Blog Entries

2011 Final Fishing Regulation Changes

mtflyguy@gmail.com — Sat, 27 Nov 2010 07:00:00 +0100

Welcome to Fly Fishing MT with the River OtterYour Dry Fly Fishing Specialists! All but two of the proposed fishing regulations for 2011 were voted on by the FWP Commission on October 7. The two exceptions included the proposal for a reduced bag limit and/or reduced number of lines on Lake Koocanusa and a proposal to raise the lake trout limits from 50 to 100 on Flathead Lake. At the October Commission meeting, FWP proposed to delay final action on the Koocanusa regulations unti [...]

Missouri River Brown Trout- Fungus Report

mtflyguy@gmail.com — Mon, 22 Nov 2010 07:00:00 +0100

Warm Fall Spawns Trout Fungus

Weather conditions have made [...]

Blue Ribbon Trout Streams

mtflyguy@gmail.com — Mon, 15 Nov 2010 07:00:00 +0100

It is fall in Montana and great fishing, but watch out for redds. Brown trout are spawning.

Fall brings cooler temperatures that cue brilliant foliage, migrating geese and spawning brown trout.

Brown Trout (Salmo trutta) is an exotic species in Montana. It was introduced to North America and Montana in the late 1800's. Brown trout belong to a different genus than our native trout species. Widely stocked early in this century, they are currently doing well as a self- [...]

Late Fall Fishing..........

mtflyguy@gmail.com — Wed, 27 Oct 2010 07:00:00 +0100

If you consider October as the end of the fishing season in western Montana, you might want to read about these options.

Do not rule out fishing in October if the weather is cooperative. The Clarkfork and Bitterroot are excellent fall rivers. Big, ugly streamers work well in all of these rivers for large brown and rainbow trout. If one has not had enough trout fishing, the blackfoot has beautiful foliage and plenty of trout in moving water.

The B [...]

October Fishing Update

mtflyguy@gmail.com — Sun, 17 Oct 2010 07:00:00 +0100

October is still giving up some real good fishing. With Tricos, Mahoganies and Blue Wings available on any given day, this fish are still on the feed. That said, look to fish Mayfly waters- slow, long inside bends. While some of the fish had been fairly picky at times, the light fishing preasure [...]

Rebirth of a River System - The Clarkfork River

mtflyguy@gmail.com — Tue, 12 Oct 2010 07:00:00 +0100

When: Thursday, October 21, 2010, 7:00 pm

Where: Hamilton Elks Lodge

203 State Street

Hamilton, Montana

What: Bitterroot Trout Unlimited presents

Rebirth of a river system

By David Schmeterling [...]

Time to hit the Rivers!

mtflyguy@gmail.com — Sat, 09 Oct 2010 07:00:00 +0100

Great water levels, check

Great weather reports, check

Fall hatches finally underway, check

Not many anglers on the water, check

All systems go for great dry fly fishing days ahead of us. Get it while you can!

Tight Lines, Trout Guys

1-866-800-4858

troutguys@riverotterflyfishing.com

http://www.riverotterflyfishing.com

October Fishing

mtflyguy@gmail.com — Tue, 05 Oct 2010 07:00:00 +0100

Fishing in Montana is great, especially during the fall. During Fall many travelers leave the area and many locals hit the mountains in search of their Fall harvest.

This shift in interests really opens up Montana waters for the angler who needs a few more dry fly fish before wrapping up the season. The Bitterroot River can provide some real good try fly fishing into November, depending on the weather.

So, grab your 5x tippet, a few Mahoganies [...]

Fall Hatch Update

mtflyguy@gmail.com — Sun, 26 Sep 2010 07:00:00 +0100

Western Montana Hatches

Our hatches in Western Montana have been viewed as some of the best. So far, this year our weather has stunted them a bit. Trico hatches of course have fished real well with the right fly placed right in front of their beaks. Hecubas came out in well in August and provided us again with great dry fly fishing action, there are still out and about. That brings us to our Mahonanies, they are generally a real strong player in our Fall f [...]

