Imagine that you have driven to the main stem of the Bitterroot River, where the West Fork of the Bitterroot joins the main river. From this point, moving north towards Missoula, I have outlined access points along with links to creeks and lakes on our progression north on Highway 97 to Missoula, Montana. Be sure to visit Western Montana's Best Creeks and the sections covering Western Montana Lakes, Float Trips, and Back Country Fishing, as well as the separate section on camping, which includes forest service campgrounds and RV campgrounds.
Bitterroot
River Access / Hannon Memorial / West Fork
As
you cross the Highway 97 bridge south of Darby, you will see a boat launch to
the right and a small campground to the left.
Darby Bridge
Darby bridge
has a small access on the south side of the bridge for floaters. Please do not
block this access, and don't cross the bridge, as it is private and posted. If
you are going to wade fish, keep in mind that all of the surrounding banks are
private property so stay in the streambed. From Highway 93 in downtown Darby,
turn east on Tanner for two blocks. Turn right on Water Street for a half-mile.
Turn left on Darby Bridge Road.
United States
Forest Service
Bitterroot
National Forest Information Center, Darby, Montana. Warning - 25 mph! (Ask
David Letteman.)
Highway 97 mileage marker 35: Wally Crawford Fishing Access
Often referred
to as the Como Bridge access, this is without a doubt the most popular stretch
of water above and below the bridge for floaters. Although the fishery has
withstood the increased pressure, as the summer flows decrease the larger fish
head for cover. Plan on seeing up to 10 other floaters on a hot summer weekend.
Floaters from Wally Crawford to Angler's Roost must portage around Sleeping
Child Dam, which is easily done. Launching upriver, the floaters have a choice
of floating down from the town of Darby for a short run or putting in above
Darby at Hannon Memorial Access, where the highway crosses the river again
south of Darby. All of these access points are good fishing areas for foot
fishermen.
Angler's Roost Campground / Hamilton, Montana
A few miles
south of Hamilton, the highway crosses the Bitterroot River. This is also a
popular section for foot fishers. Angler's Roost owners have generously allowed
floaters to launch their rafts from their campground. Be sure to sign their
guest book and park in their designated parking spots. Show your appreciation
by doing some business with them in their store.
Bitterroot
River Access: Hamilton
To the south of
Hamilton the Bitterroot River is crossed at the Silver Bridge. In spite of
heavy fishing pressure as well as swimmers, fishing is good downstream from the
bridge to Blodgett Park, a short distance downstream. The river braids through
this section, and it provides excellent cover from downed cottonwoods.
Bitterroot
River Access: Hamilton Sewage Treatment Plant
Don't let the
facilities dissuade you. Some of the best fishing on the Bitterroot River runs
behind the town of Hamilton. Turn west at the light at Adirondack Street from
Highway 93. Two blocks up, turn right on Seventh and then immediately bear
left. You can also reach the river by turning west on Main Street and driving a
short distance to the Main Street Bridge.
Bitterroot Access - Hamilton,
Montana
The northern
entrance to Hamilton offers three choice access points. The first is the Woodside Road turn-off
to Corvallis. You will find a
parking area by the bridge for boat launching. Next is Blodgett Park, which offers day use only. At the approach to the city limits, you
may also access the river at the silver bridge.
Tucker
Crossing Fishing Access / Highway 97
From Highway 97
near the mileage marker sign 56, look for the access road on the east side of
the highway. You will see a nice parking lot. In typical years I would not
recommend floating downstream as the channel often splits and braids. The shallow
water can make for some tough floating. This is also a popular site for walk-in
fishing from both directions. On the other side of the highway, if you turn to
the west, you will be on Bear Creek Road, which will take you to both the Bear
Creek trailhead and the Fred Burr Creek trailhead.
Victor
Crossing
The bridge at
Victor Crossing washed out in 1997, but it was replaced in the summer of 1999.
Victor,
Montana
Victor has a
great steakhouse and a great Mexican restaurant and the Hamilton House Bar
serves a great fish dinner! Sweathouse Creek is a small creek right above the
town of Victor. A narrow canyon with fast, tumbling water, fishing is good for
6- to 9-inchers. From the town of Victor, turn onto Main Street and then right
on Chief Victor's Camp Road and then left on Sweathouse Creek Road to the
trailhead.
