The Blackfoot River is very low right now, sitting at approximately 382 CFS down from around 575 CFS this time last year. Water temps are getting down to the mid-forties at night and staying in the upper forties in the afternoons. Fall rains in mid-September brought some much-needed water volume and some relief from the heat of late summer. We haven’t seen much precipitation since then, but it looks like we have some rainstorms and lovely overcast weather in the forecast. That said, we don’t expect there to be enough of an increase in water volume to make the river more floatable than it is at present. Due to this fact, it may be advisable to bring out the raft for any floats on the river, and even then, you’re all but sure to do a lot of rock dodging.

Dry fly fishing has been great before the sun rises or as it is just coming up. We’ve still been seeing thick hatches of Mahoganies and BWOs. Since we already have frost on the ground the bugs won’t be coming off as early as they do in early fall/late summer. Usually this time of year they’ll get going as the sun becomes visible and usually peak about mid-afternoon. From then until late afternoon the dry fly bite will slow down. For that mid-day lull we recommend alternating to nymphing. Streamer fishing, or the ever-reliable hopper-dropper rig. Late in the evening the October caddis will appear as the sun goes down, and that is some of the best dry fly fishing there is in the fall.

Streamer fishing has also been very good. Big browns are running up to spawn, and as such, right now is the best time for a shot at a 20+ inch brown. Fishing lightly weighted patterns on floating lines or short sink tip lines that aren’t too aggressively weighted themselves should be the move as you’ll find yourself dodging more rocks in the pocket water than plumbing the depths of river pools right now. Galloup’s Kill-Whitey, Craven’s Swim Coach, and the conehead Sparkle Yummy patterns are our go-to patterns right now. The water is extremely low, so look for areas with tributaries coming in, deep river pools, or those hidden undercut banks. The streamer bite should also be very good this weekend with some rain and overcast skies hitting around Wednesday.

Nymphing is always good, and a great way to fish the slow hours between the mid-day to early afternoon lull between hatches. once the dry fly action slows down, it’s always a good move. Of course, some folks would rather get some miles on their new euronymphing combos, and to those folks we’d advise having a few dries on hand for when the hatches are in full swing and the nymph jiggling gets slow. “Cracked back” patterns like the hot spot PMD, Blowtorch Hare’s Ear, or Crack Back Bullet are great imitators of the ascending mayflies before they hit the surface and emerge. Larger nymphs like the double bead stone, TJ Hooker, or Pat’s rubber legs are great stonefly nymphs for indicator rigs whether your indicator has a hook on it or not.