Clark Fork River Fishing Report 8.30.17

With only a few hours to spare before dark, I decided to run the boat over to the Clark Fork River for a little cast and strip. Flows were 30,000 cfs, and water clarity was excellent. There was a little bit of debris floating down the river due to the sudden increase in flows. Nothing too large, just intermittent branches.

There wasn't a hatch until 7p.m. Once 7 rolled around, caddis took to the water and the trout slowly began to rise. However, my mind was set on pounding Woolly Buggers and other small streamers into the banks to see what I could pull up. Needless to say, the Clark Fork did not disappoint. I finished the day with one brown trout, one cutthroat, one rainbow, one smallmouth, and one pikeminnow.

Check out our streamer patterns online here.

Now that I am typing this, I realize I hit a Clark Fork grand slam. The brown trout and the smallmouth bass impressed me most. Both ate my #6 olive Woolly Bugger with copper flash. Seriously . . . is there reason to fish any other fly than an olive Woolly Bugger on this river?

The trick is to fish it off of a fast-sinking line. I have fished with friends who use a floating line, but my 30 feet of T-8 always seems to outfish everything else. I spent the evening fishing a half-mile above and below the Clark Fork bridge. The shoreline against highway 200 produced most of our fish, and they were holding tight to the bank.

If you choose to fish this week, or over the holiday weekend, make sure you’re packing #6 olive Woolly Buggers, olive Baby Gongas, olive Mongrel Meats, and Grizzly Home Invaders.