CFS: 321
Dries: March Browns, Skwalas, Brindle Chutes
Nymphs: Hare’s Ears, Pheasant Tails, Perdigons, San Juan Worms
FISHING REPORT
After what felt like a particularly long winter, we are finally starting to see some warmer, sunnier days on Rock Creek. Given that our geography means most of the creek lies in a narrow valley, the fishing doesn’t pick up as quickly as other rivers like the Clark Fork and Bitterroot due to a lack of sun exposure in multiple sections. Keeping that in mind, fish the areas where the valley is wider and gets more sun for a longer stretch of time throughout the day. The insect life will fare much better in these spots, and the fish will respond in kind.
Early spring is one of my favorite times to fish the creek. The bigger trout are hungry and more eager to take your patterns versus later in the summer, when they are hunkering down and more wary. The reports from the fishermen going out have been very good this week, with everything from San Juan worms to pheasant tails to perdigons working well. I went out a couple days ago and tried a number of patterns, but I had the best luck fishing a classic hare’s ear. This was the result:
As for dry flies, as I am writing this (March 24th), there has been very little action on the surface thus far. We have yet to see the skwalas or March Browns, just a few small black midges, of which the fish don’t seem particularly interested. However, we are supposed to reach temperatures in the 60s and possibly even 70s in the next few days, and I’d be very surprised if that doesn’t bring forth a hatch. When in doubt, you can always try a March Brown, Brindle Chute, or skwala pattern as a makeshift indicator with an appropriate dropper behind it to cover top and bottom.
This past winter, we have been keeping busy in the shop. We added a couple of fly bins (thanks to our friends Joe and Deb at Trout Bums for these beautiful additions!) and we painted the interior of the shop to add a little color and light to the Merc:
This is only the start of many projects in both the shop and our motel, which we are also in the process of updating. In the meantime, we will be open every day for all of your fly fishing and adventuring needs, so we hope to see you this spring here at Rock Creek!