Mahoganies and Montana Fly Fy Fishing

mtflyguy@gmail.com — Tue, 21 Sep 2010 07:00:00 +0100

Better Late than never, just like the rest of our great hatches this season, the Mahoganies are about two weeks later than we have seen in recent years. This is on of our best hatches and is found in both spring and fall on all of our Western Montana Rivers. You have two shots at this hatch: spring and fall. Unfortunately, many anglers miss the first opportunity in April and May because either the rivers are swollen with runoff, or anglers totally focused on [...]

Great Dry Fly Fishing

mtflyguy@gmail.com — Mon, 30 Aug 2010 07:00:00 +0100

The last few days of dry fly fishing in Western Montana has been real good. the cloudy weather and cooler temps have given both the fish and bugs a real shot in the arm. Those fishing the waters often should branch out to new sections as the rivers are fishing well throughout. The fall fishing is not underway, but its still damn good.

Remember folks the rivers are for everyone. If your floating, pull up your lines for the waders. Wade fishers have to work m [...]

Know Your Waters

mtflyguy@gmail.com — Sat, 21 Aug 2010 07:00:00 +0100

If there is one thing I have learned about fly fishing in the Rocky Mountain West, it is that nothing is constant. River levels rise and fall, insect hatches come and go, and a trout's mood can be influenced by any number of outside variables, both tangible and not. While it would seem logical that late summer would be one of the more consistent times of year to fish, the reality is that there are evolving circumstances that can change the make up of a river and how fish wi [...]

Montana Summer Dry Fly Fishing

mtflyguy@gmail.com — Sun, 01 Aug 2010 07:00:00 +0100

Welcome to the River Otter Fly Shop

Dry Fly Fishing Experts!

Summer Food Fare

The same trout that hovered under a size 18 pmd or a bwo - and then turned away - gather close to the streambanks during the hot, windy afternoon to gobble down land insects that blunder into the water.

Trout love land insects - called terrestrials in fly-fishing lingo - because they are usually big chunks of calories that arrive in the heat of the d [...]

Trout Unlimited Works In Progress

mtflyguy@gmail.com — Wed, 28 Jul 2010 07:00:00 +0100

Dry Fly Fishing Montana

mtflyguy@gmail.com — Tue, 27 Jul 2010 07:00:00 +0100

Dry Fly Fishing in Western Montana has been pretty darn good til as of late. The hot days and warmer overnight lows have turned things off a bit. The weather outlook for the next week looks better. The evenings will drop to the upper 40s and lower 50s which is much better than the 60 degrees we saw the past couple nights.

When fishing your dry flies this time of year, start thinking about using ants, beetles and little hoppers. Yep, its terrestrial time. During the afternoo [...]

Stillwater Outpost

mtflyguy@gmail.com — Sat, 17 Jul 2010 07:00:00 +0100

We just had a group of people go on over to the Stillwater River Outpost and fish with Mike Hillygus.....It was a great trip. While the river has been fishable for quite a while, the dry fly fishing has just come around and is GREAT!

The Stillwater is a tributary of the Yellowstone and can be found and fished in and around Absorkee, MT.

Bitterroot Drainage Water

mtflyguy@gmail.com — Mon, 28 Jun 2010 07:00:00 +0100

There is hope for normal water levels in the Bitterroot River Basin in 2010. This is good news for all including fly fishers, wildlife, plants and birds.

The Bitterroot River Basin has been the lowest in snow water equivalent and below average snowpack for most of this winter and spring. Finally, has received much needed precipitation in the form of rain. According to the National Weather Service, the Bitterroot River Basin has received from 1.7 inches to over 8 inches of p [...]

Holy Bumper Boats

mtflyguy@gmail.com — Sun, 27 Jun 2010 07:00:00 +0100

Well folks looks like the West Fork is really getting busy out there. Please be nice out there, it is supposed to be fun! Now the main river is fishing it is time to get everyone spread out and maybe the fish on the West Fork can eat a meal is peace. We have had very littl traffic on the main river.................

Reports from top to bottom have yielded dry fly action. Best bets on fly patterns are Green Drakes, Yellow Sallies and Golden Stones. Flows are [...]