Scott Stanko

Missoula fly fishing trips in July kicked off with a bang, as fish were eagerly keying on PMDs on the Lower Clark Fork. New clients Eric and Dave took full advantage, putting together three fantastic days on the Bitterroot and Clark Fork. After our first day on the water, it was clear that we had assembled the A-team and there was no breaking us up for the rest of the trip. As the first week of July came to a close, the heat began to settle in. By mid-July, I started my summer vacation,...

What a difference a few weeks can make. June's steady rains and mild temperatures completely transformed our water conditions, triggering some of the best hatches we've seen on all of our rivers. We kicked off the month with a ladies' dry fly trip led by Peg M. and her awesome group of friends. They had just two requests: no deep bobber rigs and no Dam to Craig float. It couldn't have worked out better. The canyon was alive with caddis, and the trout spent the entire day looking up. The...

About 24 hours after my last fishing report went out, a cold front moved in and dropped another 14 inches of snow above 5,000 feet, pushing local snow pack levels back up to around 90% in many drainages. Prior to an early May heat wave that kicked off runoff around Missoula, the Bitterroot was producing excellent March Brown dry fly fishing. With flows running high throughout April, it was difficult to predict where snow pack and runoff would land for the remainder of the season. The water we...