Montana Fly Fishing, reports, conditions, photography, commentary and so forth…

I was supposed to be working and I was, but the job had some unexpected hitches that will bring me back on a day when its probably pouring rain and blowing (or worse, snowing). But today the sun was shining, so to salvage what I could of the day I ended up taking the grand tour of Flathead Lake.

I suddenly found myself caught in a fishing conundrum. With water flowing into the lake at near fire hose levels, fishing the rivers was out, and without a boat all I could do was wonder what leviathan was cruising the deeps…

a different twist on being up the crick without a paddle.

Chokecherry Trees (or are they a shrub?) are my favorite tree in the springtime around these parts. In a couple more weeks they will start to bloom and the smell is like nothing else. Its like Catnip. They are along almost all Montana’s river bottoms, and not a few of them hold one of my flies and a little shred of leader.

Stopped at Arends in Columbia Falls yesterday for Blackfeet Lakes info. Duck apparently is still hanging onto some ice, fishing is marginal. Mitten is thought to have had a winter kill? Or an extended summer kill?

We are in for a heat blast over the weekend and then back into cold and rain/snow mid week. So, its like everything else this year, late and more unpredictable than ever. Lakestream’s Reservation scout has not returned with reports. Try them Monday.

Just to see what you’re missing, check this Montana DOT cam about Tuesday.

The rivers are blasting right now. Mainstem Flathead is about 6-8 feet from the bank tops at Kalispell. The Swan is up but not a fire hose yet. The Missouri is running about 4500fps. Rumor is that there is a plan to flush it in early June sometime. Timing depends on the runoff scenario and God only knows when and what that will be like. It sounds like its going to get a good scouring with fishing probably not being an option till they back off the flow.

Montana FWP is now considering a closure on the Bighorn River because of the recent decision by the Bureau of Reclamation at Yellowtail Dam to cut river flows from an anemic 1950 fps to 1500 fps. It appears a handful of water skiers can’t get access to one of three boat ramps on Bighorn Reservoir so they have to shut down the river to fill the “pool” and possibly kill off the 2008 year class of Browns and Rainbows in the river. So it appears another water war is in the offing. I sent off my two cents worth to Montana Senator Max Baucas today.

Maybe Montana FWP should consider killing Buffalo in Yellowstone year round till the Bureau of Rec quits killing Trout year round in Montana?