Winter

Well the new boat shop is finally finished and I will begin construction of a new 15 ft. skiff and a 9 ft. pram after new years.  Winter has definitely set in around here and we are lucky if the highs for the day get above freezing.  Haven't thought about fishing much although I saw one rise to a midge in the duck decoys the other day.  If you are interested in a boat or fishing next spring or early summer please contact me asap since both season will fill up (hopefully) in the next couple of months.  Stay warm and look forward to rising trout and healthy flows. http://www.sheerwaterguides.com/

Fall into Winter

As the fall winds to a close and my favorite time of year is fading, I can't help but think of all the great days of trout fishing we had this year and the great clients that make it all possible.  After doing my last days in Oct.  I spent a number of days swinging flies for steelhead in Idaho and then hitched up my new '65 airstream trailer and headed to Eastern Montana to hunt pheasants and sharptails with my dad for 10 days.  The trip was a total success and some of the best upland hunting I have seen in years both Pesca and Futa did awesome this year (my yellow labs)!  Then it was off to elk camp where I scored again with both a mule deer buck and a nice cow elk.  Now that the freezer is full and snow is on the ground I am beginning to think about next year.  Spring comes fast around Missoula and we will have great fishing by March 20.  Give me a call and lets set up some dates.  Thanks again for a great year and have a great Thanksgiving!

Fall is here!

As the summer ends and fall rushes in I can't help but think what a great season it was.  What an incredible snow pack we had the rivers really never got low and the trout were truely happy.  Thanks again for all of your buisness!  Fishing as a whole was fantastic this year and the Clark Fork is really beginning to show it's true colors again.  Mahagony's are going strong and head hunting is really good right now.
  It was opening day of duck season today and a couple of friends and I got up to a little pothole in the Mission Valley and shot three limits.  What a nice change of pace.  October will continue to fish well as long as the temperatures stay moderate.  It is now time to begin thinking about Spring Skwala's I already have a few bookings so if you want a specific date please contact me asap.  Cheers and thanks again!

August and the fishing is awesome!

Summertime and hopper fishing is in full swing.  All three of Missoula's rivers are fishing great right now and should only get better as the weather moves towards fall.  Spruce Moths on the Blackfoot are really going strong and we are getting a 5 plus hour window of great dry fly fishing everyday.  Hopper fishing on the Clark is really good right now and the Bitterroot is beginning see hoppers as well.  I still have a couple of more dates left in late August, Sept, and October so get ahold of me as soon as possible come see why high water spring rock! in the fall.  karl@sheerwaterguides.com

Fishing is going to be awesome for the rest of the season

It has finally happen and fishing is great everywhere on the Bitterroot and Blackfoot.  The Clark Fork will begin to fish in the next couple of weeks. Golden Stones, Drakes, PMD, Yellow Sallies.  The fish are really on the Chew. With the Bitterroot and Blackfoot both still around 5000 cfs we are going to have alot of water for the whole summer so get up here enjoy fishing from my wooden boat all year cause we will not need to use the raft.  Still have plenty of opening in Late August, Sept., and Oct. so send me an email and we will get you on the books.  Cheers.

Summer is here and the fishing is only getting better.

Finally summer is here.  Both the Bitterroot and Blackfoot are fishing well and fish are starting to look up consistently each afternoon.  We are seeing tons of Goldens of vary sizes as well as Drakes and PMD's.  The next couple of months should be awesome fishing so come on out and see us.  karl@sheerwaterguides.com

It has finally happened!

As rivers continue to drop around Missoula the fishing is really taking off.  Although we are still mostly fishing small tributaries with Salmon Flies and Golden Stones both the mainstem of the Bitterroot and Blackfoot should begin to fish well by this weekend and the Clark Fork in a couple of weeks.  This is going to be an awesome summer with great water levels give me a call dry fly fishing is here to stay until late October.  karl@sheerwaterguides.com

Things are looking up!

As the water continues to stay high in most of western montana.  Things are still starting to fish.  I have spent the last week between the Dearborn, Missouri, and Upper Rock Creek.  Although the Creek is now closed to floating for the rest of the season.  We caught fish on dry's and streamers on both the Dearborn and the Creek and I expect the Bitterroot and West Fork to begin to fish well ASAP.  What all this really means is that August, Sept, and October are going to be awesome fishing.  Since we are having such a cool summer so far water temps will be great in August and fish should be hammering hoppers.  If you want to fish this year and haven't already booked now is the time! karl@sheerwaterguides.com

Check out the new pics of the Bitterroot skiff on the website.  I will be running a special price on these boats this winter just to get a few more of them out on the water.  I strongly believe this skiff design is the best rowing boat I have ever been in and I have been getting really strong reviews from both customers and other guides.  It is really stable and really light and as a result you just don't have to work as hard to catch fish.  CHECK IT OUT!

