The Ol’Bitterroot is starting to push a lot of colored water. The flow near Missoula has shot past 5240cfs and is being funky with the weather that we’ve been having. The back and side channels are offering enough shelter in some places to get some decent fishing but the main stem is pretty swollen. There have been quite a few a bugs hatching with drakes, BWOs, a few salmon flies reported up high, and caddis in the evening. With the aggressive rise in flows the top water fishing has been spotty but worth while when it happens. For top water bugs bring some extended body drakes, standard parachute adams, orange and purple chubbies, parachute BWOs, cripples, and some smaller caddis patterns for the evening. Count on tandem nymph rigs and dry dropper rigs to work best until you see some top water action. Underneath use a bigger prince nymph, black double beaded stones, flash back pheasant tails, batman nymphs, psycho princes, caddis pupae, and smaller baetis nymphs. Hanging one of these off the back of a chubbie for a dropper has been a good searching rig for mid day. Keep pounding the banks with your rigs in these higher flows for you best luck. when the flows climb like this the fish get pushed into the banks to seek refuge so look for’em there.

HATCHES/Flies: Caddis, BWOs, a few March browns, Drakes. A Review of the Winston Fly Rod For more info on the Winston Nexus Fly Rod