Busy September

Phew! Finally a day off. I have been rowing hard with very few days off.

September is the single best month of dry fly fishing in western Montana. Hoppers, Hecubas, Tricos, Blue Winged Olives (a few different species), and Slate Winged Mahogany Duns bring up many large fish during this low water period. This year was a little tougher than some years. The Bitterroot was very solid as usual but the Clarkfork was definitely lacking for hatches and rising fish. The Late June fishing on the Clarkfork had us all believing that the fall would be spectacular. Low hopper numbers and weak hatches left the fish staying deep. While they could be coaxed to the surface, the big pods really didn't show up. Lets hope October will bust loose on this river.

Some highlights from the last couple weeks. While I had a terrible streak of very large browns breaking off in the many logs and branches of the Bitterroot we did get a few landed.



Great job landing this one Butch!



One very nice Clarkfok beast that measured 41"



A very interesting mayfly from the Bitterroot. I am going with Hexagenia but I am not sure, would be a size 8 to 10. Saw two of these giant mayflies on the Root. Would sure love to see a big hatch of them.



Still have some great October fishing coming. Not many anglers show up this time of year but for those that don't mind the cooler days, there are floats with no competition and lots of rising fish.