Posts by Anthony VonRuden

Bitterroot and Clark Fork River Skwala Report The hydro-graphs appeared to have peaked and have began to drop but current flows are still near borderline prohibitive levels.  There is some high-water fishing to be had, and there are a few sneaky options to be had, but in general, this latest melt has stunted any Skwala hatch […]

Missoula Spring Fly Fishing Report Those bugs you see with wings? They’re a good sign. The lawn out back instead of snow? That’s a good sign too. Now if we can get the flows to stabilize for long enough, we’ll probably be able to dial up the first good wave of early season dry fly […]

Snow, Snow, and more Snow Winter kept its claws dug in this weekend in Missoula, with heavy wet snow piling up in the valley and padding our pack in the high country.  Expect water levels to raise a bit with low-elevation melt (we got at least three inches at the house yesterday); this is not so much […]

Winter Fishing in Missoula Steady warmer temps have unlocked the river ice and made this a great week to get out and scratch the fishing itch around Missoula. Traditionally, some large fish are taken during the first big thaw, but that hardly matters — the point is that the closest most of us have been to […]

While we are still running a few guide trips, this week is a relatively quiet one on the rivers of Western Montana. Most folks are out chasing bird dogs or setting out decoy spreads or stalking big game — and that’s what makes late October such an awesome time on the water. The trees along […]

Forgive us if we’ve said this before, and forgive the lack of posts, but this is our favorite time of year to be on the river in Montana, and in the woods. The upland birds are viable targets, the elk are on the move, and the big fish have upped the ante, rising with abandon […]

If it’s sunny, go hopper-dropper to catch a whopper; if the clouds come in, let the single mayfly roll. That’s been the jingle for the past week or so, and we expect it to continue through the month. For the next week, count on fish on all three of our rivers to munch the pork-chop […]

First frost? Not quite yet, but the fruit trees are full, the black bears are on the move, and the trout have lost their dog-days laziness. Cool nights (knit caps in the morning) and short days have water temps down into the ideal range, and mayfly hatches are ramping up: Tricos, to name one small […]

Well, we may have survived the worst of it: the heat, that is. As a cooling trend moved in over the weekend we saw air and water temps decline rapidly, with all of the previously dicey temp sites falling well into the safe zone. From here — knock on wood — we should be good […]