Is it Skwala Time?

Bitterroot Skwala

Not really but there are some adults starting to show and fish willing to eat skwala patterns.  A few of our guides have been on the Bitterroot River and report some decent dry fly fishing but nothing too crazy yet. This afternoon was pretty good with a single skwala dry from 3pm on. The water is ultra low this year and the snow pack in the Root drainage is well below average too. What does this mean for the spring season? Well, as much as we would like to see some water in the river for the spring season it is probably better that it stays in the hills for summer use at this point. We can hope for some rain to bump the flows otherwise it is going to be a tough spring on the Root.

Low flows mean the fish are going to be extra sensitive to boat traffic so picking a float to avoid the traffic will help your day for sure. Not only that but fly selection and presentation are going to be more critical if the water remains at the current levels. Hopefully we’ll get some moisture soon and all will be good. We’ll see…

Yesterday we fished the lower Clark Fork and found some nice fish willing to eat streamers. No need to add to the traffic jam up the root. Check out the Blackfoot and Lower Clark Fork if you want to get away from all the boats up the Bitterroot.

The forecast looks promising fore some good dry fly fishing down the Bitterroot.