Montana Trout Fishing July Report

Monday I was out with long-time angler, Chris. He and his family have been fishing with me for over 20 years so I thought I would take the opportunity to show him some new water.

We met early and ran over the hill to the Land of the Giants in the jet boat. There was some type of big corporate group trip today so it was surprisingly busy early. We motored nearly all the way to the dam, well above all the other boats, to get started.

There was a reason why everyone was fishing mid-river as we didn’t get a strike in that upper water. Once we made our way downriver some, Chris came tight on his first rainbow of the day. The next spot produced a couple of big fish that both came unbuttoned and then we started to find our rhythm.

Chris picked up a bright 20″ bow below Beaver Creek and we added a couple more to the tally on our next pass. Then we found some rising fish and anchored on a nice pod the rest of the morning. They were not easy fish as they required a good cast and perfect drag free drift.

Chris had 5 or 6 eat the dry and came tight on a big fish that eventually buried in a weed bed and got off. After lunch in shade we decided to motor upriver and try some faster water. The traffic had cleared out with only a couple other boats around.

On our first pass in that fast run Chris got a real introduction to the Land of the Giants. He hooked up on a huge rainbow that gave us a big jump and then shot downriver nearly into his backing. He gained ground on that fish and then it started to use some of the big boulders to it’s advantage.

I tried to use the motor to help create an angle where Chris could get around the rock but it was too late, the fish was gone. He still had his flies though and 2 casts later his rod was bent again. This rainbow was even bigger and went cartwheeling across the surface.

There was another big rock that I knew would be a problem so I jumped on the motor right away. Chris nearly had that fish clear of the rock when it took a dive, made it past the rock and broke us off. There aren’t many things that can leave Chris speechless, but after those 2 fish just minutes apart he was absolutely speechless.

We regrouped and made another pass in that spot. Chris set the hook on another heavy fish and this time it stayed down in the current. Fortunately it moved to the middle of the river so I wasn’t worried about rocks. Then I saw it was a big brown and started to get nervous.

Chris did a great job and we slid that 22+” brown in the net. On the next pass Chris did battle with another massive rainbow. He learned some lessons from the previous fights and did well keeping the fish out of the rocks. Then it jumped 4 feet out of the air near the boat and we both thought he lost it.

But as he stripped up his slack he came tight and the fight was on again. It was a super thick 23″ rainbow. The wind started picking up so we made our way downstream. The next run produced a red hot rainbow that ran upstream into Chris’ backing.

That fish was only 19″ but it was supercharged with the way it fought. After that one it was time to call it a day and head to the marina. Chris was thoroughly impressed with LOG today.

First fish of the day was a decent rainbow - Montana Trout Fishing July Report — First fish of the day was a decent rainbow – Montana Trout Fishing July Report

Chris hooked up to a hot rainbow - Montana Trout Fishing July Report — Chris hooked up to a hot rainbow – Montana Trout Fishing July Report

Chris with a flawless specimen - Montana Trout Fishing July Report — Chris with a flawless specimen – Montana Trout Fishing July Report

Chris with a bruiser brown in the afternoon - Montana Trout Fishing July Report — Chris with a bruiser brown in the afternoon – Montana Trout Fishing July Report

Montana Trout Fishing July Report

Tuesday I was back out with Chris for a unique day on the river. One of my guides, Trevor, was canceled on short notice so I decided to jump in the back of the boat and let Trevor guide us today.

We met early and floated Chris’ favorite stretch of water, the canyon of the Blackfoot. It was chilly at the put in as we started the day off with dry/dropper rigs. I picked up 2 small bull trout and a cutthroat on the dropper in the first run and then Chris added a small rainbow in the run below that.

The next few spots didn’t yield anything and then we came to a run where Trevor had to float past and then row back up to hit the best water. I put a cast just above a big boulder and a few seconds later came tight to a solid fish.

