Summer Showers

Time flies! What a bizarre summer we’ve been having. In late June we were starring down the barrel of a low-water doom and gloom season. But as always, mother nature threw us a curve ball. We’ve had an unusually wet and cool summer. It’s the first week of Aug and the Clark Fork still hasn’t seen hoot owl restrictions, and it continues to fish well. More rain and cool weather are in the forecast! It looks like we will see our first night time temps in the 40’s this week with daytime highs in the mid/upper 70’s. Bring it! Should be a good week out there. Summer isn’t over yet so we’ll certainly see some more scorcher days out there. That said, the end of Aug is near and fall temps are around the corner. We’ll be dusting off the Muck Boots and puffy coats before you know it.

Clark Fork River Fishing Report – Even with the moisture and cool temps you want to be mindful of water temps if you’re heading to the Clark Fork. It’s still warm down there so go early and pick a cool day. We still have a few weeks before temps drop so pay attention. Foam flies in the am and droppers once it warms up.

Flathead River Fishing Report – Fishing has been hanging in there but has been hit and miss. The last rain event we had certainly helped and we’ve been seeing a few nice fish this past week. Hopper dropper rigs in the morning and small ant variations in the afternoon have been finding fish. The fishing has been pretty solid after the rain events and it look like we’re getting more this week. Fishing should continue to improve as we get to the second half of Aug. Colder nights and fewer crowds are in the near future as the masses head out to get the kiddies back to school.

Blackfoot River Fishing Report – Hoot owl restrictions (fishing prohibited 2:00 p.m. to midnight) are in effect for the entire Blackfoot River main stem – from the headwaters at the confluence of Anaconda Creek and Beartrap Creek to the confluence with the Clark Fork River August 2.

Tough to avoid traffic on the Blackfoot with everyone going early under the Hoot Owl restrictions. Also, a long haul when you have to be off by 2pm. The Blackfoot is also historically low. Rowing through the boulder fields mid river at these levels is a chore to say the least. All that aside, the cooler temps should have some bigger fish on the prawl. Hoppers and ants should find some fish. Warmer days might require a dropper in the green troughs. With the rains and cooler temps some bigger droppers in the SJW and Pats variety might find a nicer fish. Otherwise the standard perdigon / tung jig variety will work. Never hurts to throw a sparkler minnow this time of year. Especially after a rain event or dark cool day.

Fly patterns – Hoppers, ants, beetles and foam attractors are all you need. Same old stuff for patterns – chubby variations, Morrish hoppers, flying ants, white cloud hoppers, RP ants, stick ants, BFA sparkle foamies etc. Same old droppers as well. Small perdigons, SJWs(after the rain), pats, small princes, PTs etc…