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Western Montana Fishing Report:
End of year, 2005
Well, believe it or not, it's that time of year again. Time to clean boats, rake leaves, do a little hunting and steelheading, and maybe even catch up on a few football games, while lazing in the recliner with a blanket wrapped across my legs basking in the warmth of a winter fire. And, contrary to what some of you might think... it's only a winter respite... I'm not actually retiring or selling out! Overall, it was a wonderful fishing season. Had the opportunity to reconnect with old friends, and make a few new ones along the way.
While everyday did not produce 40 fish to hand, and there was not a twenty inch fish caught on every cast, overall it fished well enough to find it enjoyable and I think most everyone had a good time. Those last couple days of the season are a melancholy period for me. Nostalgic glimpses of an ending mixed with the almost insane beauty of fall in the Rockies. Questioning my resolve to spend more time at home, and a beacon to direct me towards next year.
Thank you all for
a wonderful experience in 05; the folks who shared their days with us;
the hills that provided the beautiful backdrop, and perhaps most of
all, the fish that allowed us to witness their grace, elegance, and
strength. I can not envision a world that is devoid of such wonders.
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Western Montana Fishing Report:
Sept. 19 thru 26, 2005
Cool weather, overcast skies, and more than a little bit of rain. Where
the heck am I? Alaska? There's definitely fog laying on the mountains,
and a chill in the air. About the only real difference is... rather
than climb into my sleeping bag half soaked, I returned to a comfortable
fire in the fireplace.
Oh, we're talking about fishing aren't we. Well, that wasn't too bad
either. Most up and down the river, there were plenty of fish sipping
somewhere along a current line or in the slicks. Overall, it was an
enjoyable week of fishing.
The outlook is for more fair days this week. It's not actually suppose
to cloud up till the weekend. So, my guess is it might slow down a little
mid-week, with the best fishing later in the week. Of course, I've been
wrong more than once in my life, and my hope is it continues to fish
well everyday.
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Western Montana Fishing Report:
Sept. 12 thru Sept. 19, 2005
Well, it finally happened. We had some cool weather, a little rain (which
finished our fire season), and a few mayflies on the water. For a couple
days there, fishing was dynamite. We were averaging about 40/boat and
there were more than a few good fish in the mix. One day alone a fisherman
with me put about 40 to the boat, and 6 of them were over 18. Not a
bad day fishing on sized 18 to 20 flies.
Anyway, now that we've told you the good news, we'll rain on the parade
just a bit. After 5 days of cool, overcast days, that old sun peaked
back out, and slowed things down again. We're hoping... if the weather
forecasters are right... that this should only last a couple days and
then things should cool back down. I for one am keeping my fingers crossed...
I kind of like looking at pods of fish sipping tiny mayflies off those
slicks.
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Western Montana Fishing Report:
Sept. 5 thru Sept. 12, 2005
About all there is to say about this week is 'It's
beginning to look a lot like fall'. And, for my taste, not a minute
too soon. Yes, we're rapidly jumping into my favorite time of the year.
Just a twinge of chill in the air, a slight frost in the morning, the
leaves beginning to change color, a few overcast days, and mayflies...
those wonderfully intricate little creatures whose entire existence
is spent alluding one form of predator or another... are again floating
the current lines of Western Montana.
That is really about all I think I need to say. My job... and there
are still a few, though the numbers are declining that actually still
think I do have a job... is once again becoming a little easier. I can
again be content to row the boat, look at wonderful fish sipping mayflies,
and occasionally examine one of these fine creatures at the bottom of
my net. Life is good.
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Western Montana Fishing Report:
August 29 thru Sept. 4, 2005
It was another week of improving fishing. Other than one day when the
fishing was in all honesty quite difficult, most days found the fish
willing to look at both grasshoppers and mayfly imitations.
We're still warm, but not nearly as hot. Temps are hovering around the
80 degree mark, and the nights dip into the 40's. We still have a few
fires going in the wilderness area, and on some days the smoke from
Idaho actually gives us a semi-cloud cover. I still haven't seen any
numbers of drakes or mahogany duns, but expect them to show up pretty
soon. October caddis are beginning to show themselves on the Blackfoot...
though hoppers seem to turn about as many fish as anything.
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Western Montana Fishing Report:August 23 thru August 30, 2005
Not a whole lot new to say, except it's definately beginning to cool down a bit... and not a day too soon. Our hot temperatures are steadily declining, and the fishing is getting progressively better.
