Fly Fishing the Blackfoot River In Montana This includes a Blackfoot River Montana Fly Fishing Report
Type of Stream: Freestone
Fly and Gear ordering and delivery: We can get flies to you within two to three business days from the time you place your order via Priority Mail. If you provide a budget for flies, we will select them to match the budget and get them to you on time for your trip. Please see the bottom of this column for ordering options.
We also have custom Perfect Fly selections in 3 different price ranges for this stream that come with or without fly boxes. They make excellent gifts. Click Here To Order or Call us at 800 594 4726 or email us at sales@perfectflystore.com.
Species: Brown Trout, Rainbow Trout, Cutthroat Trout, Bull Trout, Brook Trout, Rocky Mountain Whitefish (Wild Trout)
Size: Large – 127 miles long
Location: Southwestern Montana
Nearest Towns: Missoula
Season: 3rd Sat. May – Nov 30th (Catch and Release only year-round)
Access: Good
Non-Resident License:
State of Montana:
State of Montana
Weather: National Weather Service Link National Weather Service Link
Stream Flow Data:
Real Time USGS Data (near
Bonner)
Recommended Tackle & Gear
Fly Line:
5 or 6 weight
Leaders:
Dry fly: 9 & 12 ft., 5 or 6X, Nymphing:
71/2 ft., 3 or 4X, Streamers 0-2X
Tippets:
Dry fly: 5 or 6X, Nymphing: 3 or 4X,
Streamer 0-2X
Best Fly Rods:
Perfect Fly Superb Five or Ultimate Six
Fly Reels:
For 5/6 fly line
Fly Floatants and Misc Items:
Floatants, KISS Strike Indicators
Tools & Accessories:
Nippers, forceps, retractors, etc.
Fly and Gear ordering and delivery:
Email us at (sales@perfectflystore.com) with the dates you will be fishing and we will send you a list of our fly recommendations. We can get flies and gear to you within two to three business days from the time you place your order via Priority Mail. If you provide a budget for flies, we will select them to match the budget and get them to you on time for your trip. Your can also call us at 800-594-4726 and we will help you decide what flies and gear to use. All orders are shipped free in the U.S. If under a $100 order requiring Priority mail is a charge of only $8.10. Orders over a $100 are shipped free via Priority Mail.
Copyright 2013 James Marsh
Blackfoot River, Montana Fly Fishing Report- April 29, 2024. Conditions remain good. The stream is still flowing below a normal level and clear. Good Midge, Little Black Caddis, March Browns, Gray Drakes and Skwala stonefly hatches are taking place. Check back with us, we update the Blackfoot River fly fishing report weekly or more.
Stream Conditions:
Rate: 1560 cfs Height: 3.28 ft
Afternoon Water Temperature: 46
Clarity: clear
USGS Real-Time Stream Flow Data
Recommended Trout Flies:
Brown Sculpin and White Belly Sculpin and Articulated streamers, size 6/4
Black Matuka and Olive Matuka Sculpin, size 4/6
Blue-winged Olives: size 16, 18 nymph, emergers, duns and spinners
Aquatic Worms, size 12, pink, red, and others
Midges: Cream and Red (Blood) midges sizes 20/22, larva, pupa and adult. Our larva and pupa midge flies, pre-rigged in tandem, work good here. You can fish them under a strike indicator keeping the larva fly near the bottom. https://perfectflystore.com/product/pre-rigged-tandem-midge-larva-pupa-tippet
Skwala Stoneflies: 10, nymphs, and adults
Gray Drakes, size 10/12, nymphs and spinners
March Browns, 12/14, nymphs, emergers, duns and spinners
Little Black Caddis: 18, pupa, adults
Weather Forecast: (click the link below to see more detailed weather info)
Fly Fishing On The Blackfoot River In Montana: Fly fishing the Blackfoot River was made a lot more popular when the movie “A River Runs Through It” came out in 1992. Since then, the river has gained national recognition as a quality trout stream. Fly fishing the Blackfoot River can be done by wading or using a drift boat. It has a variety of species including rainbow, brook and brown trout. It also has one of the largest populations of bull trout there is in the United States. West Slope Cutthroat trout are also present in many areas of the river. Throughout its length of over 120 miles of the river, you will find the best fishing is in the Blackfoot River Recreational Corridor. It also provides several excellent campsites. This section is roughly thirty miles