There are some great fishing options on the Bitterroot right now.  Both forks are still fishing well with dries and droppers, but are pretty busy.  If you are looking to get away from the crowds and still have some good fishing, try the main river.  There have been some good reports out there from Hannon to Missoula.  In these lower reaches, try using Golden Stones, Green Drakes and PMD's.

Hatches:   Salmon Flies, Golden Stones, Green Drakes, Sallies and PMD's 

Now is a great time to do some gear inventory.  If you need anything,feel free to give us a call or to try out our New Online Store!

Stop By and See All Of The New Gear and Flies For 2009!

   Good Luck Out There!

See Ya On The Water!

The 2009 Salmon Fly Hatch is underway on the Blackfoot!

The Salmonflies have moved from the lower sections to the upper.  There are still many of them out there, but look at fishing the Goldenstones!

Golden Stones are out on the lower river right now.  Look for your best dry fly action to happen in the afternoon.  There are enough of these little guys out there now that you may fish these patterns river wide.  If fishing a single dry is not workin for ya, try two. 

Look fish eating Mayflies throughout the day.  Especially when there is a bit of cloud cover.  These fish will not be picky, just get the right drift.

   While now is the beginning of our long run of dry fly fishing, you may wish to dropper or streamer fish til mid- day. 

Good luck out there and be careful wading and floating, all our area rivers are still running strong.  When in doubt, scout it out!

Hatches: Salmon Flies, Golden Stones, Green Drakes, Sallies and PMD's

Now is a great time to do some gear inventory.  If you need anything, feel free to give us a call or to try out our New Online Store!

Stop By And See All The New Gear And Flies For 2009!

Good Luck Out There!

Chris & Robert

 This Rock Creek Fishing Report is brought to you by the Rock Creek Mercantile.  Stop on by and say hi to Carolyn and Doug!

  June 25 - The weather is going to cooperate for at least the next week and the creek flow is dropping nicely. Even the bugs seem to be cooperating, although I'm afraid we won't be seeing Salmonflies very much longer. Of course , if we get a secondary hatch, which often happens, we could have the big orange for another week or so. But I truly think that this weekend will be the last hurrah for our Salmonflies.  On the good side, we have lots of other hatches to fill the void. Golden Stones are going strong as are Green Drakes. In the evenings, you can see Yellow Sallies and there are even caddis out. Finally, the Pale Morning Dun hatch has started. So don't let this years passing of the Salmonflies deter you. Rock Creek  has plenty of good fishing now and will continue to have good hatches and fishing until November. More tomorrow.

Good Luck Out There!

See ya on the water!

This Missouri River Fishing Report Is Brought to You By Headhunters Fly Shop in Craig.

The Crest...Part II

Our sudden influx of H20 seems to have peaked at 11,400cfs and has dropped to 10,000. Hopefully water managers have done what was needed, and they will slowly drop us back down to the 5-6000cfs mark. What will actually happen is anyone's guess. I'm past reading the forecasts and am content to wait and see what will happen next.

Fishing has not suffered much. Nymphing remains excellent for those who know how to fish the Missouri in higher flows You'll find fish in a variety of water, but you need to throw where they are - and that ain't everywhere. Look for fish to be holding on soft inside seams, big swirls and back-eddies, and rip-rap banks. Willow choked rocky banks are prime caddis habitat, and are great places to prospect with a nymph rig. Foamy back eddies are full of fish. You'll see them under the surface chowing on PMD nymphs and Caddis Pupa.

Rigs should be 6-8 feet (indicator to weight) for deep nymphing through runs. You can set much shorter for fish feeding in foamy seam lines.

Best Nymphs include: Bubbleback PMD, Rainbow Czech (which has turned on big with the higher flows), Translucent Pupa, Military Mayfly, Little Green Machine, and Firebead Sow Bugs. The Worm, Clouser Crayfish, Tung Dart and Yellow Sally nymph patterns are others to consider.

Dry fly fishing is not done, but it has gotten much tougher with the increase in flows. PMD's and Caddis are bringing fish up in select spots. Yellow Sallies are hatching in the Canyon, and you'll want to have some Sally patterns with you. Brown Drakes should appear on the lower river in the near future. Late mornings will find PMD's hatching, followed by a spinner fall. Evening Caddis action has been very good on most sections, and you always have that to fall back on. Unfortunately, wade fishing is pretty much toast until the flows drop below 6000cfs.

Best Dries include: Translucent Emerger, Bloom's Caddis, Kingrey's Hi-vis Caddis, Last Chance and D&D Cripple (Harrop), Rusty Paraspinner, Ant patterns, Stacker Sally and small yellow Stimulators.

Leaders should be at least 9 feet, tapered to 4X-5X. Fish feeding on spinners in lsow water may require a longer leader and tippet.

The river is plenty busy from the Dam to Stickney, but below that an angler can find plenty of solitude. Be safe wading, and respect your fellow anglers "space". Late June and July is our busiest time on the 'Mo, and angler conflicts can spoil the day.

Other area streams: We rarely report on other area streams, but with the higher flows here and other areas in Montana, wading anglers are looking for some smaller venues. Here's what we know and hear. The Dearborn is below 300cfs and won't be floatable much longer. Fishing isn't bad, but isn't great either. The upper reaches may be a good opportunity for wading in solitude. In this reporters opinion, it may take a year or two to recover from the flood of 2008. Hit it quick and bring your Golden Stones. The Blackfoot is fishing well, but still running big. Salmonfly time is here. The Smith is fishing well, and running around 500cfs. Did you know there are several wade access points on the upper Smith? Did you know there are some nice Brown Trout on the upper Smith? Little Prickly Pear is a good bet for those looking for some small stream fishing close to Craig. Belt, Otter and Highwood Creek east of Great Falls are all fishing well...the Rattlesnakes are hatching.

Scumliner