April Fly Fishing in Missoula | Your Missoula Fly Fishing Guide

After a record-setting heat wave in late March, flows on the middle Bitterroot River have remained high throughout the month. Heavy early-month rains left groundwater levels extremely saturated, keeping the river running above 2,500 cfs. Normally, cooler days and nights would help bring flows down into the ideal range below 2,000 cfs, but so far there’s been little drop.

Despite the elevated water, fishing has been outstanding. While daily catch numbers are slightly lower than in more typical flow years, the size of the fish has more than made up for it. Dan, pictured above, landed an enormous 23 inch cut-bow that was more like a steel head than a trout. Neither of us could even get both hands around it.

With flows running this high, dry fly fishing has been more challenging, and fish are holding in spots they typically wouldn’t. The most productive approach has been adjusting on the fly, switching between a dropper rig and a single dry depending on the water in front of you. Skwala activity tapered off after the river’s initial surge to around 4,000 cfs early in the month, but as flows receded, March Browns showed up in force. We experienced heavy hatches on the middle river that brought some impressive brown trout to the surface. For any Missoula fly fishing guide this is a welcoming experience.

This week followed four straight days of sunny, 75-degree weather, which slowed the dry fly action on the middle Bitterroot but lit up other nearby rivers. Around Missoula, we had multiple days where you could catch as many fish as you wanted on a dry, fish were completely keyed in and eager to eat.

With May just around the corner and Bitterroot flows still under 4,000 cfs, we should be able to stay local and fish around Missoula for most, if not all, of the month instead of heading over to the Missouri. Our rivers are shaping up sooner than expected. The big question now is whether the remaining mountain snow pack will push flows back up for another peak or simply slow the decline. My bet is on the latter.

The takeaway is this: while the season is getting trickier with hotter summers and earlier warming trends, Missoula still offers excellent fly fishing it’s just happening at different times, and we need to adapt.

If you are looking to get out on the Missouri River or locally in Missoula give us a call.We have you covered.