long, so there’s plenty of good water to fish. The single biggest disadvantage is that during the summer, there are many recreational floaters that use the water. This also happens be the best section of the river to fish from a drift boat. Although much of the slower water upstream of the Corridor can be floated using small personal pontoon type boats, most of the river inside the Corridor area would probably require larger boats. There are several access points along the river inside the Corridor. That means there are several options when it comes to floating this section the river. Here are some of them. The Blackfoot River starts out quite different from most other western trout streams. Its headwaters are not the typical, beautiful small stream that has a lot of smaller, eager cutthroats or brook trout. In fact, the first twenty miles or so of the Blackfoot River has few, if any fish. Anaconda Creek and Beartrap Creek flow together to form the river. To put it bluntly, the river isn’t worth fishing above Lincoln. Below Lincoln, it changes to more like what is expected of a trout stream. The next section, we will call it, from Lincoln to the Mineral Hill access, flows through more of a mountainous type terrain. It is bordered for most of its length by highway #141. The water in this section can become very low at places during the summer. It is more of a moderately flowing stream with long pools and short runs between them. It is basically brown trout water. The farther downstream you get in this section, the more the river starts looking like a trout stream.The next section, down to Cedar Meadows, is a twisting, winding section that is about nineteen river miles long. It cannot be easily accessed from a road. You have to hike in or float this section of the Blackfoot. The river still flows on a gentle or moderate slope for the most part. It is still better suited to brown trout that rainbows. It can be accessed from the Aunt Molly Fishing Access. From Cedar Meadows Fishing Access down to the junction of the North Fork of the Blackfoot River, the Blackfoot changes again. Its flows increase and it tends to straighten out. This is a twelve mile long section. Road #124 road crosses the river. From our perspective, the only section worth wading is the section from Lincoln to Mineral Hill. I am certain the river provides a much better experience if you drifted it in a small boat or pontoon type boat, or maybe even a canoe in certain areas. At the confluence of the North Fork of the Blackfoot River and the main Blackfoot River downstream for the next dozen or so miles to the Clearwater Bridge, the river changes from a moderate flowing valley stream into a fast water section that flows through a canyon. This canyon, called the “Box Canyon” is about five miles long. From the canyon it exits into another valley. Fishing varies through this section due to the changes in the speed and type of water. Rainbow trout become more plentiful in the fast water section of the box canyon. Brown trout begin to decrease. From the Clearwater Bridge downstream, the river changes character yet again. This section would best be described as pocket water. It consist mostly of fast water runs, riffles and pools. There are some white water sections. This is the most popular section to fish. It is also used by recreational float trips and white water enthusiast. Most of the fish are rainbow trout. There’s also a good population of Mountain Whitefish. This is a beautiful area. The river flows through forest of Ponderosa Pine. Prairie Road, a nine mile long dirt road, follows along part of this section. This section isn’t a great distance from Missoula, Montana, making it a popular area for many other types of recreation use. From Johnsrud Park downstream, the river flows along highway 200, so accessing the stream is easy. There are several access sites along the road. The river is as big as it gets in this section. There are a lot of long, deep pools between short riffles. Both rainbows and brown trout are present. The river is also accessible from its opposite side of the river from the main road in the section. Roads are present along most of the river. Make sure you check the above Blackfoot River fishing report often. We update it often.
