The Clark
Fork
This river is named for Captain
William Clark, of the famous Lewis &
Clark expedition. It’s the "largest
water" we have in the immediate Missoula
are, and it boasts some amazing mayfly
and terrestrial fishing! Pods of fish
that at times number in the hundreds in a
single golf-green sized eddy, rise to
small mayflies such as baetis and tricos.
This productivity is truly amazing for a
freestone river, as these numbers are
usually only to be seen in a tailwater
environment. These “pods,” are of
course not in every run of the river, but
our guides know where to locate them, and
when they ease the boat into position on
one of these giant, foam filled back
eddies, you’ll realize---"Those
aren't waves in the foam! Those are fins
and heads
everywhere!"
At first this kind of fishing
might seem like fishing in a barrel, but
be forewarned: These critters are
not your normal rainbow. With the lift of
the rod, your prize may be in a different
zip-code by the time you realize what’s
happened. Our "infamous" Clark Fork
rainbow fights harder and makes longer
runs than normal fish of this size. A 20
incher here fights like a fresh
steelhead.
Most of us that live and fish here,
think of the Clark Fork as two different
rivers: the "lower river.” from Missoula, and
the Bitterroot confluence, all the way to Idaho
is what we call the "big water"; the "upper
Clark Fork" is considered everything east of
the old Milltown dam site, water that
gives one the feeling of being on a miniature
Blackfoot, with a little bit of the Bitterroot
mixed in. The dam has now been
removed, and for the first time in over one
hundred years, fish from all of our watersheds
are free to mix and mingle at their
leisure. With unlimited native
spawning habitat retained, we expect the Clark
Fork to become an even more amazing river in
the years to come. You can read
more about important updates and news on the
Clark Fork by checking out the Clark Fork
Coalition, or feel
free to contact
us for more information on this
subject.
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