Bell Crossing
Fishing Access
Turn east from
Highway 97 near the mileage marker 61 sign. Opposite the turnoff to Big Creek
Lake, Bell Crossing is a state access point to the river for floaters floating
down to Stevensville. Wade fishers will have to hike both upstream and
downstream for selective fishing.
Stevensville, Junction to Highway 269
Turn east from
Highway 97 towards the town of Stevensville for Bitterroot River access,
Stevensville Bridge, and Burnt Fork Creek. The Stevensville Bridge
is a popular put-in and take-out point for float fishers either floating
downstream to Florence or floating from Bell Crossing Bridge to the
Stevensville Bridge. This is a good access point for foot fishermen upstream or
downstream. The entire area is a managed trophy trout section and, as such, is
catch and release. During the last few years, the stretch from Stevensville to
Florence has seen an increase in the number of boats plying the river on any
given day of the season.
This section of
the river can be fickle and torment floaters all day, or it can reward you with
a most memorable day of fishing. I will confess to fishing a number of seasons
without catching a trophy trout on the Bitterroot River (20+ inches). September
1997, I slipped my Little Dipper drift boat into the water at the Stevensville
Bridge and within the first two miles I had caught a 23-inch brown, an 18-inch
rainbow and a 17-inch rainbow.
I celebrated
all day long as I floated down the river. The moon and planets and stars were
surely all aligned.
Poker Joe
River Access (Florence Area)
Look for the
sign south of Florence on Highway 97.
During the heat of the summer, fish a nymph on the bottom, or fish a
hopper with a dropper down past the rip-rap car bodies above the railway
bridge. This area is good foot fishing in the fall. Prior to the run-off in
1998, I floated through this section during an incredible drake hatch. I
couldn't believe the number of 12- to 14-inch rainbows. Regardless of how
poorly this section fishes during the heat of the summer, I can assure you that
you are dragging your lure over more trout than I could imagine until I saw
them all boiling on the surface. Yes, I caught a lot of fat fish, but I must
confess that it wasn't easy. On every cast a regatta of brown drakes surrounded
my fly. One other shore fisherman was on the stretch above me. After a while I
walked up to him eager to share my experience. "Can you believe it?"
I said. He replied, "Unbelievable, but you should have been here
yesterday!"
Florence,
Montana
Florence offers
gas, food, bars and Rhino's sporting goods store, where you can buy a fishing
license. After 18 years of being a resident of Florence, Montana, I packed into
Peterson Lake
with my donkey, Buddy, and two of my students, September 25, 1999. Peterson is
only five miles into the wilderness, right above Florence. The trail is
difficult in places, but the view is spectacular. A popular hiking spot for the
locals, the fishing is, nonetheless, good for small 7- to 9-inch rainbows.
Peterson is one of the few lakes in the Bitterroot Wilderness that can be
reached in three hours, less if you are under 55 and in good shape! The lake is
beautiful and fishes well at both the inlet and outlet, which is typical of
most mountain lakes. A number of nice campsites ring the lake.
Duffy Lake,
less than an hour's hike away, has a reputation for being the better fishing
lake. We didn't make it to Duffy. Saturday morning the mountains were clouding
up with telltale signs of snow. When my two senior students arrived at the
house, I attempted to let them off the hook, but they just derided me for being
a sissy. Besides, they pointed out, the paper said the clouds would break up in
the afternoon and Sunday was supposed to be sunny with mild temperatures. Off
we headed to a mountain lake just a few miles from my house. The trailhead is
up Sweeney Creek. Take the Sweeney Creek Road, which is 1.5 miles south of
Florence's only traffic light. From Highway 93 to the trailhead is approximately
seven miles.
