I fished the Thompson River over the past few days. Most of the Montana rivers last week were double the regular flows for this time of year. Fly Fishing was a bit harder than normal. One can still land a fish in the unusually high water this past week.
Just to give you an idea of how out of whack things were, the Thompson River was nearly 4000 cfs six days ago, and now is less than 1500 cfs as of today. The river is clearing, but is still not ready for the epic Salmon Fly hatch. The water temp was 43 degrees today. The word on the street is that the water temp needs to be between 48 to 58 degrees for the giant Salmon Flies to hatch. I am not sure about the water temps, but I do know that the Salmon Fly hatch is hard to predict across the state of Montana. many have called me in the past week to get the info on the Thompson River.
The Salmon Fly hatch is one of the best hatches in Montana. Anglers come from all over the world to have a chance to catch a trout on a two to three inch dry fly. The trout love them. Anglers have the chance to catch a 24 inch native non-stocked trout on this fly.
On the Thompson River, located in Thompson Falls, Montana; the Salmon Fly Nymphs have started moving to the banks and are ready for the hatch. Like all stone flies, the larger Salmon Fly crawls out of the the water and molts and spreads itʼs wings and flutters across the water laying its eggs. They are much more active than the Skwala Stone Fly. The term “TWITCH IT” is uttered by all the guides to the clients that have never fished with the Salmon Fly. The more action the better the results.
The Thompson River Clean Up is this weekend. It starts at 9:00 am and runs all day. If you want to try your luck with the Nymph pattern of the Salmon Fly this would be a good time to do it. When things slow down you can give back to the Thompson River by picking up some trash and packing it out. We all have to pitch in to keep America and Montana Beautiful. So Please come to Thompson Falls this weekend and fish the Thompson River. While your at it pick up a few empty beer cans and other trash.
If you are interested in a guided fly fishing trip on the Thompson River please contact me at 406-210-0971 or visit our website www.montanafishingcompany.com
