Blackfoot River Fly Fishing
The Blackfoot River has always been a well-loved favorite trout fishery of the “locals”. But, Big Blackfoot River Fly Fishing was truly made famous nearly worldwide by Norman McClain’s movie “A River Runs Thru It”!
The Blackfoot is a gravel bottom, boulder-strewn “Freestone” river that begins near the Continental Divide east of Lincoln. And it runs down through the Blackfoot Valley for over 130 river miles where it joins the Clark Fork River at Bonner, Montana. Nearly 120 miles of the Blackfoot are “floatable”. The first 35 miles are off limits to commercial floating. The water is cold and clear and the numerous rapids keep it well oxygenated. The Blackfoot River is truly a trout paradise!
A Blackfoot River fly fishing trip will provide you with one of the most memorable fishing experiences of a lifetime!
This is one of the most beautiful, scenic rivers in Montana! It can be hard to keep your eyes on your fly when you’re surrounded by the breathtaking scenery of pine forests and towering cliffs!
How Is The Blackfoot River Fly Fishing?
Awesome! And, our guides know it as their own backyards and know how to help you get these powerful, fast-water fish at the end of your line! Even first-time beginners can enjoy great success because the aggressive West slope Cutthroat is not as finicky as some trout. Also, the current is carrying your fly past the fish at a pretty good clip. They don’t have much time to scrutinize an offering!
The prolific hatches of huge Salmon Flies, Golden Stones, big Mayflies, Caddis, and a smorgasbord of terrestrial insects work these opportunistic feeders into a fly-grabbing frenzy.
Most of our Blackfoot River Fly Fishing is done from a raft with 9ft 5 and 6 weight rods, and tossing big dry flies on a short line in fast, broken, clear water. However, as renowned as the Blackfoot is for its superb dry fly fishing and as much as we love to fish dry flies, for various reasons the fish aren’t always “looking up”. When those conditions prevail we feed them nymphs and streamers. Actually, some of our biggest fish are caught on subsurface offerings!
Westslope Cutthroat, Rainbows, Browns, and the huge Bull Trout thrive well in the Blackfoot! In addition to these, Mountain Whitefish and an occasional Brook Trout are also present in the Blackfoot. Words cannot adequately describe the beauty of the Big Blackfoot! The quality of this fantastic fishery is phenomenal!
Come and fish with our knowledgeable and experienced fishing guides on this pristine freestone river! All of our guides know the Blackfoot like their own backyard and they are eager to share their favorite fishing holes with you! (well, most of them!) To read some interesting facts about the Blackfoot click Here!