Dry Fly Fishing Montana with Dixon Adventures

 

Fall Blackfoot River Fly Fishing Report

Beautiful Fall colors with fun fall fishing is coming when the heat goes bye bye!

 

Date: September 25, 2011

Report: 

October Caddis Blackfoot River Fly Fishing

October Caddis are hatching.

 The Blackfoot is tought to fish in the fall heat sometimes, but the hatches are kicked in and the fall fishing has begun.  The October caddis hatch is always first on these waters because of cooler water temperatures and cold fall nights in the Blackfoot drainage.  There are morning tricos in the right spots and then good attractor fishing in the afternoon.  The river can require sub surface tactics to have consistent success.  Droppers can be effective when the surface bite is not on.  I am not the source of information for indicator fishing until next season’s high water.  Use stimulators and attractor patterns and remember, the october caddis skates a lot.  Don’t be afraid to twitch and drag in the riffles and runs.  The fall weather will also create some streamer fishing, but right now dry fly fishing is best.  Big droppers like princes and hare’s ears, or better yet some homemade flies to imitate the large caddis can be very effective.  Good luck and watch out for the wandering grizzlies on the upper stretches!

Date: September 6, 2011
Report:  The lower end of the Blackfoot has been closed due to fires and choppers using the water from the river so check with conditions before you try to fish the lower river.  There are still spruce moths and many terrestrials out with the lingering summer heat.  The Blackfoot does not like unseasonal weather, so fish early and late if you want to catch some of the bigger trout in the river because the middle of the day in this heat can be tough on this river.  There are some tricos in the right spots, but the terrestrial game is the best bet.  If things get tough put on a long dropper, maybe even 3 feet on 4x.  The cooler weather is about ten days out and the water temps are good so keep on twitching that foam bug and don’t be afraid to throw smaller terrestrials like ants or beetles.  You can nymph fish if you want and I could probably figure out some good rigs, but my nymphing days and advice is over for nymph rigs after the high water we had this year. If I were to want to go for an adventure on the “foot” I would venture to the North Fork, Monture Creek, or the mainstem up by Mineral Hill.  You can have some great fishing right in the heat of the day in these waters.  The water temps are cold and with the sahara heat, these upper river areas can be fun with some big trout!  The cold weather turned the fishing on in the main river, but now the morning and evening hours are best in the mainstem in the September heat.  Good luck.
 
 
Date: August 16, 2011
Report:  I can tell you is that we have turned the corner and fall is on the way.  When we get past the middle of August the fishing changes for the better.  Although I have not personally fished on the Blackfoot lately, I can tell you that the attractor fishing can get good, especially when the cool nights arrive.  Try different attractors with different color schemes, just like one would do with streamers.  I have success on red, black, purple, and one of my favorite weird colors is green or chartreuse.  Make sure that you twitch and try skating them too.  The Spruce moth is out so any undulation twitch, I call it, can be a deadly system.  Look at the motion a moth makes on the water and try and imitate it.  The best times to fish are going to be from sun up to noon on the hotter sunny days.  If  the weather gets cooler and there is cloud cover, the afternoon hopper/attractor bite can be good.  I also like to use ant patterns both red/cinnamon, sometimes behind another dry.  If the fishing gets tough, try a long dropper.  Use large princes, copper johns, and prince nymphs.  The type of water I look for is kind of random.  There are the classic seams and pockets, but there are lots of trout hanging out in completely random water in the middle, so start scanning and good luck
 
 
Blackfoot River Fly Fishing Report
Big Flows yield big bulls and browns!

 

  
  
Date: July 16, 2011
Report: With the Big Blackfoot flows at 4400 CFS and over twice what it normally is at this time of year, there is some decent fishing and some great fishing coming soon!  The river will drop fast as the snow melt diminishes and the dry fly fishing will get good.  Right now the most effective tactics are nymphing with stones, worms, copper johns, and big princes.  The best tecnique is to have a big bugger or streamer and a second smaller stone or nymph behind the streamer. Colors that work well are yellow, white, gray, and even dark olive and black.  Put a split shot on a foot from the first big bug and set your indicator at about 5 or 6 feet.  Make sure you use your indicator to see the strike, but also put some action on the flies and feel the hit too.  It is what I call streamer nymphing.  As for dry flies, there are lots of goldens and plenty of mayflies and caddis.  The foam holes will have some risers, but scanning with a big golden and a big prince dropper is your best bet for getting a large trout on top.  Look for the turns in the river (inside seams) and soft water on the grassy banks.  Be careful where 2 currents collide on channels or cliff holes because there are still some strong hydraulics that can be tricky when floating.  The Bonner takeout is closed and if it opens will be tricky until the water comes down.  There are some big trout tom catch in big flows because the browns and bulls have not begun there summer dissappearing act yet.  Good luck and feel free to call for some advice.
 
 
 
FLOWS