Rock Creek Fishing Report: June 5, 2026
At a glance: The salmonfly madness has resumed. Flows dropped roughly 1,000 CFS over the last few days and are still trending down, and Grizzly Hackle has bumped the creek to a 5/5 — the bulk of the salmonfly hatch is now in the upper half of the creek. Still high, off-color, and technical wading, but this is the bite of the year getting started. Grizzly Hackle: 5/5 (6/4). MAngler: 3/5 (6/3). Best window: 10:30 a.m. – 3:30 p.m.
Obstruction update (Kingfisher / Rock Creek Mercantile, 6/3): Lower Fire Ring to Elkhorn is woody and jammy — the corner is blocked by a fresh log. Everything else has cleared in this last push, including the earlier Mile Marker 27 tree and the Upper Fire Ring–Microburst sweeper reported by Blackfoot River Outfitters on 5/29. It's still runoff season — wade carefully and watch for debris and sweepers when floating. One slip on a slick rock and the creek may want you 500 feet downriver. Studded boots and a wading staff.
Conditions
Last week's heavy rain and high temps bumped Rock Creek up a lot; now the creek has dropped and the salmonfly fishing has come right back. The Clinton gauge was around 2,020 CFS at the start of the week (Lightweight, 5/31) and has fallen roughly 1,000 CFS since the bump, with flows continuing to trend down. Water temperature runs from the upper 40s to mid 50s (47–52°F per Lightweight, ~55°F mid-day per Blackfoot River Outfitters), and clarity is off-color but improving daily.
Anglers are catching fish on salmonflies throughout the creek right now, but it's fished slower with the big bug on the lower creek (downstream of Nortons). Per Grizzly Hackle, don't be afraid to leave the lower portions alone and head upstream — that's where the best salmonfly bite is. Work soft inside bends, bank cushions, side channels, boulder edges, protected pockets, and slower tailouts; fish the banks before stepping in.
Hatches
The salmonflies are the story, and the bulk of the hatch is now in the upper half of Rock Creek, with stragglers still on the lower miles. Golden stones are next as flows drop and temps warm, green drakes should start going off on cloudy days, and yellow sallies, clouds of caddis, BWOs, and PMDs round out the weeks ahead.
Best Techniques
Dries / dry-dropper are the headline at a 5/5. Grizzly Hackle's favorite salmonflies have a lot of orange: Dancin' Ricky's, Supa-Dupa Stones, Stone Squatters, Juicy Stones, and Cat Pukes in foam for dry-dropper work, with natural-looking patterns — Norm Woods, Sofa Pillow, and Emma's Stone — for the dry-fly-only days. Blackfoot River Outfitters' dry-dropper picks: Juicy Stone Salmonfly, Henry's Fork Salmonfly, Fools Gold Salmonfly, or a Chubby Chernobyl Salmonfly. Missoulian Angler's June box leans the same way: True Salmon Fly, Super Gee Salmon Fly, Rogue Salmon Fly, Half Down Salmon Fly, and Morning Wood Salmon Fly for the big bugs; Plan B Golden, Fluttering Stone Golden, Rastaman Golden, Dancing Ricky Golden, and Henry's Fork Golden as the golden stones build; plus Hairwing Green Drake and the sally patterns (MAngler Yellow Sally, Iron Sally Jig Morrish, Beadhead Yellow Sally). Blackfoot River Outfitters' mayfly case for the windows ahead adds MFC Hot Spot Para-Wulff – Brindle, Flash Cripple – Green Drake/Grey, Jake's Green Drake, Carlson's Purple Haze, and Stranahan's Brindle Chute. Focus dry-fly efforts on soft water against the willows and structure.
Nymphing is still the most consistent way to cover the bright midday hours and the colder, wetter days. Subsurface, reach for a Pat's RL, TJ Hooker, Sili-Leg Stone with the orange tungsten bead, Hot-Bead Double Bead Stone, Zirdle, San Juan Worms, Jig PTs, Hares Ears, Shuck-its, Duracells, and big Prince nymphs — fished through softer seams, inside bends, bank cushions, and pocket water rather than the fastest push.
Streamers stay effective with the water up. Dead-drifting a Sparkle Minnow, Woolly Bugger, or Bighorn Bugger has worked well; fish olive, black, brown, or lightly flashy patterns through slower buckets, undercut banks, and structure, early and late or wherever there's shade or color.
7-Day Outlook
Get in on the salmonfly madness now before it's too late — and if you miss it, there's plenty of great dry fly fishing to come: golden stones, green drakes, sallies, PMDs, and clouds of caddis in the coming weeks. Flows continue to trend down, and Missoulian Angler expects fishing to improve significantly over the next couple of weeks — some of the best fishing of the year on Rock Creek. Weather: sunny and warm today with rain moving in Sunday (NWS, 6/5) — Saturday looks like a solid window before the wet spell, and the cooler, cloudier stretch behind it favors nymphing and could kick the green drakes into gear. (Blackfoot River Outfitters' 5/29 cold-weekend outlook referred to the May 30–31 weekend and has passed.)
