Bitterroot River

Bitterroot River Overview below Map

See also...

Access to the Bitterroot River

Bitterroot Valley Lakes and Creeks

Popular Float Trips on the Bitterroot River

Regional Fly Shops and Guide Service

Crossing over from Idaho to Montana, Highway 93 plunges down the mountain to meet the East and West Forks of the Bitterroot River and the beginning of the Bitterroot Valley.  Bordered by the Sapphire Mountains to the east and the Bitterroots to the west, the river and highway stretch over 70 miles to join the Clark Fork River near Missoula. The Bitterroot River has few rivals for dry fly fishing and easy access.  Along the course of this river, visiting anglers will find excellent campgrounds, great side-trips to explore, along with hidden lakes and seldom visited creeks.  Its rugged west-slope mountains cradle one of the nation's largest wilderness areas, the Selway-Bitterroot Wilderness.  The freestone canyon feeder streams offer some of the best creek fishing in Montana.

Thanks to the support of local guides and outfitters and Trout Unlimited members, the state implemented over 50 miles of catch-and-release zones and trophy management areas. Rainbows in the upper sections average 800 to 900 per mile along with an equal number of browns. Outfitter Dave Odell of Anglers Afloat rewards his clients with a specially designed coffee cup when they catch a 20-inch trout. These "trophy" coffee cups used to be rewarded for an 18-inch trout. A number of years ago he was giving away so many that he upped the qualifications to 20 inches.  He champions the Bitterroot River as a great fly-fishing river.  He now awards just as many cups for 20-inch catches! The Bitterroot River deserves high praise.

The upper stretch from Hannon Memorial (junction bridge with the West Fork Road just below Connor) to the Como Bridge is one of the most popular floating stretches, but floating anglers must understand that they will be sharing the river with other floaters.  In spite of the increased traffic, this section offers some of the highest fish counts, although there has been a small decline in the number of trophy trout (18+ inches). The upper stretch all the way down to Angler's Roost Campground provides a mixed forest floor, gin clear water and lots of riffles and runs. This freestone stream slows down to riffles, runs and pools behind the city of Hamilton.  The town section provides lush cover right down to the water's edge.

Below Hamilton the river loses its many braids and flattens out to receive the broad valley floor.  The midsection of the river historically has suffered from de-watering and warmer temperatures.  With the addition of habitat improvement for feeder stream spawning and increased regulations, along with guaranteed minimum stream flows, the middle section of the river has experienced rejuvenation.  From Tucker Crossing just south of Victor to the Florence Bridge, catch-and-release regulations have steadfastly increased trout populations in both numbers and size.  Years ago I disliked having to guide on this section, even though I lived within a mile. The trout populations were thinner than in the upper river, and the warm water in mid-summer created a crapshoot at best. Today this section is one of my favorite sections year round.

With the exception of those diehards who refuse to say "when", the season officially kicks off with the Skwala stonefly hatch in mid-March and early April. Bill Bean of the Fishaus in Hamilton figures the hatch is good for a full six weeks if the weather cooperates. "One pattern to use for the Skwala is a bullethead fly tied with a black egg sack and dark body," he said. "The underwing is dark brown deer hair. The fish seem to look for this hatch to begin their yearly feeding habits, and with the size of this stonefly, they can build bulk fast." Keep in mind, however, that weather patterns at this time of year are unpredictable. During my 15-year tenure as a guide, I was often asked about the weather and the best time to book a trip.

The weather and words such as 'typical' and 'normal' are based on 30-year cycles.  Since I began guiding in 1981, I have dropped those words from my vocabulary. During the normal years I would tell people the Bitterroot would be prime during the last week in June through July. September would see a return of water, as irrigators cut back on their watering and the river would cool along with the nights. Correspondingly, the hatches return mid-day and late afternoon.  Typically, the canyon creeks warm up later, and the insect hatches appear later as well, which makes some fun and cool fishing in August.

I recommend waiting until mid or late July for fishing those creeks, but as for the Bitterroot River, I would say, based on a typical year, to plan your fishing after the river seriously begins to drop after run-off.  Call one of the local fly shops for accurate information.  During April through June the river explodes with mayfly and caddis hatches on warm cloudy days. May and June typically see the Isoperla stonefly, Salmon Fly activity on the forks and the eagerly awaited green, gray and brown drakes. Mid-summer settles into an early morning appearance of smaller mayflies which necessitates smaller tippets and size 14-18 Pale Morning Duns, Light Cahills and Parachute Adams. Chuck Stranahan of Riverbend Flyfishing in Hamilton recommends the Quigley Cripple during the drake hatches.

To borrow a wonderful phrase from Dave Whitlock, the heat of August brings forth "hoppertunity time".  Terrestrials supplement the finicky appetite of Old Man Brown along with the tiny Tricorythodes mayfly. Bring your raingear with you in August to arm yourself against the LATS (Late Afternoon Thunder Showers). An effective hopper technique for cutthroats is to dress a Muddler and fish it both as a hopper pattern next to the bank as well as a sculpin pattern on the drift.

Bill Bean describes the summer fishing as "a continual opportunity for dry fly action. With the abundance of mayfly hatches, the expert as well as the novice fisherman can do well. If you are not capable of matching the hatch, a well-tied attractor pattern such as a Stimulator will usually do the trick. Opportunities abound for fishermen who prefer wading, as well as those who prefer floating from a raft or a personal watercraft. Many access sites provide the wading fisherman ample stretches to spend a few hours or the entire day."

Falling cottonwood leaves and the orange splendor of mountainside tamarack signal the arrival of the giant orange caddis fly, as well as progressively larger mayfly hatches such as the size 10 rusty, green Emphermeralla Heccuba mayfly. With school back in session and many of the fly fishers replacing their rods for bows, shotguns, rifles and chainsaws, the river offers up her finest fishing to the solitary fisher.