Clark Fork River Fishing Report 7.31.2017

Flows were between 17,000-30,000 cfs in the 3 hours I fished, and the water clarity was decent. The North side of the river looked inexplicably clearer, however I was fishing the South side. There was a strong 10-15 mph West wind rushing upriver, making it almost impossible to throw dries... not that there were many rising trout to cast to.

I saw a handful of small cutthroat sporadically eat a few dries off the surface, but the rises were too inconsistent to have a chance at hooking one. As far as bugs, there were a few #12 white mayflies and #20 caddis that got caught in the gusts of wind, and buzzed by my head.

Have you seen these dry fly patterns?

The caddis were able to hang on to the downwind side of my shirt, while the mayflies are probably somewhere in Missoula.

Swing the Deeper Waters

The swing saved the day! I initially threw dries and nymphs, but it didn't take long for the wind to get the best of me. So I grabbed my fly rod rigged with an Airflo Scout head, tied on my trusty #6 Olive Woolly Bugger with heavy copper flash, and walked to the top of the run. The trout I found were holding in deeper water than usual.

We've got more streamers online here. 

Normally I find most of my trout in 2-4ft of water relatively close to the bank. Yesterday, they were piled in 5-6 ft. of water. I missed a handful of small trout, and landed two beautiful rainbows. One measuring in at 20"! That big rainbow reminded me so much of a small steelhead from how he ate, made my reel scream, and his beautiful chrome color. This fish alone made the trip to the river worth it.

Time the Fishing Right

If I were to hit the river again tomorrow, I would concentrate on the early morning and late evening fishing. I have heard a couple reports of the river erupting with trout between 6-8am. With how much warm weather we have been getting, this doesn't surprise me at all. Although if you want to sleep in, the evening hatches should be great too.

Here's the Flies that get the Eats

As far as dry flies, I would be sure to have #16 Party on Top Caddis, #14 Tan EZ Caddis, #12 Black Moodah Poodah, #12 Purple Hippie Stomper, #14 Rocky Mountain Mint (purple), and #12 H&L Variant. Want to tie on a dropper? Try a #16 Red Copper John, #14 N40 Caddis, #14 Taylor's Gut instinct (tan), #12 BH Pheasant tail, and a #16 Crust Nymph (PMD). If you're like me and love to swing, than throw a #6 Olive Woolly Bugger, #6 Olive Bouface, #6 Stinging Smolt, #6 Montana Mini Intruder, or a #8 Slump Buster (Rust).

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