Montana Fish Report

Flows are starting to come down from about 1000 cfs to more realistic summer flows. The Truckee in town is currently flowing at about 600 cfs and should continue to fall a little as we move further into summer. Water temperatures have been warming up in the afternoons making the early morning bite the best bet. Fish are scattered through the entire system but will concentrate around water with higher oxygen content as water temps continue to warm. Trout can be found in any water from ten inches to ten feet deep right now. The insect life has been strong with several years of good snowpack. There’s been a few little yellow stones and Baetis mayflies around but that will taper off as we move into more of the summer bugs. We should see Caddis, PMD mayflies, and golden stones hatching in fair numbers through the next month. Fly fishermen are doing well with small streamers dead drifted near the bottom. Hoppers are out in force and the occasional fish will come up to eat one. Spin fishing with small spoons, kastmasters, and spinners has been productive around many of the parks. USFW has been periodically stocking Lahontan Cutthroat around the major parks.