Rock Creek Fishing Report - Spring 2020

Hello all from Rock Creek! We are starting to come out of our winter hibernation and gearing up for what we expect to be a great season of fishing. Spring is just around the corner, and with it, improved fishing on Rock Creek.

That's not to say you can't catch fish right now. While the dry fly fishing won't improve until we see the skwalas and March Brown mayflies, nymphing with a variety of stonefly patterns or red San Juan worms can bring productive days. Until things get a little warmer here, aim for the deeper pools or areas that receive the most sun in the day. Because our valley is narrow and lies in a north-south alignment, sunlight is sparing in many parts of the creek this time of year. If you come out to fish, I would recommend staying on each end (near us or near Philipsburg) and aiming for the early afternoon.

Carolyn is currently running the shop MWF and Saturday from 9-2, so if you are headed up the creek, stop by and pay her a visit. Here is to warmer days on the horizon, and with it, some fun days of fishing!

Fall 2019 Rock Creek Fishing Report

CFS: 307

Water Temp: 45-48°F

Dries: Mahogany Dun, Baetis, October Caddis

Nymphs: Pheasant Tail, Orange Serendipities, Streamers

If you would have told me a month ago that the streamflow would be higher in October, I wouldn't have believed you. To celebrate the end of September, Mother Nature decided to throw us a healthy dose of snow, followed by a warm spell that promptly melted most of it. So here we are, looking at a steady CFS above our seasonal average:

Fortunately, this also means more water in what would normally be skinny sections of the creek this time of year, which for wade fishing, can be immense fun! Dry flies have been working well recently; October caddis and mayfly patterns have been productive lately. Missoula's Lee Brothers, frequent fly fishers of Rock Creek, were nice enough to share their production on dries:

Granted, sometimes you're just going to have to go subsurface as well, particularly on those cold, blustery days (like today) that are inhospitable to dry flies. If streamers are your forte, you'll have a good time swinging and stripping them pretty much now and into November. If you're more into nymphing, a big orange serendipity is a great pattern to represent an October caddis pupa, but I've seen people catch some lunkers this time of year on patterns as basic as a prince nymph or San Juan worm (see our bulletin board in the shop for details).

I am back up in Kalispell for the fall/winter season, but I will be working on some more content this winter for the Mercipedia page. Meantime, my grandmother Carolyn will be opening the shop now through the fall and winter for the following days/hours

Monday, Wednesday, Friday and Saturday - 9:00 am - 2:00 pm

Stop on in and visit with her; she's been fishing Rock Creek for over 50 years and might have good hint or two at where to fish. ;) If you need to contact us, shoot me an e-mail at rcmerc@blackfoot.net or give us a call at 406-825-6440.

Eat your hearts out, Billy, Catfish and Chuck! Thanks to everyone who continues to support our shop year in, year out; we wouldn't be here if it weren't for you guys.

Tight lines, all, and go enjoy Rock Creek for me while I'm away!

Cheers,

John

Rock Creek Fishing Report 9/11/19

CFS: 389

Water Temp: 53-57°F

Dries: BWOs, Purple Haze, Rubber-leg stimulators

Nymphs: Pat's RL, Hare's Ears, Jumpin' Jack Flash, Pheasant Tail, JJ Special

This past weekend we had a large amount of rain fall, and that caused the river to spike in streamflow from 250 to 450 cfs. While it was rising, catching fish was difficult, but now that it is coming back down, things are improving.

Hoppers were still working as late as yesterday (Tuesday), so you can still have some production with a terrestrial or stimulator pattern. However, until we get our large October caddis hatch, my main recommendation for dries would be smaller ones like blue-winged olives or purple hazes around size 16. Mahogany duns aren't flying yet, but the fish have been hitting those patterns as well.

The best fishing, however, has been subsurface. The water temps have lowered and caused some of the bigger fish to stir, and they are chasing stonefly nymphs and streamer patterns like the JJ Special or the Wonderbugger. This trend should continue throughout the fall, so have your streamer box ready if you head out to the Creek!

Next week, I will be out of the shop on a fishing (and probably beer-drinking) trip in Oregon, so Carolyn will be running the store from 8AM - 2PM that Monday thru Thursday. Besides those four days, we will be open our regular hours through the end of the month, so we hope to see you for what looks to be some excellent fall fishing here on Rock Creek!