A lot of our local fishing guides hit the small streams right now when fishing on their day's off. You can be surprised what can lurk in tiny water this time of year...but you can go bust if conditions aren't right or you aren't paying attention and fishing with the proper techniques--go slow, be stealthy, and prospect any spot that looks good.
We've got a good forecast for small stream fishing on tap for the weekend---showers, light drizzle, and possibly some snow in the forecast.
The mountain streams are going to fish well and as we get into longer and cooler nights, many the valley streams may increase some in flows as irrigation wraps up but they can still be low. The colder mountain streams become less productive as water temps start to drop but that won't happen for a few more weeks.
When fishing the small streams in Montana it is always important to be aware of the Montana Stream Access Law. We are fortunate to be able to recreate and fish on miles and miles of waters. If the small creeks or rivers you are looking to fish run through private property be sure to check out Montana Fish, Wildlife, and Parks Stream Access Law information here. The hopper fishing has been epic on some of our smaller stream ranch leases and will continue to do so until the first few frosts arrive in a month or so. A mixed bag of hatching insects has the trout looking up and dry fly fishing can be great.
For consistent small stream fishing, consider the spring creeks such as DePuy's and Armstrong's. Small mountain streams are a better mid summer option as they are probably big with snowmelt runoff right now.
The Month Ahead
Fishing on lightly pressured small mountain streams or private ranch fisheries is often good all summer long since the trout have seen very few flies. On many of our smaller ranch leases that don't switch to hunting trips come September the fishing can be very good all through October – especially those with a nice population of browns.
Long Term Fishing Forecast
Some smaller streams become pretty low and clear by this time of year but they can still fish well with a stealthy approach and delivery.
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