The Bitterroot River is now under Hoot Owl restrictions from the confluence of the East and West Fork to Veterans Bridge in Hamilton. All angling in this section should be done in between 12am to 2pm. As always, please keep all caught fish wet and make all atempts to release as quickly as possible. 

PMDs are popping river-wide, with larger green drakes making appearances mid-morning and again in the late afternoon. A well-placed Parachute PMD or Extended Body Green Drake is drawing confident eats. Fish have been rising in a variety of water types—from quick riffles to the slow edges undercut by the bank—so don’t be afraid to mix things up. Caddis are also hatching in big numbers, and if you’re looking for some topwater fun, a dry-dropper or double dry rig pairing a stonefly with a caddis can be a blast.

In the cooler early hours, trout are feeding aggressively subsurface. They’re stacked in the deeper pools, happy to chow down before the surface activity begins. A large Pat’s Rubber Legs or a well-presented brown Perdigon can easily coax out that big brown you've been hunting.

The streamer fishing has been great. These fish are more than ready to crush anything that moves. Focus on undercut banks, log jams, and bouldery structure. Copper Kreelex streamers and olive or black sculpin patterns are great choices to trigger those explosive takes.

Post-runoff, the Bitterroot is now flowing at a much more manageable pace—and it’s absolutely worth prioritizing over the next few weeks.