Blackfoot River

The Blackfoot River is one of the finest rivers in Montana. Exceptional scenery, classic trout water habitat and a wide variety in the river all combine to make a fly fishing trip on the Blackfoot River a memorable one. Today, the Blackfoot is one of the more popular rivers in Montana, for fly fishing, rafting and just relaxing. An angler floating down the Blackfoot River will find whitewater enthusiasts running the numerous rapids, many wade fisherman, and in the lower stretches of the river, people floating down the river on inner-tubes and other “various things” that just happen to float.
While the Blackfoot River is indeed popular and receives heavy use, actual fly fishing pressure is not as heavy as some other notable Montana rivers. Much of the use on the Blackfoot is for non-fishing uses. As a result, the fishing on the Blackfoot is excellent, helped in large part by excellent management by the Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks

Fishing the Blackfoot

Averaging seventy five feet across; deep long pools, choppy riffles and fast runs characterize the river. Pine and willow lined banks as well as emerald colored water creates a wonderful setting. Floating the river is almost a tradition in the area. Its waters consist of great diversity which makes a float down the Blackfoot a great experience. Rapids, long gentle glides, boulders, and hard bends create both an easy and difficult float. Many anglers also choose to wade fish the river from one of the many access points found along its route.
The Blackfoot River does see its share of use, a good portion of the use is on the weekends by either local fisherman or recreational floaters from the Missoula area. Arriving on the Blackfoot River during mid-week or before Memorial Day or after Labor Day will find the river empty of much of the weekend crowd, providing for a more pleasant fishing environment – especially for wade fisherman (who need to do battle with all the “flotation devices” that make their way down the Blackfoot River on a summer weekend).
Hatches can be excellent throughout the year. Stoneflies are very productive and important throughout the Spring and Summer. Stoneflies include Salmon Flies, Golden Stones, Little Yellow Sallies, as well as a couple others. Large fish over twenty inches come to net each year when the “big bugs” are on the water. Caddis are productive from Spring till mid Fall and include a variety of different species. Many mayflies also hatch throughout the Spring, Summer, and Fall and include Blue-winged Olives, Pale Morning Duns, Western Green Drakes, Western March Browns, Callibaetis, Tricos, Mahogany Duns, and a few other less productive ones. The smaller dry flies fish best in the flat pools found along the river while the larger stonefly patterns can be thrown in the harder pushing water throughout the riffles and runs. Terrestrials, especially hoppers, are also very effective during late summer.
Streamers and nymphs are also very productive throughout the year. Bring a sink tip line if you plan to get your large streamers down. Nymph fishing is most effective using a floating line with a leader approximately twice as long as the depth of the water your fishing. Woolly buggers and generic nymphs are local favorites.
Click Here for Real-Time Water Data for the Blackfoot River