Missoula Fly Fishing Guide 2024
Monday I was able to get on the water with long-time angler, Chris. The Missoula area rivers were blown out due to warm weather over the weekend so we made the drive over to the Missouri. With a nymph rig set up we launched at Wolf Creek and Chris didn’t waste much time as he put the first rainbow in the net just across from the put in.
The next corner produced several hot rainbows and I was quickly reminded why I like the Missouri so much. All morning Chris hooked fish in every spot that we fished with all of them hard fighting rainbows from 16-18″. The boat had barely moved after lunch when Chris was tight to another fish and then he followed that up with the lone brown trout of the day.
The nymphing was super consistent, but some clouds rolled in and I noticed a group of fish rising below us. We anchored up and switched over to a dry fly rod. There was a thick midge hatch coming off with some big fish sipping those tiny bugs. Chris worked 3 different patterns over those fish with no takers so I changed to a small dry/dropper rig.
He connected on the next good drift and a 19″ bow went rocketing out of the water. We played around with a few more risers but they proved pretty tough to fool today. After switching back to the nymph rig we found consistent fishing again and Chris capped off the day with several more nice rainbows in the net. Plenty of quality trout in the net today and there wasn’t much boat traffic on the water.
Missoula Fly Fishing Guide 2024
Thursday was my first day of the season with local angler, Jim. We met in Hamilton and set off for a familiar stretch of the upper Bitterroot. It was a chilly morning and flows were still up from the big bump at the beginning of the week so we started the day with a dry/dropper rig. The first couple of spots were too fast but once we found the right speed of current Jim came tight on a solid cutthroat.
The next back eddy produced two more good fish on the dropper. The action was solid on droppers the rest of the morning with some nice sized rainbows and cutts eating the dropper in most of the likely spots. It was still a little cool with no bugs around after lunch so we stayed with the dry/dropper and it continued to produce good results until some cloud cover moved in and we had two fish try to eat the dry in a run.
At that point we quickly switched over to a single Skwala dry fly. At first I questioned that decision when we didn’t raise a fish in the next couple runs, but just like with the dropper in the morning, when we found the right kind of water fish started looking up. Jim picked off a couple on slower banks and then I anchored in a spot where a little side channel entered and Jim put on a show.
He ended up landing 9 fish on the dry in that one spot! That was fun to watch and the dry fly action continued the rest of the afternoon. Jim picked off trout in nearly every run we fished. Our timing was good too as we hit the take out just as a cold wind started to blow and black clouds moved overhead. Lots of cutts, cuttbows and rainbows in the net today with plenty of quality.
Most of the fish were in the 14-17″ range with a handful of smaller ones and a couple pushing 18″. The Bitterroot certainly exceeded our expectations today
Missoula Fly Fishing Guide 2024
Friday I was able to sneak one more day in with local angler, Bob. Since it was my last day of the Skwala season before I head over to the Missouri we decided to try and find some big fish on the middle Bitterroot. It was cloudy, cold, and windy to start the morning as I set Bob up with a dry/dropper rig.
The first couple of spots didn’t produce and I wasn’t expecting much with how cold it was. We slid into a side channel just off the main river and Bob came tight to a smaller fish on the inside seam. Further down in that same run Bob set the hook and at first I thought he was snagged on a log, then I saw a big fish right next to the log.
Bob did a great job fighting that fish out of the downed timber and before long he had an awesome 21.5″ male brown trout in the net. Side channels and back eddies continued to produce nice fish for us as Bob boated a pair of solid rainbows around 18″. After an early lunch out of the wind the sun came out and temps warmed some.
We continued to pick our spots in the afternoon with a few more rainbows to the boat and one more nice brown trout. It was all dropper fishing today, and while we didn’t see a ton of action, the fishing was consistent and all the trout were quality specimens.
Missoula Fly Fishing Guide 2024
It was one of the best Skwala seasons that I can remember around Missoula in March and April. The fishing looks like it will hold up through the end of the month and the lower Clark Fork can be exceptional on years like this. I have moved over to the Missouri but my guides will still be in Missoula for another week or so.
They have a couple of open dates if anyone wants to take advantage. Missouri flows are stable and blue wing olives have started. I’m looking forward to the next several weeks over there!
Tight Lines,
Tony Reinhardt
Montana Trout Outfitters
406-544-3516