I expected it to be a nice cutthroat that would yield to the pressure in a few seconds, but I couldn’t move the fish. My next thought was it could be a bull trout. I was a little shocked when it started to move around and I could see it was a big brown trout.

Up to that point I think Trevor was a little nervous to have the “boss” in the back of the boat, but he was more than stoked when that 21.5″ brown hit the net. You just never know when a big fish is going to show up. Odds aren’t high of a big brown on a bright, sunny, hot July day but it happened.

That was a highlight of the day, but it was not a sign of things to come. I think we picked up one more fish on the dropper before switching over to single dries. There were a few spruce moths bouncing around and I hoped that the trout would really get on them, but it was small trout looking up.

I picked up a couple on the moth while Chris fooled a few on the mayfly. In the Munchmore hole Chris tagged a few more small ones on a moth and we stayed with that fly for a few more runs but never saw a lot of moths around. From there we started switching up flies.

We fished mayflies, ants, hoppers, and different attractors. Everything we tried brought smaller fish to the surface, but the quality trout had no interest today. I was a little surprised since we were the first boat downriver.

Most days you can convince 14-16″ cutts to eat a well presented dry in the canyon, but not today. In the afternoon a hopper pattern proved best with the most action. There was action on dries throughout, but it was a steady diet of 8-12″ trout all day.

I can’t remember the last time I fished in a boat all day. It was a lot of fun fishing with Chris today and a great opportunity to see how another guide does their job.

Chris hooked up first thing in the morning - Montana Trout Fishing July Report — Chris hooked up first thing in the morning – Montana Trout Fishing July Report

I don't get to hold a trout rod often and this brown was a big surprise today - Montana Trout Fishing July Report — I don’t get to hold a trout rod often and this brown was a big surprise today – Montana Trout Fishing July Report

Montana Trout Fishing July Report

Wednesday was the first of 2 days with long-time angler, Stan, and his son, Wesley. The best fishing reports I had were from the upper Clark Fork so we set off for that stretch and started the day with dry/dropper rigs.

There is some great water right at the put in and we fished it hard but didn’t yield a fish. The next spot Wesley had one slash at his dry and then the next big run produced some action. Stan had a couple eat his dry but they came unbuttoned and Wesley broke a hot fish off on his dropper before bringing a smaller bow to the net.

Once we got the right dropper dialed in it was fairly consistent action. There was a real variety of fish eating today. We had some nice 15-17″ rainbows and cutts, some aggressive but tiny 6 inchers, and then some spunky 12-13″ fish.

Faster water was the key and there were a few runs we fished multiple times. One of the better ones produced a couple solid rainbows for Stan and a good cutthroat and nice brown for Wesley. There was some decent dry action too.

Wesley had a 16″ brown hammer his big dry and not far below that he had a bigger rainbow on but he had to play it strong to keep it out of downed trees and it threw the hook. After lunch in the shade Wesley had the hot hand with a brown in the first spot and then back to back rainbows in the next runs.

Then Stan went on a heater with a big 17″ rainbow, a 15″ bow just minutes later and then a cuttbow at the bottom of that same run. The last run of the day produced one more for Wesley as we slid into the takeout. It was a solid day of fishing with some quality trout in the net and good action throughout.

Early morning on the upper Clark Fork - Montana Trout Fishing July Report — Early morning on the upper Clark Fork – Montana Trout Fishing July Report

Nice rainbow early on - Montana Trout Fishing July Report — Nice rainbow early on – Montana Trout Fishing July Report

Wesley with a decent cutthroat - Montana Trout Fishing July Report — Wesley with a decent cutthroat – Montana Trout Fishing July Report

Hooked up on a rock wall - Montana Trout Fishing July Report — Hooked up on a rock wall – Montana Trout Fishing July Report

Montana Trout Fishing July Report

Thursday I was back out with Stan and Wesley, and with yesterday’s fishing being some of the best I’ve had recently we went right back to the same stretch of upper Clark Fork.

