CFS: 778 Water Temp: 38-40°F Dries: Blue-winged Olive, March Brown, Purple Haze Nymphs: Double-bead Stonefly, Jumpin' Jack Flash, Perdigon, Black Streamers
FISHING REPORT
Hello fly fishers! It’s been a minute since my last report, in no small part due to the long brutal winter we had this year. It started snowing and freezing up Rock Creek in early November, and it never really left after that. Even now, we still have snow on the majority of the creek, especially upstream from Norton Campground (more on the road conditions later in this blog). Despite unseasonably long winter conditions, the fishing has improved significantly on Rock Creek this month.
So far, the dry fly fishing has been spotty, but there are March Browns, Blue-winged olives, midges and nemoura stones crawling and flying, and it’s only a matter of time before the fish start looking regularly for these and future patterns. As for skwalas, it’s still been a little too cold for them to emerge on Rock Creek, but once we get some consistently warm weather, we should start to see that hatch and a big improvement in dry fly fishing.
The best fishing on Rock Creek has been with nymphs and streamers. Surprisingly, large stonefly nymphs (think size 6 and 8) have been the best producers this spring. In the shop, we have a double-beaded peacock stonefly that has been outdoing the Pat’s Rubberleg, our usual go-to stonefly nymph. As always, the Jumpin’ Jack Flash and Perdigon nymphs are great staples for Rock Creek. If you’re into fishing streamers, Rock Creek is an excellent option right now! After fishing all the patterns mentioned above, I decided to try a big black articulated streamer called the Circus Peanut, and the trout were aggressively attacking it. If you’re willing to put in the time and the work (a.k.a. hiking to remote fishing spots and trying different patterns), Rock Creek has some good fishing that will only get better as we move further into spring. The videos below are some of the better fish I caught in my drive up Rock Creek:
ROAD REPORT
Speaking of my drive up Rock Creek, let’s talk about the road. The day after Easter, I decided to head way up and fish at the Microburst, and let me tell you, the road above Norton Campground is very sketchy. Even in my pickup truck with 4-wheel drive, I was getting pulled into ice ruts and snow drifts almost the entire way. Some of these are right next to the river, making it even more stressfull. I actually got stuck going up the second hogback near Morgan Case Homestead and had to reverse downhill and turn around. There are sections of the road that are clearer and starting to melt off, but even with the recent warm spell, they are few and far between. Until we get consistently warmer weather, I would recommend avoiding going to the middle section of Rock Creek. For a good visual, check out the pictures in this gallery:
As for the paved portion of the road near the Mercantile, there is no snow and ice, but there are potholes all over! I had to stop and take a picture of this one because I was flabbergasted by the sheer size of it. Watch out for these and others, especially on the sections with lots of shade. At some point, Granite and Missoula counties will come out to deal with these, but until then, keep your eyes peeled when driving on Rock Creek Road.
On a final note, I have a request for drivers of lower Rock Creek Road; please don’t speed! Especially near the Mercantile and Ekstrom’s, I constantly see drivers going way over the 30 m.p.h. speed limit. There are lots of pedestrians, bicyclers and animals down here, and without sidewalks, they are constantly put in danger by having to travel on the road itself. It’s a half-mile stretch that nobody should have to speed through; those fish aren’t going anywhere. I know this PSA is probably not going to reach the the ears of the people who need to hear it most, but I had to say my piece.
Overall, I think it’s going to be an exciting new season full of fish tales here up Rock Creek. We hope to see you in the shop on your way up! Until the next report, happy fishing and tight lines!
