish fairly close, but it eventually made another run and spit the other trout out. Both John and Bradley had bull trout attacks today and we ended up catching a bunch of other nice trout. Not a bad introduction to the Blackfoot for the Carsons.
Flyfishing Montana 2022
Saturday was the last day with John’s crew and decided to fish all the boats together on a stretch of the lower Clark Fork. Today I had John and John in my boat which made giving instructions interesting.
Carson was the first to connect with a couple of fish on the dropper including a nice one in a foam back eddy, and then John stuck a dandy rainbow in a big slow back eddy. Then the sun poked out and faster water became the key. When we fished that type of water there were fish willing to eat.
The guys capped off the morning with 3 nice fish in a row. While we had lunch, the first of several fronts rolled through bringing hale, rain, and some wind. The front passed and Carson stuck a nice rainbow in a fast riffle right away in the afternoon. Then the wind came up huge. The kind of gusts where you can’t even fish.
Once it settle down, John connected with a gorgeous cutthroat in shallow water. The wind was an on and off problem for most of the afternoon, but when it was calm enough to fish we usually had at least one tight line.
At times the whitefish were voracious with 3 or 4 in a row, and then other water would produce some nice trout. The guys finished the day strong. Carson picked up a good rainbow in a fast bucket and then John capped off the trip with another big cutthroat and a decent rainbow in our last run. We had a fun 3 days with this crew and hope to see them again in Missoula.
Flyfishing Montana 2022
Sunday it was time to make the move over to Missouri. I took the camper over early in the morning and then met a good friend, and long-time guide Erik and his son with my new toy for some fishing.
I picked up a jet boat last summer but haven’t had a chance to run it much. We launched at the Gates of the Mountains, also known as Land of the Giants on Missouri. More than anything I wanted to run the boat and get familiar but we also did some fishing too. The trout didn’t disappoint.
We only made a handful of passes in one of the best runs but the guys hooked up each time and put some big rainbows in the net. I am excited to offer something new for my Missouri anglers this year. Gates of the Mountains is stunning scenery with some very big fish.
Flyfishing Montana 2022
It’s always a little bittersweet when my skwala season ends in Missoula. There’s nothing quite like throwing big dry flies in the spring, but my Missouri River season is one of the highlights of my season and I look forward to several weeks of some of my favorite anglers and incredible trout fishing!
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Tight Lines,
Tony Reinhardt
Montana Trout Outfitters
406-544-3516