Those bigger fish are again looking for food after a long hot summer, and seem almost eager to gobble up a hopper pattern drifted over their noses. I'm still only seeing a smattering of those fall mayflies, but enough to get a fishes attention.
There are a few mahogany's, a fall drakes drifting along the currents, as well as a few BWO's, but trico's are still the major mayfly player. We're hoping that as the temps continue to decline we'll see a larger hatch of the rest of the fall mayflies.
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Western Montana Fishing Report:
August 15 thru August 22, 2005
About the best way to say it is, 'a much better week of fishing'. Other
than a couple days that were somewhere between slow and extremely slow,
the fishing definitely picked up this week. Small hoppers in tan and
olive seemed to produce the most fish, but trico's and larger mayfly
imitations also turned a few nice fish early in the day.
With this weeks forecast calling for cooling temperatures and some overcast
days, I look forward to much better hatches of mayflies... and hopefully
more action on sipping fish, lord knows it's been a while since we've
had any of that kind of action.
Water temperatures are starting to drop back down, and we're able to
fish all day again without too much concern for the fish. Water levels
continue to remain low, though definitely enough flow to float all stretches
of the rivers that we normally float this time of year. I'm starting
to think about fall fishing... and I can hardly wait.
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Western Montana Fishing Report: August 8 thru August 15, 2005
Though 'fire' was still the operative word this week, we have had some welcome reprieve from the heat. Also, a couple days of cool weather combined with some moisture, had a definate dampening effect on the fires. Most of those that were blazing hot have been slowed, and the majority of the fires are either contained, or close to it. More cool weather this week, combined with some more precipitation should hopefully put our fire season near an end. The other good word this week is the arrival of the trico's in some abundance. With their arrival it means some good to excellent fishing on top for a couple hours mid-day, then throw hoppers the rest of the day. It also seems once those fish get back to looking up for one thing it helps with everything else you throw. With luck, we're starting to move into fall fishing.
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Western Montana Fishing Report,
August 1 thru August 8, 2005
The key words for last week were 'hot' and 'fire'.
Along with unseasonably warm weather, we also had a couple pretty good
fires get going this week. One of them was up by Lake Como, the other
one was on I-90, and it had traffic stopped for almost 2 days. That
one was set by some idiot who started about 20 fires in a 10 mile stretch
of highway. Sometimes you have to wonder why 'it takes all kinds to
make a world'.
Anyway, fortunately, some torrential rains that accompanied some thunder
clouds doused the Como fire and we saw very little smoke from it today.
The other good news is that after nearly a month of 90 degree plus days,
it looks like we're finally going to get somewhat of a break from the
heat. The forecast is for temps in the 70 degree range by the end of
the week.
As for fishing, it's still dominated by the smaller fish, though this
week we did start to see a few more of the big guys coming up for both
mayflies and hoppers. We also got into a pod of small fish feeding on
trico spinners this morning. I'm about ready to take a chance and try
the lower Root and Clark Fork.
Let's keep our fingers crossed that the worst of the heat is behind
us and that those bigger fish will again start rising with more than
a casual interest.
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Western Montana Fishing Report: July 18 thru August 1, 2005
Hopefully, if I can get more persistant about paperwork, and Sandy can
stay home from those fishing trips a little, we'll get this fishing
report back up on a more consistant basis.
What we decided for the last two weeks of fishing is, they can be titled
'TWO WEEKS OF DINKS,'. Though we tried a lot of different things to
bring the bigger boys up, little success was attained. If we were lucky,
on most days about 2 or 3 of the larger fish would make an effort at
our flies. The rest of the time was spent either hooking shakers, or
landing fish in the 8 to 12 inch class. What this hopefully means however
is that in about 2 or 3 years we should have a plentiful supply of mature
fish.
Our best patterns the last few weeks have been hoppers, attractor patterns,
and some sort of mayfly or caddis in the early morning or night. We're
looking forward to some cooler days and cloudier skies.
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Western Montana Fishing Report: July 17-24, 2005
Note from Sandy Lockleer - the web guy: John's normal weekly fishing report will not be here this week as my wife, Susan and I are going to Alaska to fish for a week with the Duncans on the Kanektok River. Not that we don't like Montana - we love it there, but our favorite Montana time is the Fall. September and October is - in my opinion - the best time to visit Big Sky Country. The crowds are down, warm days (low 70's) and cool nights, the leaves are turning shades of orange and the fishing is great. We will be at Backdoor Outfitters Oct 8-12 this year.
