Fly Fishing the Bitterroot, Big Hole, and Beaverhead Rivers

We headed over Chief Joseph pass into the Bitterroot Valley after leaving Salmon, ID. As I mentioned in my last Fall Fly Fishing Road Trip post, this trip was spontaneous. We ended up fly fishing the Bitterroot, Big Hole, and Beaverhead rivers on our way east. Yellowstone National Park was a destination as well. We wanted to see if our timing was right to watch some wildlife.

It turns out we fished four days on the Bitterroot. The first stop was the West Fork.

The West Fork has been one of our stops whenever we are in the Bitterroot Valley. The water was noticeably lower since last fishing it in July. I thought we’d be able to find a few willing Cutthroat trout.

I tied on a Purple Haze since we didn’t see any insect activity. I don’t know why fish like this fly, but they do. It doesn’t really imitate anything.

We cast to the far bank, next to brush and fallen logs. Watching closely, I noticed a couple trout eating something on the surface.

Here is one.

I had my fishing partner cast in the same area…here is one of her fish.

We only spent a couple hours fishing this location and headed downstream through Darby, finding a spot to sleep for the night.

We’re still learning to fish the Bitterroot River. We fished it last year when attending Cast One for Hope. If you haven’t seen their promo video, Karen and I were the fly fishers. CLICK HERE. This year’s event was cancelled due to Covid-19. They did hold a virtual event which we participated in. We are looking forward to attending in 2021 in Hamilton, MT.

The run below is a spot we found last year that fished well for us.

Again, we didn’t see any insects for fish to rise to. Blind casting the Purple Haze, I was able to raise and hook a handful of fish, mostly under 10 inches.

I walked down to a spot I had caught some nice fish last year and gave it a try. I caught a couple nice fish.

Here is another spot we fished in Hamilton. This is a boat access spot where a bridge crosses the river. We found a few rising trout, mostly small.

OK, this one was a little bigger.

If you’re a regular here at RiverKeeper Flies, you probably recognize my “foam is home” comment. I’ve written about how we find nice fish feeding in the foam. I guess trout feel safe there. That’s where the fish above was.

My wife was waiting for action and noticed this dragonfly on a rock.

It caught an insect in flight and landed on the rock next to her…and started having lunch with this mayfly.

As I mentioned above, we are still learning the river. We walk and wade, which I believe is different than most on the river. Floating the river would be very effective. If you decide to fish the Bitterroot River, give one of the fly shops a call and take a guided trip.

But if you’re like us, we enjoy the walk and wade experience. Just park at a boat ramp/access point and walk upstream. You’ll find some nice water and hopefully a few fish will rise to your fly.

Yes, we caught fish. What we didn’t see were any Mahogany Duns or Hecuba mayflies on the water. We had a cold front move through, and I think it affected the insects. Kinda like last year. Well, not exactly like last year. We didn’t have 5 inches of snow. Just cold and windy.

We had a good time in the Valley, but it’s time to move on.

Our goal is getting to the Madison River. The only question is which way should we go? Up to Missoula and down the freeway or up the Bitterroot River and over Chief Joseph pass and along the Big Hole River

You guessed it…the Big Hole was calling.

I have a love/hate relationship with the Big Hole River. I’ve heard stories of big fish there, but somehow they have evaded us. But I like the beauty of the Big Hole Valley.

We thought we’d just drive down the valley and stop at the Beaverhead for a night and then on to the Madison River.

We always stop at Fishtrap to see if we could see any rising fish. I didn’t think the fish would be rising.

Well, I was wrong. Turns out they like Purple Haze!

The river gods allowed us to hook and land a few fish and we were grateful.

The next morning, there was frost on the ground as we got up. We packed up and drove down river.

We didn’t plan to fish, just look at the different water levels. Our first stop was at the Divide river access.

We looked for rising fish, but got back in the van and headed downstream again.

Why not drive into Maiden Rock and look?

What a beautiful spot. The fall foliage was spectacular!

See that spot of foam? We didn’t see any rising fish, but it was too tempting.

Dancingtrout rose three fish, one she guessed was a 20 inch Brown close to the bank and the foam. It took a Thunder Thigh Hopper on the first cast. She hooked up, the line went tight, and then it was gone.

That was it. I decided to swing a couple streamers, but didn’t find any willing trout. Like I said, I have a love/hate relationship with the river.

Back in the van and over to Dillon and the Beaverhead.

Ooops…that was a mistake. See how low the river is?

Here is was back in July.

How does the saying go…the best laid plans…

Oh well. Next stop…Madison River.

Enjoy…go fish, stay safe!