Montana Fish Report

The Left Fork Fire (2022) and France Canyon Fire (2025) burned heavily through the Upper Kanab Creek and Blubber Cree drainages. Summer rainstorms washed large amounts of ash into the stream after these events, killing all the fish in Kanab Creek and Blubber Creek. The upper East Fork Sevier River, from Kanab Creek downstream to Tropic Reservoir, appears to have also suffered large losses of fish due to the ash flow. The East Fork and all tributaries upstream of Kanab Creek were unaffected by the fire and still have abundant trout. Access to Upper Kanab Creek and Blubber Creek is closed due to ongoing safety issues from the fire.

Fishing forecast (September through November): Brown trout get aggressive in the fall as they prepare to spawn and can be effectively caught with various flies (streamers and egg patterns), lures (spinners and Rapalas) and jigs (marabou and tubes). Individual fish spawn at various times, so there will always be a few fish in pre-spawn aggression mode or post-spawn feeding mode.