June around Missoula.......

Finally! The water is dropping yippeee!!!!!!!!!  We are finally seeing runoff begin to fall and fishing oportunities are looking good for the next couple of weeks.  Some reports have trickled in about possible Salmon Fly fishing on the upper Bitterroot and Rock Creek.  Although the rivers are still high.  There should be fish biting on the tributaries and upper Bitterroot.  The Missouri continues to give up great fish but the pressure is intense so if you want to get out in the next two weeks give me a call and head to Missoula.  karl@sheerwaterguides.com

Rainy wet June

As we near mid June I can't help but be amazed that after the huge snow pack that we recieved last winter we have had nearly five weeks of constant rain.  Many years we are right in the middle of awesome salmon fly fishing but not this year.  Although finally the rivers around Missoula may be near the top and ready to fall the other way and start to clear soon it is mid June and we arn't sure if the end is in site.  What this means is that July, August, Sept. and October are going to be awesome this year and the fish are going to be extremely well fed.  I still have a number of openings for July and the rest of the summer so come on up the whole season should be awesome.  The fishing on the Missouri continues to be excellent although the lower river isn't much of an option with the Dearborn putting mud in the river.  Come and see what the worm hatch is all about.  The quality fishing on the Mo should last through the first week of July atleast.  karl@sheerwaterguides.com

June like no other!

Well I have just gotten back to Missoula from my second trip of the season over the the Missouri River.  The fishing was great!.  Even though most of Montana has been inundated by flooding and snow melt the Missouri as usual is fishing fantastic!  The rains of the last few weeks on top of the already considerable snow pack have swelled many rivers above their banks but I still hold out hope that the Bitterroot and Blackfoot will be good to go in a couple of weeks both have been down to fishable levels in the last week and only just came up again because we got a ton of rain yesterday around Missoula.  I don't think that the huge water we are experiencing right now in Montana will hurt our summer fishing at all if anything it will just make it that much better.  I will keep you all updated as things progress around here but right now I think Western Montana should begin to fish great in the next couple of weeks.  Cheers and contact me at karl@sheerwaterguides.com I still have a number of openings in the first two weeks of July. 

May and the water is big!

It is time to start thinking about tailwater and tributary fishing.  Having just got back from tropical 89 degree weather, great surf, and big Jack Crevalle in Mexico I am pumped to see the runnoff in Western Montana in full swing.  Many people think May is a poor trout fishing month but this is simply not the case.  My favorite river in May is the Missouri which has over 4000 trout per mile and in some sections double that number.  Because it is a tailwater (damn release) it runs relatively clear even at extremely high flows which keeps the fishing biting no matter the cfs levels.  The average size of fish in the "Mo" is simple amazing and after all of the great runoffs we have had over the last few years it only seems to be getting better.  We spend the majority of May and early June fishing the Missouri but there are a number of smaller options that if the weather cools off for a couple of days the waters will clear and present some excellent early season stone fly hatches.  I always tell people that the last two weeks of May and the first two weeks of June are possibly the best fishing weeks of the whole year, the only thing not guarenteed is if you will get it don't on a dry fly.  Many times we have to nymph 'em up to catch the bigs ones, but most people agree that a big one under a bobber is way better than no fish at all and the fact that you usually catch way more big ones per day at this time of year kind of sells itself.  Come expecting to chase big strong trout in a big river with lots of current.  It is a really exciting time of year to be out on the water.  I still have some days available in early June so send me an email at karl@sheerwaterguides.com and we will go fishing.

Mid April

Since this year despite the weather has turned out to be one of the greatest spring fishing seasons of all time.  The Bitterroot and Clark Fork have been giving it up each and everyday for weeks and unless you are truly unlucky to end up fishing on one of the bitterly cold days fishing has been consistently great.  The high mountains continue to get snow fall almost everyday so we are going to have a great summer season.  Late May through Mid June will be most likely a Missouri River show but it is going to be awesome over there this year!  The high the Missouri get the better the fishing gets.  The Bitterroot, Blackfoot, and Clark Fork will be fishing well by the third week in June most likely and will fishing well all the way until late Oct.   I still have some day left in June and July so come on up.  Don't be scared of August either since it is probably the best "hopper" fishing month.  Get a hold of me at karl@sheerwaterguides.com.

