Clark Fork River Fishing Report: April 30, 2026

Spring is settling in on the four Missoula-area rivers. Flows have come off the early-week peak and are starting to drop and clear, but every river is still running high. The dry-fly window is opening up — Skwalas, March Browns, BWOs, and a few Gray Drakes are showing — though nymphs and streamers remain the most reliable producers. The Bitterroot River is the standout right now, with the cleanest water and the most consistent dry-fly action.

Water: High, off-color, ~6,200–6,400 cfs above Missoula · Visibility: improving · Temp: 42–46°F

The Clark Fork is the dirtiest of the Missoula-area rivers right now. Clarity is fishable but not optimal, and the river is fishing best from late morning through afternoon — especially under cloud cover. Subsurface tactics still rule. The dry box is worth keeping handy for opportunistic risers in back eddies and softer seams.

Hatches: Skwalas, March Browns, BWOs, a few Gray Drakes, early Mother's Day Caddis, plus Nemoura and Capnia stoneflies.

Best techniques:

• Dry-dropper with a Chubby or Water Walker up top and a TJ Hooker, Prince, or Jig PT underneath is the go-to rig.
• Heavier indicator nymph rigs in slower buckets and transition water.
• Streamer fishing is very effective in the off-color water — dark and high-contrast worked slow and deep along structure.

Featured flies:

• Dries: Carlson's Purple Haze, Stranahan's Brindle Chute, On Point Para Wulff – BWO, CDC Midge Adult, Bucky's Klinkhammer-Zebra, Chubby Chernobyl, Hi-Vis Micro Chubby, True Skwala, Blackout Stone, Dancin' Ricky, D&D Cripple, Ms. Tickle, Last Chance Cripple (Last Chance Cripple), Parachute Adams, BWO Comparadun.
• Nymphs: MFC Speckled Double Bead Stone, MFC Tungsten 20 Incher, Solitude TJ Hooker, Rio's Sili-Leg Stone, MFC Jig Wonky Worm, MFC Jake's Depth Charge Jig Worm, Frenchies, Princes, Jig PT, Duracells, San Juans.
• Streamers: MFC Chicago Overcoat, Coffey's Conehead Sparkle Minnow, Lil' Kim, Kreelex, Rio Thin Mint Bugger, Black/Purple/Olive Dungeons, Gongas, Woolly Buggers, Sir Sticks-A-Lot.

Outlook: Saturday into Tuesday warming to a peak of ~73°F under partly sunny skies, then a midweek system drops temps back into the 50s with rain and snow on Wednesday. Watch for another flow bump as the warm-up moves snowpack.