Spring 2007 Newsletter
of
Classic Journey Outfitters Guide Service
of Missoula, Montana
Missoula Montana Fishing Now
It's spring in the Rockies and the long anticipated
Skwala Stonefly hatch is in full swing. We have been on the
water everyday since March 15th and the dry fly fishing has been
excellent this year. We had an early pop of low snowmelt the first
week of March which essentially plowed the way for great water
for Skwalas and our April Mayfly hatches. This hatch
bring ups the some of the biggest fish of the year - a 25 inch
Brownie was last week's catch of day - and some of the heaviest
body count days on the Bitterroot of the whole year. What is a Skwala?
It is a size 10 oliveish yellowish stonefly that hatches
in our area beginning in March and lasts through Mid May. They
migrate the same way Salmonflies do - They crawl from the river column
and creep into the dry stones on the bank to hatch. An easy way to
tell if the hatch is coming and where it will happen first is to
pull stones at the different river access sites and see how many
nymphs are there. When you start seeing clusters just
above the water line you know you are close. After nymphal
migration they become winged adults, but unlike most other stoneflies
you generally won't see them flying around. They are a big
bug hatching in our cool Montana Spring weather, so they just
don't warm enough to really come to flight. If you are patient
and watch the water you will see them skittering about, hence the
reason so many times we hook fish on dragged flies in the Spring. Also
some of the Skwalas have dwarf wings which makes them unable to fly. So
if you aren't paying attention, and the fish don't care if you are
or not, you could easily never see a Skwala other than the fake one
you are casting. The first burst of winged adults happens on
the spring fed banks of the mid Bitterroot first week of March. From
there it will creep both up and down, but really stops at the West
Fork and Florence. Soon after the mid Bitterroot emergence
the water around St. Regis will get Skwalas. As we move into
April the hatch will filter into the traditionally colder water sections,
so by mid April the West Fork of the Bitterroot and the 60 mile section
of Clark Fork near Missoula has them along with the Upper Clark Fork. The
last burst of late April and May is by far the most prolific, but
the quality of water conditions then varies from year to year. When
is the best time to hit this hatch?
March 15 - May 1. My absolute
favorite time is March 15 - March 30, but the hatch cranks all of
April as well. We are in the middle of it right now, and this
year it looks like water will hold up great until Mid May. Where the Fishing is Headed
We will ride the Skwala hatch throughout our
area until May. Our water will start bobbing then getting ready
for the big blowout in mid May in Missoula. When
that happens our next great game will be the post spawn bite on the
Missouri and early Salmonflies. The Missouri has a nasty habit
of clearing out the majority of its rainbow population at the same
time to do the annual spawning runs. When that happens in April it
can seem like a vacant river for the angler, but when they return
to the system by 1st of May they are voracious and go on a spree
feed. My
best day last year we didn't make it a mile from the access, still
in sight of the truck and we had landed so many trout that at 3
p.m. we pretty much called it day and I rowed out the next 8 miles. One
trout after another ate the fly and just wouldn't go
down. It really is quite amazing when they go like that. The
post spawn bite doesn't last all that long in the
Missouri and the system settles into its normal mode again by the
end of the month. Early Salmonflies for us is Mid May. As
everyone knows the best and most consistent fishing is Rock Creek
in early June, but some years we also get some great fishing on
the upper Clark Fork and the Blackfoot around the 15th of May.
It's not near as consistent and usually its only a few days before
the pre-hatch fizzles or the water changes, but when it shows WOW! To
me. May is always a month built on flexibility, you never know
where you are going to get great fishing, but there are so many
secret little quirky geysers of great fishing that can happen that
you rarely strike out.
Booking Notes
Primetime Open Dates on my personal guiding
schedule:
July 16, 17, 18 - Primetime Caddis/ Pmd for all our water,
and first burst of Upper Clark Fork Hoppers for big Brownies.
August 20 - 26 - A++ Peak Hopper fishing - Bitterroot, Clark
Fork, Blackfoot. October 1-7 - One of the top 3 weeks of the season
and one of my favorite trophy fish times of year. Not
a great week for beginners, but for an experienced angler
really great. Hope everyone is having a great Spring and you have
had a chance to wet a line and shake off the winter frost!.
Tight
Lines, Joe Cummings
www.classicjourneyoutfitters.com
1-877-327-7878
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Five Great Reasons to try Montana Fly
Fishing with Classic Journey Outfitters:
- float or wade day trips on five world-class
rivers: Blackfoot, Clark Fork, Rock Creek, Bitterroot, and Missouri
River
- the finest dry fly fishing in Montana
- MIssoula's best professional guide service with
70 combined years of experience
- fun, friendly and courteous guides that enjoy
their work and Montana rivers
- lodging and gourmet meals can be arranged by
request
 Outfitter
Joe Cummings #9438
Missoula is the world's
best rising fishing complex. No where else can you push a dry fly with
utter confidence starting in March and never have to go beneath the
surface again until November.
Look in our guide boats. You won't see
strike indicators and double beaded nymph rigs rigged up in the rod holsters
ready to be handed off to our guests. You WILL see many concoctions of
different dry fly patterns that fool trout, such as: parachutes of all
shades, CDC on scud hooks, spinners, snowshoe emergers, Wulffs, Trudes,
Big Foamies, Little Foamies, Feth Hoppers, Half Down Stoneflies, Low
Pro Stones, and some secret guide flies that just seem to make them eat
it. So if you want to SEE trout come to your fly, then Missoula Fly Fishing
is for YOU!
A Classic Journey Outfitters
4034 O'Shaughnesy Street
Missoula, MT, 59808
joe@classicjourneyoutfitters.com
Phone Toll Free (888) 327-7878
In Montana (406) 327-7818
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