The Blackfoot runs northeast out of Missoula through ponderosa pine and canyon walls, dropping 3,000 feet from its headwaters near Stemple Pass on the Continental Divide. It’s rocky, cold, fast in places, and full of wild fish. Norman Maclean wrote about this river and made it famous. People come from all over the world to fish it. It still earns that attention.
Taylor Scott, the licensed outfitter who runs these trips, comes from a family with deep roots on this river. His great-grandfather was fishing the Blackfoot before anyone thought to write a book about it, and our guides still know this water well.
What You’ll Catch
The Blackfoot holds brown trout, rainbow trout, cutthroat, cut-bow hybrids, bull trout, brook trout, and mountain whitefish. The fish are wild and they fight like it. This isn’t an easy river to wade or row, and the wild trout here have to be earned.
Hatches and Best Times to Fish
Spring fishing on the Blackfoot is hit or miss. The river runs cold because of its elevation and takes longer to warm than the Bitterroot or Clark Fork. Skwala stoneflies, Blue Winged Olives, and Western March Browns come off in spring, but the timing depends heavily on water temperature and snowmelt.
The Blackfoot really turns on in mid-June. That’s when the Salmonfly hatch moves through and the river shifts into its best stretch of the season. Golden Stones, Green Drakes, PMDs, and Tan Caddis follow, with hoppers taking over through the heat of summer. Mid-June through July is when most people who know this river want to be on it, though the fishing stays strong well into fall. The Salmonfly hatch on the Blackfoot is something you should experience at least once.
Streamer fishing is worth mentioning separately. In early summer before the fish start rising consistently, and again in fall as water temperatures drop, streamers produce some of the biggest fish on the river. October Caddis, Mahoganies, and Blue Winged Olives carry the fall hatch season. Spruce moths come off in midsummer and can trigger good dry fly fishing. Fall on the Blackfoot is excellent for anyone who likes throwing big flies on heavy line.
What to Expect on a Float
The Blackfoot is not a beginner river to row. Rocky banks, technical water, and fast flows demand experience. Many of our guides run the Blackfoot in rafts rather than drift boats for good reason. The boulder gardens that make this river so beautiful to fish are the same ones that make it demanding to navigate. You’re in good hands with a guide who knows it.
Wading is possible but not easy. The rocks are large and uneven and the current moves faster than it looks. Your guide will find you the right spots and keep you in fishable water all day.
If you’re looking for a guided fly fishing trip on the Blackfoot River out of Missoula, this is one of our favorite rivers to run. There’s a reason people travel here from everywhere to fish it.
