Fly Fishing the Clark Fork River

The Clark Fork defines Missoula: a broad, braided freestone river with prolific caddis and mayfly hatches that keep fish looking up well into October. It transforms from a small meadow stream near Anaconda to a wide western river by the time it passes through downtown, offering everything from easy wade fishing to technical canyon floats.

16 shops nearby

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When to fish

June–October

Best months: June–October

Best
Off-peak

Skwala Stonefly: March–April. Blue-winged Olive / March Brown: spring and fall.

Today's conditions

Where to fish

Along the Clark Fork River

Wye1 shopMissoula7 shops

Nagos1 shopDarby1 shop

Montana's largest river by volume runs through downtown Missoula and parallels I-90 for much of its length, giving easy road access to multiple FWP fishing access sites. Major floats include Beavertail to Milltown, the Missoula Town Stretch, Kelly Island to Cyr, and the challenging Alberton Gorge.

The water

Freestone

Key hatches

Blue-Winged Olive
Caddisfly
Gray Drake
Midge
Salmonfly

Hatch calendar

Conditions

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6-day forecast

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Forecast from the National Weather Service ↗

Hatch calendar

Months each hatch is active on the Clark Fork River, with hook sizes and local timing notes.
Hatch · hook	M	A	M	J	J	A	S	O
Blue-winged Olive(mayflies)hook #16–20spring and fall	March	April	May	June		August	September	October
Caddisfly(caddis)hook #14–18	March	April	May	June	July	August
Gray Drake(mayflies)hook #12–14	March	April	May
Midge(midges)hook #20–24	March	April	May	June	July	August	September	October
Salmonfly(stoneflies)hook #4–6			May	June
Pale Evening Dun(mayflies)hook #14–18				June	July	August
Pale Morning Dun(mayflies)hook #14–18June–July				June	July	August	September
Western Green Drake(mayflies)hook #10–12				June	July
Yellow Sally(stoneflies)hook #14–16				June	July	August
Callibaetis(mayflies)hook #14–16					July	August	September
Lime Sally(stoneflies)hook #14–16					July	August
Trico(mayflies)hook #20–24July–August					July	August	September
Mahogany Dun(mayflies)hook #14–16September–October						August	September	October