The Bitterroot River flows northward towards Missoula and pretty much parallels Hwy 93. The most commonly floated area of the Bitterroot is from Hannon Memorial south of Darby all the way downstream to the confluence with the Clark Fork just west of Missoula. There is some floating to be had on the West Fork of…

April/May: Along with the Clark Fork, the Bitterroot River is the first one to produce very good, early season, dryfly fishing. Beginning in April, the skwala stoneflies and nemoura stoneflies begin to hatch in great enough numbers to get big fish to the surface. While the Bitterroot doesn’t have nearly the skwala hatch intensity of…

The Bitterroot River provides your best opportunity to catch brown trout over 22″ on a dryfly. More than any of the other area rivers, the Bitterroot during the spring skwala hatch is the place to be for big trout on dries. Notorious for very heavy aquatic insect hatches, the Bitterroot is another scenic and classic…