Warm June has western Montana anglers scrambling to enjoy good conditions

Western Montana anglers have reported some of the best early summer fishing they’ve seen in years in the past week, but they’re bracing for an early end of the season, too.

“We’ve been telling our out-of-state customers exactly what the conditions are, and our late-July and August bookings are nonexistent,” said Matt Potter of Kingfisher Fly Shop in Missoula.

“We’re having the best spring we’ve ever had in the history of our business. But typically that’s followed by a poor summer.”

A near-average mountain snowpack that accumulated last winter got flushed away early by an unusually dry spring across much of western Montana. Rivers that would typically be clouded with runoff debris have already turned clear.

“Fishing right now is off the hook – just fantastic right now,” Grizzly Hackle Fly Shop owner Dan Shepherd said Tuesday. “It’s like the first three weeks of July. Everything’s accelerated.”

That includes hatches of popular insect species like pale morning duns, stoneflies, green drakes and caddis. Grasshoppers could also show up early as grass meadows begin curing out ahead of schedule.

The challenge falls on fly-fishing fans to adjust their vacations accordingly.

“Usually, we don’t plan on river fishing until the last week of June,” Shepherd said of his bookings. “But the Clark Fork below town is fishing fantastic even in sunshine. The whole length of the Blackfoot is covered in salmonflies. The tributaries are having epic fishing. We’ve just got to get out and keep our fingers crossed that we get some rain.”

Glacier Guides owner Denny Gignoux said there was still snow in the high country above 6,000 feet in the West Glacier area, so some rain could prolong the season. “Often, we don’t recommend fishing in June because the water can be variable or cloudy and not a prime fishing experience. But this year, it’s great,” he said.

The Clark Fork River at St. Regis went from a spring high of 17,000 cubic feet per second on June 3 to just below 6,000 cfs Monday. The 85-year median for that period usually stayed above 20,000 cfs through June 15 and only dropped to 17,000 by the end of the month.

The declining flows have also forced new attention to the Bitterroot River’s Supply Ditch diversion dam north of Corvallis. A side channel allows boaters to avoid its dangerous recirculating drop – when it’s got enough water.

“We were directing people down the west channel so they don’t have to deal with the diversion dam, but now that’s already drying up,” Oschell said. “People will be forced to deal with that dam if they can’t use the side channel.”

Record-breaking temperatures above 100 degrees forecast for this weekend will affect river water temperatures, which in turn affect fishing.

Low flows, high water temperatures, and competition for space and food stress most fish, especially trout. Fish are often physically compromised and can die from the higher water temperatures and lower oxygen levels.

The preferred water temperature for rainbow and brown trout is about 55 to 57 degrees. Water temperatures of 77 degrees or more can be lethal to trout.

“In many areas we’re seeing stream flows fall below average for this time of year, and some that are the lowest ever recorded,” said Stephen Begley, a water conservation specialist for FWP in Helena.

FWP’s drought policy provides for the use of angling closures when flows drop below critical levels for fish, when water quality is diminished, or when maximum daily water temperatures in a stream reach at least 73 degrees for three consecutive days. It can also impose “hoot-owl” restrictions that limit fishing from midnight to 2 p.m. on stressed waterways.

“I’ll be very surprised if we aren’t looking at river closures or hoot-owl restrictions by late July,” Potter said. “I can deal with the closures and the hoot-owl, but I hate the fires.”