Clark Fork River Fishing Report 7.4.17
The Clark Fork has finally cleared up! I have been waiting for this day literally all year, and it took until the 4th of July for me to throw dries on the good ol' CF. Flows were at 26,000 cfs, so I knew that finding some rising fish could prove challenging.
With over 72 distinct patterns, you can find and buy most dries online from us here.
I only fished from 1-4 pm due to BBQing and fireworks, but those 3 hours were well worth the trip. Air temperatures were in the 80s, and the wind proved bothersome. An inexperienced caster would have trouble casting into the 10-15mph breeze.
There wasn't much hatching. I only spotted a few caddis, and only one of the famous white mayflies I see every summer... that I still haven't identified. I concentrated most of my time upriver from the Clark Fork bridge. The fish were not rising, but still looking up. The trout I found were staging in small eddies and slack water doing anything to avoid the current.
If you're looking for caddis specific patterns, click here.
The hot flies for me were a size 10 black Moodah Poodah, and a #6 Olive Woolly Bugger with Copper flash on the tail. Swinging from shore was a blast with Airflo's Scout shooting head.
If I were to head back to the Clark Fork today, I would make sure to have #10 black Moodah Poodah, #10 purple Chubby Chernobyl, #12 purple Rocky Mountain Mint, #12 H&L Variant, #14 Party on Top Caddis, #6 olive Balanced Leech, and #6 Thinmint.
The closest stream to fish adjacent to Choteau is the Teton River. Teton Canyon road will take you upsteam from town (toward Teton Pass Ski Area).
Heading south, the Sun River below diversion dam down to hwy 287 between Choteau and Augusta is the other option. The South Fork of the Sun at the end of the Benchmark Road in the Bob Marshall wilderness is also a great choice and not too far away.
Nilan, Willow Creek and Wood Lake are stillwater options adjacent to Augusta that we are very familiar with.
Thanks,
Jeff