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Western Montana Fishing Report: July 7 thru July 16, 2005
Bright, hot days,
coupled with dropping water conditions have been pretty much the major
theme here in Western Montana for the last week or so. The lower Bitterroot,
and the Clark Fork are pretty much a non-player unless we get some cloud
cover, so, we've been concentrating on the upper Bitterroot. Right now,
some morning caddis and pmd's are keeping most the fish looking up for
a little while in the morning. Then, sometime around 11 or 12, it seems
the golden stones take to the air and for an hour or so we get good
to excellent fishing on them. However, once the golden settle back into
the trees, and that sun turns up it's thermostat, thing really settle
down. Let's hope for a little cooler weather... and maybe some rain
if we're really wishing.
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Western Montana Fishing Report June 27 thru July 6, 2005
Hey guys, I apologize. I guess that's what happens when you take one day off in the last month. Other things kind of get forgotten. And, I am sorry about not getting this report out. I'll try to do better. Anyway, for the fishing. I'd rate the last couple weeks as decent to darn right good fishing. Salmon flies are done, but golden stones, pmd's, and caddis are keeping those fish looking up. About the only down side in the last week has been these bright, hot days. I'm still not sure whether it's the fish or me that finds the middle of the day less appealing, but other than a few hours mid-day, those fish are still looking up well.
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Western Montana Fishing Report:
June 20 thru 27, 2005
As it turns out, the warmth we got this week kind
of rekindled the salmon fly hatch on the upper ends of our rivers. Last
week produced some pretty good fishing on these large stoneflies once
again. Though I'm hopefully we might get another week on salmon flies,
I'm a little pesimistic as numbers really seem to be on the decline
in most areas.
The good news is that there seems to be more and more golden stones
and pmd's... as well as an abundance of the smaller stoneflies. Overall,
I'd say the outlook for this week is good.
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Western Montana Fishing Report: June 13 thru June 20,
Salmon flies appear to be on the decline. Though there are still a few of the great bugs flitting between the trees, it appears most of the hatch is completed. Warm weather this week should confirm one way or the other whether we will see many more good days on this hatch. With the disappearance of the salmon fly, the fish are beginning to really key on the pmd's, green drakes, and golden stones. It's about time to start moving off the banks and concentrating on the seams more mid-channel if you want to bang some nice fish.
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Western Montana Fishing Report:
June 6 thru June 13, 2005
Well, this week, we have a couple things worth mentioning. Of course
the fact that the salmon fly's are thick on both the East and West Fork
is important. Perhaps the more newsworthy event for the week however
is the fact that our son, Cody, finished his Associate degree at ITT
Tech and graduated last Friday. Both mom and dad were very proud of
their son's accomplishment.
Warmer weather this week really got the salmon fly hatch going. Excellent
hatches on both the East and West Fork have made fishing almost silly.
We're hoping for several more days of this crazy fishing then we'll
probably start keying on the green drakes and golden stones that have
already begun to make an appearance.
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Western Montana Fishing Report: May 30 thru June 6, 2005
Unstable weather patterns have really been the major issue in this weeks report. Cool, wet air dominated the early week, causing the salmon flies to pretty much cease their emergence. Later in the week, weather started to change again with a short warming trend, and the salmon flies again started popping. Though decent dry fly action was reduced to a couple days last week, those needing to hook fish found decent to good action on the dark side. San Juan worms, and stone fly nymphs seemed pretty consistent throughout the week. The forecast for the next few days is a return to cool temperatures... which makes me think we might again be reduced to fishing the dark side for a couple days, but it looks like it will again be warming somewhere around the middle of the week. Looks like its going to be a slow emergence for the salmon flies this year, but it might make for some longer and later fishing on them.
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Western Monatan Fishing Report: May 23 thru May 30, 2005
Well, the warm weather has finally gotten those salmon flies off the bottoms of the river and into the air and bushes alongside the shore. Right now, they seem to be concentrated about 10 miles from the headwaters of the Root, and really haven't begun to pop up in the Forks yet. With continued weather in the 70 plus degree range for the next few days, I'd figure they'll start popping any day on the Forks. Let's keep our fingers crossed that they stay out for a few weeks this year... and don't get frozen to the branches like they did last season.