Wesley got us started with a mid-sized rainbow on the dropper a couple runs into the day and then Stan followed that up with a cuttbow of his own. Then Wesley took over with the next 4 or 5 fish all on the dropper.

Then in a fast run Wesley came tight on a solid fish. We could tell right away this was a better specimen, and after a good fight he had a bright 18″ rainbow in the net. 10 minutes later Stan got a cast in tight to the bank and he immediately connected with a big jumping rainbow.

That fish tried to wrap him up in logs with a hard charge upstream, but Stan managed to keep the fish out of trouble and put a 17″ cuttbow in the net. The dropper action was steady, but we didn’t see the same number of dry fly eats today.

Wesley had two nice fish on the dry that came unbuttoned but other than that it was the occasional smaller fish slapping at the big dry. The guys continued to poke fish on the dropper until we stopped for lunch.

The afternoon session was definitely slower today. We had some tough luck with lost flies and tangles in good spots, but the trout weren’t quite as active. Wesley had a big fish break off in the rocks on us and then he and Stan each boated another rainbow before we hit the takeout.

It was even hotter today so we hit the ramp a little earlier. Good action in the morning with a couple of big fish along with a mix of mid-sized and smaller trout. This marked 21 years of fishing together with Stan and I look forward to seeing him and Wesley again next year.

Wesley with a bright rainbow early - Montana Trout Fishing July Report — Wesley with a bright rainbow early – Montana Trout Fishing July Report

Pretty morning on the upper Clark - Montana Trout Fishing July Report — Pretty morning on the upper Clark – Montana Trout Fishing July Report

Montana Trout Fishing July Report

Friday I had a cancellation so it was a good opportunity to get on the water with my dad and I took him over to Land of the Giants for the first time. We started off in the middle river and it wasn’t long before dad was tight to his first rainbow of the day.

The fishing was solid as every drift was producing a couple of hot fish. It’s hard to leave good fishing but I wanted to experiment today so we changed flies and motored all the way up the the dam to fish some of that faster water.

That worked out with a couple of big rainbows up there. Then we fished a fast run that was very good earlier in the week but only picked up one at the bottom. We opted for lunch in the shade after that and changed flies to give that run another go.

The new flies worked with a couple of hook ups, but we also noticed a handful of fish rising in there too. We changed to the dry fly rod and motored back up. It was a tricky spot with fast, boiling currents so it was hard to hold the boat.

The risers were moving around a lot too so it was hard to get a good drift right on them. We took a bunch of shots with no luck and as the boat was moving downstream dad made one more cast back up at a fish and to my suprise, it ate. Then the fight was on.

It was a big rainbow on a small dry and 5x in really fast water with a bunch of boulders. I can’t believe dad was able to fight that fish through all those rocks, but he did and eventually slid a fat 22″ rainbow in the net. Her lower jaw was so deformed I don’t know how she was able to eat, but based on her girth she wasn’t missing any meals.

We picked up 2 more on the nymph rod in the middle river and then I wanted to fish a lower run that I haven’t hit in a while. The first drift produced a good take, but an exuberant hook set ended up in a broken off rig. I didn’t want to re-rig and noticed a couple risers downstream so I just handed dad the dry fly rod.

There were 3 or 4 fish eating and we watched a big bow move over a couple feet to suck down his PMD spinner. After another big bow on the dry it was time to try the lake. I switched the flies and we started off in the first spot.

Since we were anchored up I grabbed a rod too and within a minute I had a hot rainbow on the end of the line. We had 2 other takes in that spot but I decided to move a little. The next spot was even better. Before the boat even settle on the anchor dad had a massive rainbow turn sideways on the hook set.

The set was a little too much and he broke that fish off. I picked up another one and then dad landed one in the lake too. It was getting hot so I ran him down into the Gates of the Mountains so he could check out the canyon and then back to the marina.

It was a great day of fishing. So many memories of fishing with my dad as a kid that it’s always a treat to get on the water with him these days.