Fly Fishing Guide to the Blackfoot River: How you fish the Blackfoot depends on two big things – when and where you fish it. The Blackfoot River can be fished by wading or from a drift boat. Some areas of the uppermost sections can be fished from small pontoon type boats or even a canoe. It’s a classic freestone stream that’s full of large boulder. Most of the river consist of pocket water. About half of this river’s headwaters are is in the Bob Marshall Wilderness. Much of it has been logged in the past. There’s even been some mining. You will notice the difference at the forks of the upper river. One is usually clear and the other dingy. Thanks goodness, most of it is undeveloped and properly protected.The Blackfoot River flows through a series of canyons. The easiest way to fish them is by boat. There’s some wading access points but much of the river would be inaccessible to the wading angler without a boat. Much of the Blackfoot River ‘s pocket water consist of complex currents. Getting a good drift isn’t easy. Mending will fix the situation but it is by far better to use a reach cast or a reach mend. It’s about the only way to get a good drift. About the only way to fish the Blackfoot River successfully is to make short, upstream presentations. The more fly line you have in the water, the more difficult it becomes to get a drag free drift. Due to the currents, and broken surface of the water, you can usually get fairly close to the trout fishing in an upstream direction. Staying hidden is important. By that I mean you should wear clothing that blends in with the background. Use the boulders to your benefit and slip up behind them as often as possible. The trout are not very selective unless there’s a good hatch taking place. When that happens you will be far better off matching the hatch. Westslope cutthroat are the main trout you will encounter. There’s plenty of browns and rainbows too and brookies are plentiful in some areas of the headwaters. Don’t forget there’s the threatened bull trout. Some of these fish are huge. Some grow to lengths over 30 inches. If you catch a bull trout by accident, make certain you release it very carefully.
Blackfoot River Hatches and Trout Flies: Our information on aquatic insects is based on our stream samples of larvae and nymphs, not guess work. We base fly suggestions on imitating the most plentiful and most available insects and other foods at the particular time you are fishing. Unlike the generic fly shop trout flies, we have specific imitations of all the insects in the Blackfoot River and in all stages of life that are applicable to fishing. If you want to fish better, more realistic trout flies, have a much higher degree of success, give us a call. We not only will help you with selections, you will learn why, after trying Perfect Flies, 92% of the thousands of our customers will use nothing else. 1-800-594-4726. The river has an early season hatch of Skwala stoneflies that takes place during March and April. Winter stoneflies (Nemoura) are also present these two months. As with most all the streams in the area, baetis mayflies (Blue-winged Olives) hatch from mid March until mid June. There is yet another hatch that takes place in September, October and part of November. In the slower sections of the river there is usually a good hatch of Gray Drakes during the last week of March and the month of April. There is yet another hatch of the Gray Drakes the last week or so in August and during the month of September. March Brown mayflies hatch starting about the last week of March and through the month of April. Another March Brown species hatches starting about the last week of August through September and into the first week of October. Green Drakes hatch from about the middle of June into the first or second week of July. The runoff may catch part of this hatch. Pale Morning Duns, or PMDs, as they are called, hatch from about the first of June all the way through the month of September, depending on the location. This is one of the better mayfly hatches. The little Mahogany Duns hatch in September and October. Tricos hatch in the slower water sections of the stream starting about the last week of July all the way until the first week or two in October. This is one of the better hatches provided you can handle the small flies. The river has a good Salmonfly hatch but it may occur during the spring runoff period. It occurs from about the last week of May into June. Golden Stoneflies hatch during July and August. Yellow Sallies hatch from about the first of June through August. All in all, stoneflies are very important insects in the Blackfoot River.Several species of caddisflies are present – the Spotted Sedge being the most plentiful. It generally hatches from the middle of May until the end of August, depending on the particular species. They are all very similar. Their Little Sister Caddisflies hatch from about the middle of June through August. Little Short-horned Sedges hatch from about the middle of June through July. Different species of Green Sedges hatch from about the middle of June all the way through September. The Rock Worm, or an imitation of their larva, works great just about all year. The last big caddisfly hatch is the October Caddis which takes place from about the middle of September through the middle of October. Don’t overlook terrestrial during the summer. Grasshopper work from about the first week of July though the month of September. There are also plenty of beetles and ants. There are even some flying ants, but it is difficult to pinpoint the time you will find them. Midges hatch throughout the year but are more important during March and April and again in October when other hatches are slack. If you want to catch some big trout, don’t overlook streamers. The river has a good population of Sculpin, minnows and other baitfish. If you haven’t done so already, please give our “Perfect Flies” a try. We are certain you will find them not only the most realistic imitations, but also the most effective flies you can use on the Blackfoot River. Our stonefly imitations have proven to catch trout from this stream. Thanks for viewing our Blackfoot River fishing report.