The Clark Fork is still pretty low, sitting at approximately 950 CFS down from around 1510 CFS this time last year. Nightly lows in water temps are getting down in the high forties at night and staying in the mid to low fifties in the afternoons. Flows have been holding pretty steady since the rain we had mid-September, which gave us some relief from some brutal low water this summer and extreme summer water temps. We haven’t seen much precipitation since then, but it looks like we have some rainstorms and lovely overcast weather in the forecast. Things are still pretty skinny, though, so we’ve been advising running the river below Missoula for the easy access, though the river is floatable in a raft way up the river. There’s still a lot of wood that could ruin your day just below Gold Creek, but above and below that one spot are still doable.

Fishing has been good. With water levels where they are at present, you’re sure to see some rocks that you may not have seen in the past, but a little rock-dodging is no excuse not to get out and go fishing. If you get out to fish the early mornings you can get into some great Mahogany and BWO hatches. From early afternoon to sunset there’s a lull in the action when it would be a good move to alternate to a nymph or a streamer.

Nymph fishing is always good, and a good move to make in that mid-day lull between hatches. Small “cracked back” patterns like the hot spot PMD, cracked back bullet, or blowtorch hares ear are great options for a tight-line nymph rig or as a dropper. Larger stonefly patterns like the Pat’s rubber legs, double bead stone, or TJ hooker are great options for sink tip lines or indicator rigs for getting down deep.

The streamer bite has been very good with the big browns running up river. Flashy copper and gold patterns to yellow and brown colors do a great job of imitating the juvenile browns the big fish seem to have an appetite for. Lightly weighted articulates like the wedgehead, Galloup’s kill-whitey, or a cone head sparkle yummy are great for covering water or fishing over rocks and timber, and patterns like the classic Galloup’s dungeon or silk kitty are killer patterns for plumbing the depths.