Clark Fork River

The Clark Fork is one of the longest rivers in Montana, stretching more than 280 miles from its origin to the Idaho border. The last sixty miles of the river is essentially a series of lakes created by three dams. The best fishing on the Clark Fork is found between its origin and the confluence with the Flathead River near Paradise. The terrain the Clark Fork flows through is quite diverse. At its origin, the area is marked by large, arid plains with towering mountains located to the south. The many scars on the landscape, especially near its headwaters, serve as a reminder to what the regions heavy mining activity.

Fishing the Clark Fork

Not so long ago the Clark Fork would often run red, full of heavy metals and mining wastes that flowed down the entire length of the river, killing all but a handful of lucky fish. These mining wastes originated near the headwaters of the Clark Fork, in the heavy mining area surrounding Butte, Anaconda and Opportunity. These wastes ended up in the two primary feeder creeks that create the Clark Fork, Warm Springs Creek and Silver Bow Creek.

As a result of these efforts, the Clark Fork has been making a solid recovery and now plays hosts to lots of large brown trout and rainbow trout. Excellent fly fishing can be found in numerous spots along the Clark Fork, some of which rival that found on other more notable rivers (many of which drain into the Clark Fork, such as the Bitterroot, Blackfoot and Rock Creek). While the entire Clark Fork holds trout, the best fishing will be found in various spots along the river. A successful angler will bypass some of the slow areas and instead focus on the better producing water.

The Clark Fork is a very long river, running for more than 300 miles in Montana. The lower sixty miles consist of a chain of dams and reservoirs. The remainder of the Clark Fork, though, holds a lot of every kind of habitat a fly fisherman could want. Whitewater, pools, runs, riffles, brushy banks, grassy banks, forested banks, fast current, slow current and much else await an angler visiting the Clark Fork.

Thus, an angler who plans on fly fishing the Clark Fork for the first time should think about what type of river they like to fish. If you enjoy fly fishing in a small river setting, don’t plan on fishing below Missoula. Likewise, if a spring creek fishing experience is what you are looking for, plan on fly fishing right at the origin of the river. And if float fishing is your style, plan on putting in anywhere downstream from Missoula.

In short, the Clark Fork offers enough fly fishing variety to satisfy any angler. It provides excellent fishing in spots, and both very large brown trout and monster rainbow trout can and have been pulled out of the river. And as an additional benefit, compared to other Montana rivers, fishing pressure on the Clark Fork is generally light. With its nasty reputation and its close proximity to more notable trout rivers, the Clark Fork is generally drove by without a second thought by most anglers. As a result, many sections of the Clark Fork allow an angler to fish and have the river all to themselves.

Click Here for Real-Time Water Data for the Clark Fork River