Archive for the ‘Fishing’ Category
Epic Salmonfly Hatch Predicted for Western Montana Rivers
By BRYCE MCLEAN - By all predictions, the 2013 Salmonfly Hatch should be EPIC! We're talking about all-out crazy, fish eating every cast, don't even finish one beer all day because you don't have time...kind o... more
Montana’s Clark Fork River: A Return to Glory
By BRYCE MCLEAN - As most of you probably already know, they opened up the Clark Fork from Turah to Sharon last week. Just like the rest of Missoula I couldn't wait to fish it...and it didn't disappoint.... more
In Love with a River: Montana’s Bitterroot River
By MATT DEVLIN - (VIDEO) I'm frequently asked which of Montana's rivers is my favorite. My answer: the Bitterroot River--why? Because she's the hardest to catch fish out of. ... more
Back to Missoula and Back to Montana Fly Fishing
By MATT DEVLIN - I've been gone for the past 6 months working in Key West. But the pull of river currents and drifts undisturbed except by eager fish brought me home. God Bless Montana! .... more
Early Runoff: Is the Skwala Hatch Finished? A Rundown of Area Rivers
By BRYCE MCLEAN - Here's a complete run down of the areas rivers so you can make an educated decision on where you want to fish this week.... more
The Mighty Missouri: My All Time Favorite Trout River
By BRYCE MCLEAN - As much as I love the movie "A River Runs Through it" and as amazing as the fishing on the Blackfoot can be, my all-time favorite trout stream Has to be the Missouri.... more
The Elusive Skwala Hatch
By BRYCE MCLEAN - I have been fishing the skwala hatch since I was 10 years old. And after all that time I've learned: If you think you "definitely" know when it's going to happen, you are most certainly going ... more
The Fish It Guide to Fall Flies
By MATT DEVLIN - The pigskin is flying, the leaves are a’changing, the trout aren’t so willing in the morning. Fall's arrived. Here are the best flies for the season.... more
The Year of the Big Blackfoot
By BRYCE MCLEAN - The Blackfoot River has once again risen to the top of many anglers' lists of the greatest trout streams in North America, and it has been sweet.... more
The Perfect Pair: Montana Craft Beers & Fly Fishing
By MATT DEVLIN & BRYCE MCLEAN - There's no better way to beat the heat than enjoying a cold beer while flyfishing. Here are our favorite local beer and river pairings.... more
Missouri River Fly Fishing, the Best in America
By BRYCE MCLEAN - I'm lucky to say I learned to fly fish on the mighty Missouri River. Last weekend, I was reminded why the river is the best dry fly fishing in America.... more
Exploring the Teller National Wildlife Refuge
By BRIAN D'AMBROSIO - Teller National Wildlife Refuge, with its 1,200 acres of tranquil beauty in the Bitterroot Valley near Corvallis, is Montana’s only private refuge. ... more
One of Those Flyfishing Days
By MATT DEVLIN Well, I’ve thought for a while now that a flyfisher gets around five perfect days of fishing the Salmonfly hatch in his or her entire life. I’ve got three left now by those calculations... more
A Flyfishing Dream Fulfilled
By BRYCE MCLEAN - Take it from me, go to Belize with a fly rod. There's no place like it. And there are few things like seeing 100 bonefish feeding 60 feet off your boat.... more
Spring Flyfishing Highlights and the Pursuit of a Dream
By BRYCE MCLEAN - (VIDEO) My dad, brother, and I have long dreamt of catching some big 'uns on a salt water fishing trip. The dream will soon be reality.... more
Spring Runoff: Big Wheels Keep on Turnin’
By MATT DEVLIN - When the rivers are blown and life is playing like a bad country song, there's only one thing to do: Ride it out in hope of clear, trout-filled waters.... more
How to Escape the Boat Hatch
By BRYCE MCLEAN - It's no mystery that spring brings good dry fly fishing the Bitterroot. But to escape the crowds, you've gotta venture to other rivers around Western Montana.... more
Zen and the Art of Not Fishing At All
By BRYCE MCLEAN - The other day, I was reminded of one of the great traditions of fly fishing: Not fishing at all, but just enjoying the scenery and watching the river flow by.... more
It’s Skwala Season on the Bitterroot River
By BRYCE MCLEAN - It's a special time of year to fish in Montana. When you look through snowflakes to see a 22-inch brown come up for a dry fly, you'll know what I mean.... more
Skwala Time
By ROB BREEDING. We’re just barely breaking the shackles of winter but things are about to turn on for fly fishers. March heralds the arrival of one of Montana’s great hatches: skwala stoneflies on the Bitt... more
Ice Fishing: The Aromatic Sport of Kings
