Fly Fishing Flathead Valley Lakes

The Flathead Valley has an abundance of freshwater. From the largest western freshwater lake in the country, to tiny little mountain pot holes or lilly pad bass ponds, the Flathead valley has a large variety of lakes and species to target. Dry fly fishing for greyling and cutthroat, stripping leeches for feisty rainbows, popper chug’n for bass, or chuck’n and duck’n 10″ minnows patterns for northern pike, lake fishing is a great alternative to high water or just to mix it up.

Lake Fishing For Trout & Greyling

Lake fishing is a great alternative during spring run-off. Drift boat fishing on some of our smaller mountain lakes is enjoyable for all skill levels. Late spring and early summer often see good hatches of chironomids and callibaetis mayflies providing dry fly opportunities for cutthroat and arctic greyling. We also strike indicator fish with nymphs and strip sinking lines with leeches, providing good action if the insect activity doesn’t have fish up on the surface. Lake fishing is also a great introduction to fly fishing for beginners. Still water is much easier than swift current. Still water eliminates the need to constantly recast and manipulate line to accomplish natural drifts, making lake fishing a great option for a first timer. Our lake fishing is seasonal. Late spring, early summer, and late fall are the times we focus on.

Bigfork Montana Fly Fishing

Fly Fishing for Bass

Many folks don’t realize Montana has some decent bass fishing for small and large mouth bass. Spring time offers good opportunities to site fish for bass when they are on their spawning beds aggressively attacking everything that comes near. Our primary tactic is tossing jiggy buggers and minnows with sinking lines. As the summer warms the water, popper fishing on the surface picks up. If you haven’t ever seen a bass inhale a popper then you definitely need to put it on your list. It’s a riot! Bass fishing in the Flathead Valley is a great alternative to spring run-off.

Pike on the Fly

Fly fishing for pike is a big game endeavor much like salt water fishing. We use salt water sized gear in order to cast huge streamers and battle fish that range from 3-10lbs. Much like the salt game this isn’t for beginners and it’s not usually a numbers game. A hand full of pike is usually a good outing but any given Sunday can see better numbers. If you are a competent streamer angler and want to tackle a new species that will bend an 8wt, this is a great experience and will certainly diversify your fly fishing portfolio. We generally use power boats to access sloughs and cover water when fishing for pike. Gear is generally 8 weight rods with shooting heads and wire leaders. All flies and gear are provided. Give us a call to discuss a pike trip.