The Root has given up its crown for the first time in a month. It is still a fine fishery, but the valley's warmest week yet has caught up with the lower river.

The Root keeps the crown for another week: still dropping but holding good clarity from the East Fork to the confluence, the most complete fishery around Missoula right now.

The Root keeps the crown for another week. It is dropping fast after last week’s rain but holds good clarity valley-wide and is settling into classic midsummer shape, still the most complete fishery around Missoula for mixing dry-fly, dry-dropper, nymph, and streamer work in a single day.

The Root keeps the crown for another week: good clarity, a legitimate multi-bug phase, and fish spread across riffle edges and banks.

The Bitterroot is settling into excellent early-summer fishing, with the upper and middle river the most consistent water and clarity very good overall. Overlapping hatches of Golden Stones, PMDs, Yellow Sallies, caddis, and Green Drakes have fish looking up all day.

Fishing well and moving into better summer shape, though still carrying runoff volume lower down. The West Fork is the cleanest small-water option.

The Bitterroot is still fishing well and is the safest all-around option in the region. Riffle edges, tailouts, and soft bank seams are loaded with feeding fish.

The Bitterroot is fishing well and is the safest all-around option in the region this week.

The Bitterroot has dropped into great shape and is the safest all-around option in the region this week. Flows remain elevated but clarity is great and improving.

Dropping and in good shape with improving clarity, mid-day water temp around 56°F. Roughly 3,950 CFS near Missoula, dropping to about 1,480 near Darby.

The Bitterroot has dropped into great shape and is the safest all-around bet in the region, with salmonflies slowing up high as golden stones take over river-wide. Dry-dropper rigs and a big streamer are both producing.

The best overall option in the region: clarity is great, the fish are hungry, and salmonflies are underway on the upper river and both forks. Floaters, watch the log jams.

All four rivers are dropping out of last week's rain-driven blowout and the trend is positive everywhere. Rock Creek is the headline: salmonflies are on the water and Grizzly Hackle rates it 5/5.

The Bitterroot had a huge bump over the last five days and is now dropping fast, and it has fished well for those braving the flows.

Runoff is back across the region after another warm push. The Bitterroot is the most fishable mainstem; Salmonflies have arrived on lower Rock Creek but high, off-color water is throttling the dry-fly bite everywhere.

Western Montana is on the back side of a big runoff push. All four rivers crested last week and are dropping fast — clarity is improving daily, but flows are still high and off-color.

The whole Missoula-area system is in spring-runoff mode.

Runoff is in full swing across western Montana, with a cold, wet weekend pushing flows higher and snow showers in the forecast through Sunday before things dry out and warm into the 60s by midweek.

Regional headline: warm weather has pushed Western Montana into full runoff. All four rivers are high, off-color, and pushy.