By BOB WIRE - In the winter, I’m usually an indoorsy guy. But every winter, three buddies and I undertake the elaborate intelligence test we like to call ice fishing.... more
Fly Fishing Film Tour This Friday at the Wilma
By BRYCE MCLEAN - The Fly Fishing Film Tour is this Friday at the Wilma!... more
Don’t Underestimate Fishing in Winter in Montana
By BRYCE MCLEAN - People often underestimate winter fishing in Montana. Sure, you might go 4 days without catching a fish, but on the fifth day, you might catch the biggest trout of your life. ... more
River to Table: A “Blast and Cast” Trout and Duck Harvest
By BRYCE MCLEAN and MATT DEVLIN - As big game season comes to an end, we find ourselves looking for other ways to spend our weekends. Fortunately, fishing season lives on and duck season still has two months to... more
Fall is for Swinging for Steelhead
By MATT DEVLIN and BRYCE MCLEAN - Fly-fishing for steelhead trout in the high-desert hills of eastern Idaho is all one could ever ask it to be.... more
Best Brown Trout Flies for Spawning Season
By BRYCE MCLEAN & MATT DEVLIN. This weekend was the opening weekend of this year’s big game hunting season--one of the best weekends of the year. Unfortunately it falls during some of the best streamer fishin... more
Fly Fishing . . . the Comedy of Tragedy
By BRYCE MCLEAN & MATT DEVLIN. Shakespeare was a fly fisherman. This claim is in no way academically nor historically supported, but he must have drawn his dichotomous inspiration from somewhere. And I’ll l... more
Don’t Hang Up the Rod and Reel Just Yet…
By BRYCE MCLEAN & MATT DEVLIN. All we can say is don’t hang up the rod and reel on account of the calendar. When it comes to fly fishing in western Montana, you sort of can’t go wrong these days--just kind... more
Fall Fly Fishing in Western Montana
By BRYCE MCLEAN & MATT DEVLIN. What is the best time to fish in Montana? I hear this question all the time, and my answer is always the same: September and that will never change. ... more
One-Way Ticket to Brown Town — Ode to Brown Trout
By BRYCE MCLEAN & MATT DEVLIN. Their habits are clandestine, their legend strong, and their choice in living accommodations impeccable. The word brown falls pitifully short when describing these stream kings. ... more
The Four Stages of Fly Fishing
By BRYCE MCLEAN & MATT DEVLIN. A wise man once told me that every fly fisherman goes through 4 distinct stages throughout their fishing life. At first I thought that he was simply spitting B.S., but I have rec... more
The Trip of All Trout Fishing Trips
By BRYCE MCLEAN & MATT DEVLIN. Every year we pile in to our trucks and take off across Montana for a week of absolute trout fishing chaos. This year seemed to be more chaotic than any other, and it all added up... more
The Great Tube Hatch
By BRYCE MCLEAN & MATT DEVLIN. As summer wears on in earnest, the air and water temperatures approach each other and Missoulians get hot. What do Missoulians do when they get hot? Well they pile into the rive... more
The Year of the Twomper Trout
By BRYCE MCLEAN & MATT DEVLIN.Twomper is a term in fishing that you probably have never heard before. That’s because it’s a word made up, and used by trout bums from the Bitterroot Valley. It refers to an... more
The Advent of Stoneflies and 84-Years-Young
By BRYCE MCLEAN & MATT DEVLIN. Life is good. As I hooked the third or fourth fish of the day yesterday my friend exclaimed “Can you believe we live here?” The truth is some days I can’t. Bryce and I ha... more
There’s Light at the End of the Missoula Fly Fishing Tunnel
By BRYCE MCLEAN & MATT DEVLIN. Well everyone, the wait for our summer fishing season is finally coming to an end. The rivers are still really big, but they are on the drop for good this time. Green drakes hav... more
Missouri River Fishing – Trout Mecca of Montana
ALL NEW FISH IT BLOG! By Bryce McLean and Matt Devlin. This is truly a spring runoff to remember, but there is one place that has remained fishable throughout this entire spring. The Missouri, a.k.a. the Might... more
Water, Water, Water – Fly Fishing Season is When?
ALL NEW FISH IT BLOG! By Bryce McLean and Matt Devlin. As spring gives way to, well, more spring here in Western Montana, fly rods sit collecting dust. Fishermen and Guides around the state are watching in di... more
No Place Like Missoula in the Fall
Blog by "Captain Catchem" Mark Ward. When someone from out-of-state thinks about Montana’s unique scenery,... more
Montana Natural History Center
The Montana Natural History Center helps cultivate the understanding, appreciation, and stewardship of nature through education. With a variety of programs for all ages, the Center helps both children a... more