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We took a trip in June of 2005 to Montana and fished the
legendary Blackfoot River, and the Clearwater River. For those
of you whose life circumstances allow you to regularly fish
different waters, you have my envy. It has been some 4+ years
since I had been able to fish out of state. And virtually all of
that other time is spent right here on the mighty Deschutes. Not
that I am complaining. If you are 'imprisoned' into fishing one
spot the Deschutes is a decent place to serve your time.
But there is something special to fishing different waters. A
certain thrill accompanies that first fish in new territory. A
delight in discovering a new fishing hole. And like discovering
a new treasure, that feeling accompanied us when we arrived at
the Blackfoot. Located outside of Missoula, we knew to expect
crowds. But fishing mid-week we were pleasantly surprised by the
lack of fishermen. There were a lot of tubers, especially on the
lower section. But fishing was very scattered.
The Blackfoot provides incredibly easy access. Something very
nice indeed when trying to cram in as much fishing into 3 days
as possible. Over twenty miles of access line Highway 200 in
what is called Blackfoot River Recreation Corridor. There is
quite a bit of good water in this stretch, plenty to keep you
busy for three days. River Junction Campground upriver from the
corridor, also provides access to a spectacular stretch of
water. Be advised that the road is fair at best, but passable,
SUV is recommended. There are several primitive campgrounds in
the area to use as headquarters. Or for that matter, Missoula is
only 30 minutes away most of the time, if more sophisticated
lodging is wanted.
We arrived on a Tuesday evening and spent the evening setting up
camp, and trying are luck very quickly on some evening dry
action. The next day found us nymphing early and with great
success landing both cutthroats and browns. One of the many
wonderful things about this river is the diverse trout that call
it home. Not only the above mentioned species, but also rainbow,
and the heavily protected bull trout. Bull trout are illegal to
target, and we didn't see any, but the prospect of seeing one,
does add an element of excitement to the trip.
We also stopped off at the Clearwater, and fished this little
gem with great success, landing many browns and rainbows, as
well as Mountain Whitefish. Crystal clear as it name implies,
don't overlook this humble tributary to the Blackfoot.
At River Junction the North Blackfoot pours into the Blackfoot,
supplying it with cold clear water, and the magic transformation
into a trophy trout stream really begins here. Unfortunately
despite all the great access of the Blackfoot, below this
campground, must be fished by boat. If one has time, guided
trips can be arranged in Missoula or Ovando.
Although that would have been nice, back we had to come. But
future plans were made to re-visit this great river, and many
others that flow through one of the most marvelous fly fishing
paradises in the world.
About the author:
Cameron Larsen is a retired commericial fly tier and fly fishing
guide. He now operates The Big Y Fly Company.
http://www.bigyflyco.com/flyfishinghome.html He can be reached
at info@bigyflyco.com. This article will appear in the Big Y Fly
Fishing E-Zine at
Http://www.bigyflyco.com/Bigyflyfishingezine.html
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