Fly fishers should also watch for the big salmonflies below the mouth of Rock Creek in mid-to late June. Later, in July and August, pale morning duns can be found on the water and pods of trout will pluck them under the surface. 20 or smaller dry flies off minuscule 6X or 7X tippet. I mean all of it - to grasshoppers. Darrel Gadbow, a writer for the Missoulian , and an avid Clark Fork fly fisher, nailed a 28-inch brown on the upper river on a hopper pattern in August 1996.
Hoppers offer the only consistent surface action for the big boys.
During other seasons, anglers must drag the big, ugly stuff, like Woolly Buggers and sculpins, through brush jams and the deep holes to draw strikes. The lower river enjoys its fair share of excellent hatches, too. Baetis mayflies, also called blue-wing olives, may provide the most productive fishing of the year. Watch for their presence throughout the lower section in late April and May, and again in late September through mid-November. Often coinciding with the Baetis is an early hatch of caddis along with the emergence of Skwala stoneflies.