Fly fishers stand by for skwala hatch on Bitterroot
FLY FISHING -- The Bitterroot River, which runs through Missoula, is warming up and anglers are starting to squirm at the thought of the season's first hatch of big fish-arousing stoneflies.
There's still ice on the lower end of the popular Montana stream, and a cold snap could come this week, but the vaunted skwala stonefly hatch could make its appearance around March 20, according to Western Flies and Guides owner Jeff Gray of Hamilton.
"They're making their migration now from the riffles to the banks of the river," Gray said of the immature water bugs in a Missoulian story by Rob Chaney. "If they get dislodged from the rocks, they become trout food. Nymph fishing is great this time of year."
The Bitterroot River is still freezing along the edges at night -- although the main stream is warming up during the day -- leaving Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks fisheries biologist Ladd Knotek a bit more restrained, Chaney said.
"When we start getting those warmer March days and the days get longer, it triggers the bugs to start hatching," Knotek said. "But I'd imagine it's going to be a little bit yet."
Read on for more of Chaney's story:
When the water reaches 42 degrees, those nymphs molt into adult stoneflies. About the same time, airplanes start hatching anglers who've flown in for one of the nation's most famous dry-fly fishing opportunities.
"The traffic is still increasing," Gray said. "The volume five years ago is half what it is today. The largest stonefly hatch in the western United States is on the Bitterroot."
Other rivers will join in the fun as well. George Kesel of Kesel's Four Rivers Fly Shop said the Clark Fork River and Rock Creek also produce strong skwala hatches in the spring, as does the Blackfoot River.
"The least predictable is the Blackfoot," Kesel said. "It's the last river to warm up."
Visitors from Utah, Idaho and Washington tend to key into the hatch most regularly, perhaps because they're most accustomed to Rocky Mountain spring conditions.
"It's not like June, July, August and September, when weather is predictable and warmer," Kesel said. "It's difficult to sell someone on sideways snow and freezing temperatures, even if the fishing is excellent."