By the time we
had Buddy unloaded from the back of my pickup truck and headed up the trail,
the wind was blowing corn snow. When we reached the ridge, to drop down to the
lake, the slightly warmer winds plastered us with wet snow. By the time we had
our tents set up, it was cold and miserable. We spent the next three hours
curled up in our sleeping bags. By 5 pm the snow stopped and the boys crawled
out to fish. I started a huge "white man's" fire, and watched as the
two young men pulled in fish after fish on a nymph setup I had devised for
them. My wet feet never thawed. The next morning we woke to four inches of
snow. After breakfast we took a vote to head home, even though the blue sky was
breaking across the jagged cliffs and peaks above us. Packing out we stopped in
awe at the beauty of the lake and the canyon. By the time we reached the truck,
the Bitterroot Valley was bathed with the prospect of a return to Indian
Summer. Thirty minutes later a Montana "Gotcha" clobbered us with
cold winds and snow on the valley floor. I can't wait to return in the spring.
If you are in the Missoula area, and you are not troubled by other hikers,
Peterson Lake would be a great day hike or an overnight camping trip if you
were pressed for time and wanted a wilderness experience.
Bitterroot
River Access: Florence Bridge
As you enter
Florence, watch for the Conoco Gas Station. Turn onto the East Side Highway and drive one mile to the
bridge. The Florence Bridge is a popular exit point for floaters entering the
river at Stevensville. This section of the river can be very productive fishing
or VERY slow fishing. It is especially good fishing during the Skwala hatch
during the spring and later when the autumn nights cool the river.
Chief Looking
Glass Campground
Chief
Looking Glass Campground is a beautiful campground and local swimming hole.
Watch for the sign between Lolo and Florence. This section of the river is poor
fishing during the summer as the water is slow and warm. Comparatively
speaking, this section has a low fish count, but I would recommend fishing this
area in mid-September during the Ephemerella Hecuba mayfly hatch. The pattern
is a size 10 rusty, green.
Lolo Sewage
Treatment Plant
River access.
Turn east on Glacier Road. A few blocks down Glacier Road, you will come to a
T-intersection in a residential neighborhood. Turn left and follow the road to
the sewage plant where there is a day use area on the river. This is the
logical exit point if you are floating down from the Florence Bridge or Chief
Looking Glass Campground, but you have to drag or carry your raft or canoe up
to the parking lot. It is a LONG
day's float from Florence!
Blue Mountain
Road (Look for the big athletic center a few miles south of
Missoula.)
Blue Mountain
Road follows the Bitterroot River until it intersects with the Clark Fork. The
first fishing access is Maclay Flat. Blue Mountain Road turns to the Southside
Road that goes all the way to Petty Creek, which is an exit on Interstate 90.
The road winds around the hillsides for miles. Sometimes it follows the Clark
Fork River; at other times it follows the ridges far above the river. If you
plan on wade fishing the lower Clark Fork, this is the road for you. It may
also be accessed from Interstate 90 onto Reserve Street. Follow Reserve Street
until you come to Mullan Road (Perkin's Restaurant). Turn right on Mullan Road.
Follow Mullan Road until you come to Kona Bridge Road. Turn left on Kona Bridge
Road until it intersects with Southside Road. Follow the signs to Deep Creek
Shooting Range, and you will know you are on the right road. Past the turnoff
for Deep Creek is the Old Harper's Bridge, which is a takeout point for
floaters launching from Spurgin Road.
This area of
the lower Clark Fork is a challenge for beginning fly fishermen, as it has long
stretches of flat, unproductive water. The Clark Fork does not have high trout
counts, but when you find one trout, you usually find a pod. I do not recommend
this stretch for wade fishers during the heat of August unless you are on the
search for sippers. If it is an overcast day in August or September with the
promise of some light showers, do not pass up the opportunity to fish the Clark
Fork.
Highway 93
(Reserve Street)
Traveling north
on Reserve Street, cross South Avenue to Spurgin Road. Spurgin Road Fishing
Access is tucked behind a very affluent neighborhood. In fact, you drive right
between two fenced homes to get to the day use fishing access. When you reach a
T-intersection, just turn right and then left as Spurgin Road takes a jog. The
access has a boat launch, but during dry years you will have to drag your boat
down to the Bitterroot River where it joins the Clark Fork River.
