Great Falls, Montana Fishing Report 06.13.19
If you are still waiting to go fishing, you are missing it. Area creeks and rivers have come into shape and the Missouri River is fishing well from Holter Dam to Cascade. The bugs are out. It’s dry fly season.
Current Conditions
Missouri River below Holter Dam - Flows on the Mo have been fairly stable for the past week and running in the lower 6K range. Little Prickly Pear and the Dearborn have come down considerably and are not influencing where anglers fish the MO. Morning sessions with the Nymphing rig are strong and PMD hatches are bringing fish to the top. Caddis hatches are also building and the weather has been awesome.
Creeks and Smaller Rivers, Belt Creek near Monarch, MT - Everything to the east of Great Falls is in great shape. Waters off the rocky mountain front are falling and starting to provide more options. Streams on the West Slope are also getting good too. There are salmon flies out there.
Ponds and Reservoirs - Callibaetis are out in force on many area stillwaters. Nymphs, soft hackles, emergers and dries are all in play as the hatch unfolds. The basic old school system is a #14 Parachute Adams with a #14 standard pheasant tail dropped off the back.
Smith River near Eden, MT - Water is falling into shape and fishing is finally getting really good. If you have a permitted trip planed, check out our Guide to floating the Smith River. Then stop in for your flies and supplies. We’ve also got you covered with camping gear, bear fence and bear approved coolers.
Pike - Now that Pishkin is full, it should be a good option. Tiber and the Marias River have been producing the most reports with a few coming in from Francis. Still waiting for decent water conditions to get after them on the Lower Missouri River. We just got restocked with a bunch of pike patterns and we’ve got the rods and lines to throw them.
Match the Hatch
If you want to set up with some basic reliable flies for any given mid-summer day, you need the following. #16 Splitcase PMD, #16 Caddis Pupa (olive body, gold bead), #16 Buzzball, #16 Quigley Film Critic PMD, and #16 Mercer Profile Rusty Spinner.
Need to fill the box before you go? Order flies online here.
Tips & Techniques
If you can’t decide between fishing a dry fly or a nymph, go with the dry dropper technique. Using an attractor dry is a stealthy way to deliver your nymph to the key holding lies and you just might get a dry fly crushing surprise.
Did you know...
Want to win a Winston rod? Stop into North 40 Outfitters on Saturday, June 15th for our “Cast a Rod – Win Two” event. Simply cast a Winston fly rod and fill out the raffle for your chance to win two Winston Rods of your choice. We will be filling up a casting pond on Friday.
See past reports from the Great Falls region here, or click here to view all northwest regional reports.