Fly Fishing Rock Creek

From its headwaters in the upper Sapphire range to its confluence with the Clark Fork twenty miles from Missoula, Rock Creek is a wading angler’s paradise. With over 2,000 wild trout per mile and a density of bug life rivaling some tailwaters, this “creek” is really a small river that flows through ponderosa lined meadows, pristine National Forest canyons and cottonwood choked bottoms. The tea-colored water drops at a heavy pitch through some of the most scenic terrain in the West, and fabled spots such as The Hogback , The Dalles, and The Microburst are as sought after for their views as their proximity to hungry trout. Boulders, deadfalls, cutbanks, cliff walls—Rock Creek offers literally every kind of trout holding water imaginable, and hatches of rare proportion draw its trout readily to the surface. Dense populations of wild trout, prolific hatches of dry flies, and epic scenery—three wonderful reasons why anglers seek out Rock Creek year after year.

ROCK CREEK SALMONFLY HATCH: MAY AND JUNE

As runoff subsides—Rock Creek drops and clears faster than any other area watershed—usually around Memorial Day, the fabled salmon fly hatch (#2-4) begins work its way upriver. A hatch with an unbelievable biomass, the Rock Creek salmonfly event is a spectacle not to be missed—often the alders and willows are so choked with emerged bugs that shaking a single tree branch will send hundreds of three-inch long stoneflies downstream. Eruption-like trout takes soon to follow!

On the heels of the salmon fly hatch, an equally prolific golden stone hatch keeps big cutthroat trout and brown trout active through June. Big tan sedges, and chunky Green Drakes also lure the Creek’s biggest fish to the surface, before the month rounds out its great fishing with Yellow Sallies, small caddis, and PMDs.  The fishing is never technical up here, but this time of year, after a month where the fish have seen a fair number of offerings, can require reach-casts and longer leaders.