(See also information on fishing the lower Clark Fork River)
St. Regis River Overview below Map
The St. Regis River is a good option in the spring when all the other rivers are blown out. I recommend using Woolly Buggers and Bitch Creeks in the spring along the lower St. Regis River, as the browns follow the spring spawners to feed on the egg deposits. The opening day for the St. Regis River is the third Saturday in May. When I asked about the St. Regis River in general, one of my fellow guides said that the river gets scoured every year. The best fishing is in the first two miles, and he wouldn't fish any further up than four miles, except during spring and fall spawning runs.
Pre-season flies include Skwala stonefly from mid-March to mid-May, along with gray drakes and March Browns. April through mid-June fish with Blue-wing olives and Nemoura stonefly patterns.
From Interstate 90 take Exit 33 for St. Regis, Montana.
Lakes and Creeks in the St. Regis Area
Moore Lake, Little Joe Creek, Diamond Lake, Cliff Lake
Follow the main street in St. Regis a half-mile west. Turn left when you see the sign South Fork Little Joe Creek and Moore Lake. The mileage to Moore Lake is 14 miles, and this is the only sign to Moore Lake you will see again until you are zig-zagging up Road #221. (If you miss Road #221, you will wander like I did to the top of the pass and the Idaho border.) Turning at the sign just outside of St. Regis, the road will cross over the Interstate and the St. Regis River. The road turns to gravel, but it is well-maintained. At 3.3 miles there is a camping spot and an access to Road #221. Turn left on Road #221. The road follows the creek and is one lane and bumpy at times, although you do not need a 4x4.
Follow this road 6.9 miles until the road makes a turn to the right, at the second Moore Lake sign. The lake is 3.4 miles from the sign. Moore Lake has a turn-around and an outhouse. The lake is 200 yards from the parking area and does not have any campsites. Nestled in a tight bowl, this 13-acre sub-alpine lake offers good fishing for 8-12-inch brook trout.
Little Joe Creek is a very small creek, but up in the canyon on the way to Moore Lake, the creek is backed up by many downfalls, providing little pools for small brook trout and cutthroats.
Diamond Lake and Cliff Lake
Heading eastbound on Interstate 90, take Exit 43. Turn right at the stop sign and proceed over the railroad tracks. Continue seven-tenths of a mile and turn right on Road #342. The lake is 13 miles. Four miles from the lake, you will make a left turn at a T-intersection. Diamond Lake Campground is suitable only for tent camping. The road is a one-lane, steep climb suitable for cars. Diamond Lake is a popular spot, as it is one of only a few lakes reached by road in the area.
It is a 17-acre, deep lake in heavily timbered country, and it is full of small brookies. To define small, I fished the lake with a father and son from Maine. We dragged and carried three of my one-man fiberglass boats about 100 yards before we could launch them. (The campground end of the lake can be jammed with logs so if you plan on launching a canoe, plan on a portage.) In the space of two hours, Tom, Lincoln and I managed to catch 15 fish between us. Not one measured over 9 inches.
Cliff Lake: Much larger than Diamond Lake, Cliff Lake is reached 1.5 miles up the trail from Diamond Lake. The Lake reportedly has 14-inch cutthroats. I spoke to two anglers coming down the trail, and they said they couldn't even cast from shore because of the cliffs and the debris and half-sunken logs surrounding the lake. Eager to fish the Clark Fork that same day, we passed up the hike.
