After a blustery spring season that turned into a high-water June with snow pack percentages reaching levels that at times went off the charts, we have found ourselves stuck in an eddy of August heat. Warm weather has us getting on and off the water early to be fishing in the coolest parts of the day. While our daily highs do remain unseasonably warm, our nights are growing longer and cooler as we inch towards fall. This time of the season we typically expect to see a break in the summertime conditions, with the first appearance of fall creeping in. Instead, we look to have a lull in the 90 degree weather, until bumping back up to mid-to-high 90s by the middle of next week. There is no doubt fall will arrive, we just can’t seem to tell when that will be.
Our extended summer has brought with it a great hopper season and pmd’s throughout the drainage. Tricos will be next on the menu, and all of us are looking forward to the arrival of mahoganies, hecubas, and blue wing olives that will have us sitting on pods of mature rainbows and testing our mettle with light tippet and discerning fish.
The Blackfoot has been fishing consistently good to great the entire length of the river, with dry fly hopper eats throughout the day and persistent dropper action. Early mornings in the upper reaches certainly reinforce the arrival of fall, with temperatures in the 40s as you start the float. Closer to town the Clark Fork above the confluence has been another top producer, and the upper sections of the Bitterroot continue to provide beautiful scenery and dependable conditions.
If our volatile 2022 seasons here in Montana so far have taught us anything, perhaps we should be embracing this lingering summer weather rather than encouraging the arrival of fall. On the other hand, if the fall extremes we are faced with are intense pre-spawn brown trout streamer action, rainbows on rhythm, bugling elk, snow dusted peaks and changing leaves I say bring it on.
We do have availability remaining this season and would love to share our water with you. Give us a call or send us an email to learn more:
406.880.0542 | [email protected]