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Western Montana Fishing Report: May 16 thru May 23, 2005
Sorry about the lateness of this report. About all I can say for last week is there were some fish (a few) being caught on the upper river on nymphs and worms. But, overall, it was a week to watch the water's rise on all our streams. With some torrential rain showers most of the week, it really brought our rivers up. The good news is this week is calling for warm and dry, so it should be dropping the rivers down and getting some bugs to pop.
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Western Montana Fishing Report
May 9 thru 16, 2005:
Though the water on the Root is up, it's really
got great visibility. Unfortunately, the Clark and Blackfoot are not
quite so lucky. They are both pretty much like a light chocolate milk
right now. Run off seems to be upon us, though it really is taking it's
time. Seems like it will warm up for a couple days, then cool off, keeping
things at a much more subdued pace than we saw last year or the year
before. I was on the upper Root yesterday and saw a few caddis and mayflies.
I saw no indication the salmon fly hatch has begun yet on the Root...
which is good news for those of you coming in June to hit it.
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Western Montana Fishing Report: April 27 thru May 9, 2005
Well, what can I say. I've been a little lazy on the old
fishing report for the last week. I apologize. What I can tell you right
now, is I believe we're finally in the runoff stage of our spring. Flows
up at Darby right now are in the 1500 cfs stage, and in all likelihood
will rise sharply over the next 24 hours. For the next couple weeks,
I'd be tying up salmon flies in preparation for our next really fishable
hatch. With luck, we're looking at sometime around the first of June
as the rivers being fishable. I'll try to keep you updated on flows
over the course of the next few weeks.
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Western Montana Fishing Report:
April 18 thru April 25, 2005
Good to excellent hatches of March Browns and caddis dominated the Bitterroot
River last week. Mid day action was between fast and furious to almost
impossible... depending upon the number of naturals on the water at
any one time. Sometimes there were just too many for the fish to find
your fly in the middle of 20 or more naturals.
The Clark Fork also had great mayfly and caddis action along with some
dynamite skwala. However, like the Root, the Clark Fork is also in a
temporary state of hold while we wait for water levels.
Toward the end of the week, water levels began to rise with the warm
temperatures and some moisture from above. It... at least temporarily
blew our waters out over. Cooler temps this week in all likelihood will
bring levels back to fishable condition.
Now for the important news. Braun appears to be doing better. He was
operated on Monday for his larnyx paralasis. With any luck at all, he'll
be the same hound begging at your door for food by the time people start
coming back in June. Braun, Pat and I thank all of you for the nice
words and genuine concern expressed over him. I'm sure it helped.
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Western Montana Fishing Report:
April 11 thru April 18, 2005
A much better week of fishing here in Western Montana.
More stable weather patterns allowed for some good to excellent fishing
in most of our river systems. Though skwala's seem almost finished,
there are still a few of them along the banks and in the water... which
makes that skwala pattern still a lethal affair at certain times of
the day. March Browns and BWO's are beginning to dominate the lower
rivers and for a couple hours each day while they're popping, the fishing
is fantastic.
Now for some more serious news. On a day off this week Pat and I were
fishing the Root... of course Braun was in attendance. About 1/2 hour
into the float, Braun started acting strange, and when his tounge began
to turn blue, we new he was in trouble. Fortunately, some very nice
folks about a mile down the river had a car nearby and agreed to take
him and Pat to a vet. A much too long trip to the vet revealed he'd
probably suffered a heart attack. He's back home now, but in all likelihood
will have to be on a much more subdued exsistence for the foreseeable
future. We're just happy to have him home.
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Western Montana Fishing Report:
April 4 thru April 11, 2005
A week of unstable weather put a little bit of a dip in the fishing
here in Western Montana. Though some stretches continue to produce good
to excellent action, others were somewhere between tough... and really
tough. The upper Clark Fork seemed to produce little to no hatches,
and the fish were definately not looking up. About the only place you
could turn a fish on top were the shallow waters on inside curls, or
as it passed across shallow shelfs. While the hatches on the Bitterroot
were not a whole lot better, at least the fish seemed interested in
looking up at your flies.
Skwala seemed to be nearing its end this season, though the fish still
seem ready to eat a skwala imitation. Mayflies... especially March Browns
are really beginning to work in the early afternoon. Lets hope for some
better weather this week and I think the fishing will take care of itself.
