
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 very abundant variety. As the hatch ramps up and the mating swarms grow in size each day, bigger and bigger fish are feeding on these “Tiny Black and Whites.” Close to town there is great action on the back channels that rivals tailing bonefish! (It’s going to be hard for Quigley to go back to teaching!) Also, Hecubas have started to trickle off late in the days, and the next cloudy day should bring mayhem on this big pork chop of a fly.
Hopper fishing has been decent to stellar depending on the anglers’ ability to distance his fly from the bow of the boat. That fact will stay with us for at least another month, until the light gets low at the end of September.
Blackfoot River:
Could use a little more liquid between the rocks and the boat, but she’s fishing well in the heat of the day.
Clark Fork River:
Water near town is not short on targets–bring your A-game, or at least your B-game and a real good oarsman!
Bitterroot River:
Lower end is Trico heaven. Upper end is great for terrestrials.
One other not-so-fun thing to note:
The Yellowstone whitefish scare has served as a good reminder to WASH YOUR BOAT AND GEAR when you travel from watershed to watershed.
Upper Bitterroot
Lower Bitterroot
Blackfoot River
Upper Clark Fork
Lower Clark Fork
Rock Creek
Missouri River
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