Here Comes Fall

The Kingfisher Fly Shop’s Five-River Fishing Report

By The Kingfisher Fly Shop, Unfiltered 9-06-06

Bitterroot

9/6/2006

REPORTS: Very good trico action for BIG fish along much of the lower 1/2 of the 'root these days. The morning fishing has been pretty much outstanding as a matter of fact. Things begin to slow down somewhat as the heat of the day moves in, but it's still not too bad. Switching to hoppers or hecubas with deep droppers will keep you bent long after the trico action has faded. There is also some decent evening caddis activity about an hour before dark that will keep it interesting for you. With all the rivers fishing pretty well these days, the 'root isn't nearly as crowded as it was even a week ago.

Blackfoot

9/6/2006

REPORTS: Oh yeah, this is what you've been waiting for. The Blackfoot is fishing very well on both dries and nymphs. Yesterday was good stuff for sure and today should be pretty much a repeat. Deep tandem nymph rigs in the morning and then switching to hoppers, October caddis or some sort of attractor pattern will be the deal. Expect to have good fishing along the entire river corridor today.

Clark Fork

9/6/2006

REPORTS: It's fishing, but it's not rocking. The hatches have been pretty muted recently, for whatever reason, and due to this fact, there just aren't the number of fish up and eating that you'd expect to see. That being said, there are still a good number of fish willing to come up and eat bigger stuff thrown along current seams in a prospecting manner. Deep droppers that include caddis pupa and bigger flashback junk will increase your odds pretty dramatically. We've been having lots of eats on beetles and ants lately, even from fish that are "keyed" on tricos in the morning. Don't be afraid to mix it up and experiment, there's no one thing that's tearing 'em up on the Clark these days.

Missouri

9/6/2006

REPORTS: The fishing has been decent over here recently, especially early and late in the day. Tricos are the name of the game early while there is still some good caddis activity towards evening. Prospecting with hoppers will pick you up some fish midday, but droppers are just not really an option right now. Give it another couple of weeks. There is still a glut of algae that's making for tough fishing even with dries. We've been doing well with #18 parachute adams and #20 royal wulffs for the tricos and a #16 Goddard caddis has been our best producer towards sundown.

Rock Creek

9/6/2006

REPORTS: Back to work you slackers!!! Look to have a bit more elbow room on the creek today now that the long weekend is over. Expect also to have pretty decent fishing all the way from the confluence to the uppermost reaches. Still lots of little fish on the prowl, but with decent numbers of hoppers and the beginning of the October caddis now in progress, look for a few more of the big boys to be looking up. Make sure you fish your October caddis with some motion. Hanging deeper droppers off the back of your dries will increase your odds big time. Try working the flats, too, and not the pockets. Once again, the fish are heavily in the tailouts and nondescript straight runs. Make sure you bring your big box too since these fish will be looking for a diversity of offerings. Don't want to be stuck with minor league options when the pressure of the big game's upon you!

Like this story? Get more! Sign up for our free newsletters.