Missoula Fly Fishing Report – March 15, 2020.

We are going to try to provide you with a weekly fishing report for the rest of the season. Our goal is to let you know what’s happening out on our local rivers by providing you with up to date information. Since it is impossible to predict the weather and what the future holds our main focus will be to let you know what has been happening so you can come up with your own plan of attack moving forward.

Bitterroot River – The weather has been warm and water temps are rising. We are starting to see a lot of insect activity and caught fish using both Skwala and March Brown patterns. Fish are starting to push out of winter pools and are being found up along the banks. This gives you the ability to target fish from the top to the bottom of the water column.

Clark Fork River – We a great day on “the Clark” earlier this week. Unfortunately the warm weather bumped up the flow which dropped water temps and reduced visibility. The fish seemed to be very tightly grouped together so when you found them you could really put fish in the boat but don’t be afraid to cover water until you find them.

Blackfoot River – This time of year the Blackfoot is a big risk, big reward endeavor. If you don’t mind fishing in the shade of the mountains and hit the water conditions just right you can find lightly pressured fish who are more than willing to bite. Plan on fishing subsurface patterns; worms, rubberlegs, and streamers are great options to start with.

Rock Creek – If you love an adventure there is some great fishing to be had this time of year with basic nymph patterns. Be careful wading as the water is cold and you could run into shelf ice.

Top Patterns – #10 Pat’s Rubblerlegs, #8 San Juan Worm, #14 Pheasant Tail

Looking Ahead – It is going to warm up mid week and that will bring the fishing back to life. The cold snap might delay the dry fly bite for awhile so focus on the bugs that are making their way to the bank.