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Western Montana Fishing Report:
March 28 thru April 4, 2005
Overall, a pretty decent week of fishing here in Western Montana. Still
plenty of skwala and Nemora to keep those fish looking up, and the beginnings
of some pretty good March Brown and BWO's have been seen drifting along
the currents.
Both the Clark Fork and the Bitterroot are continuing to fish well.
Best patterns are still a Unit Skwala, female Skwala, Bullethead Skwala,
or an Obeywon Skwala.
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Western Montana Fishing Report:
March 21 thru March 28, 2005
Well, it seems like it was a kind of hit and miss
occassion this week here in Western Montana. I say 'seems like', because
I ended up spending most the week in the hospital... for a bacterial
infection that, as I'm told, could have finished my fishing reports
without a lot of luck and some mighty powerful antibiotics. Anyway,
I'm home now, recovering nicely I'm told, and with any luck will be
able to hit the waters myself by the end of this week, or first of next.
I sure hope so, cause as I'm so fond of saying "fishing definately
beats re-runs of 'All My Children', and I'm ready to get back on the
water.
What I'm being told is mayflies are really starting to make an appearance
on the Clark Fork, and to some degree the Bitterroot. Though not plentiful
yet, they are definately becoming a part of a hungry trouts diet. But,
even with the increased mayfly activity, skwala are by far the best
pattern to throw on top.
Hopefully, next week, I'll have a more personal report to give. One
written from first hand knowledge... rather than word of mouth.
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Western Montana Fishing Report:
March 14 thru March 21, 2005
Overall, a pretty good week here in Western Montana. Though not a lot
of bugs to be seen on the rivers we fished, definitely enough to get
those fish looking up... and some better fish this week. We continued
to throw nothing but dry flies... what a news flash... and had days
from a low of about 10 fish, to a high of around 40 or more. Our best
patterns continue to be skwala or nemora types, but we're probably not
too far away from the first of those mayflies. Definitely a good week
to be on the waters here in Western Montana.
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Western Montana Fishing Report:
March 7 thru Mar. 14, 2005
Well, a wonderful week of spring fishing. We had days in the 70's, and days in the 30's... with snow coming down sideways and winds of about 25 to 30 mph.
Despite... or because of... these fluctuating weather conditions, the skwala and nemora started really bringing fish up on the top. I spent Sat. in that blowing snowstorm hooking up about 20 trout. Not a bad days offering considering I could only get my fly where I wanted it about 50% of the time. So, despite the purple fingers, mild shivering, and gallows humor involved with fishing those conditions, I'd say it was a pretty good day... though not any better fishing than we'd had the day before at 70 degrees without any shirts on.
For those wondering, I'd say skwala season is offically on, and it's time to pack up those rods, dig the flies out of the trunck of your car, and head on over to the Bitterroot Valley for some wonderful fun... and not too bad of fishing.
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Western Montana Fishing Report:
Feb. 27 thru Mar. 6, 2005
Well, here we go again. Another year, hopefully filled with as many memorable experiences as last, and a few fish thrown in for good measure.
It's been a pretty warm winter here in Western Montana. Our snow pack is about as low as I can remember for this time of year, and our days have been warm... though our nights have remained cool to cold. The only stream I've personally fished so far this spring is the Bitterroot, though I've had a few reports on the others. So here goes, the first of the season.
So far the Root, and most the other streams in the area, have been pretty much reduced to nymph and streamer fishing for most the last few weeks. Success stories have been from pretty good, to marginal on this gear. The best nymphs seems to be either a large stonefly imitation, or smaller mayfly patterns. For streamers, brown, black and olive seem to be all about equally effective. The good news is, last Thursday myself and two of the gentlemen that guide with me floated a stretch of the Root, and did better on dry's than we did on the dark side. We managed to turn about 15 decent to nice fish on skwala patterns.
To my way of thinking... which everyone knows is about as worthless as the next man's... the next few days, or weeks should definitely produce some good to excellent dry fly skwala fishing. I'm going to try and get out a couple times this week myself. Oh, and a tip to those of you planning on making the journey, weekdays are still way less crowded than weekends. Seems this time of year everyone who hasn't tossed a line for the last few months is trying their hand at catching a fish. Hit it on the weekdays and your chances of seeing only one or two other boats is way better. Good luck, and remember, you can't catch a fish if you're line isn't wet. See you on the water.
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