The beginnings of the May Fly

Well it finally happen, we received a big push of water late last week that sent the Bitterroot shooting up for a couple of days.   I was off the water for the weekend to attend a good friends wedding but was back out there today.  Even though there is alot more water than last week the rivers are once again on the drop and we had some great fishing today, big fish were on the chew!  What happen is that we had a number of nights in a row where the temps. didn't get back down to freezing and a bunch of low level snow decided to melt.  The nights are cooling back down and things look really good for the next couple of weeks.  I am also starting to see more and more may flies out and about and fish are starting to key towards those along with our Skwala stone flies.  April is as much fun as March only a little warmer and there are more different types of bugs out there.  If you haven't already booked a trip come on out the water is fine.  www.sheerwaterguides.com

Skwala Fishing at it's Best!

As the month bleeds away into April I can't help but think that this year is possible one of the best March's I can remember.  Even though we had a cold winter and weather this month has yet to get above 60 degrees the fishing has been great and it looks like it will continue to be great well into April.  In the last 10 days we have seen the dry fly fishing get better and better each and every day.  Although there is plenty of traffic out there everyone seems to be catching fish.  We have been averaging nice fish with atleast a few shots per day on big ones over 18 inches.  The biggest problem right now is getting people to slow down their hook sets and let the fish get ahold of the fly before taking a swing.  Fishing should be great for another couple of weeks maybe all the way through April so come on out or give me a call.  http://www.sheerwaterguides.com/

Well it is here! March Madness! In the last week we have had some excellent dry fly fishing in the late mornings and afternoons. The Skwala hatch is in full swing and as good as ever. I say it every year but it is like clock work, "come March 15th no matter the weather fish start looking for Skwala dry's." I feel like many years March is as good or better than April even though there aren't all that many naturals bugs about. It better just because the fish haven't seen a bunch of various fake dry imitations that are consistently being pulled out of their mouth. We are still totally on the Bitterroot but as the earth warms we will begin to fish both the Clark Fork and Blackfoot as well. I think water conditions should hold together into mid April but I would come fish as soon as possible. Get a hold of me at karl@sheerwaterguides.com or check out the website and remember we are running spring specials until May 15th just $375/day

March Madness!

Well the report we have all been waiting here is finally here. Spring fishing is here and the fish are biting! One of my guides Nick Stipech and I floated the Bitterroot yesterday and had great fishing! We didn't see any dry fly activity but nymph fishing was good to great all afternoon. Once the temps. get above 50 degrees in the afternoon we are going to see some really good Skwala dry fly fishing and nymphing in the mornings should remain kick ass! These early season hatches can be kind of hard to pin down so you are always better off hiring a guide until the hatch really gets underway. Remember we have a spring special going until May 15th.

karl@sheerwaterguides.com

Spring is here! Sort of....

Well things have finally started to warm up and the snow is starting to melt in the afternoons. We will have lots of snow in the Mountains through early July but the valley snow should melt out in the next few weeks. As most of this valley snow disappears the rivers will rise from their wintertime lows and the fish bite should turn on. March has always been the least talked about month that offers great fishing because it can be cool and snowy. The weather shouldn't deter serious fisherman I have seen some of the finest fly fishing Western Montana has to offer in Mid March. I will have more to report once we get out on the water this week. But keep in mind fishing in the last two weeks of March and through April is going to be awesome this year and we run spring fishing specials of on $375/day/two anglers, this is a screamin' deal!

karl@sheerwaterguides.com

February and the Sun is Shining!

Although winter is definitely not over, we have gone from getting pounded with snow last week to today where all I can think about is going trout fishing.  The weather today is in the high 40's or low 50's sunny and feels great after all the cold weather we have had for the last three months, if this were the first week in March we would be seeing a pretty good afternoon dry fly bite today.  All you really need for great dry fly fishing in the spring is afternoon temps in the mid 40's and the fish will start to look up consistently.  March is mainly a Bitterroot deal since it is the first river in Montana to warm significantly and have really good Skwala Stone fly hatches.  This year March is going to be excellent so if you haven't booked yet get in touch with me and book some days.  Also remember the spring special of only $375/2 anglers/day this only lasts until Mid May.

Californication

Well today is the last day in Southern California after spending the last week with a couple of my good friends and fishing customers.  This whole trip sprung out of an idea one of my friends had while fishing the Missouri River in Montana last June.  It was one of those idyllic calm Montana days in June where just about everywhere you cast your fly catches a nice one,  Glen was having a pretty good time in the back of the boat catching fish after fish and this idea.  The idea was that I should come down this next winter and put on a talk about fly fishing Western Montana at his wife's casting club (notice his wife's fishing club).  The trip then spiraled into a week long bonanza of snow skiing and fly fishing adventures in the Eastern Sierra.  We had four wonderful days skiing Mammoth in the mornings and fly fishing Hot Creek and the Upper and Lower Owens rivers in the afternoons.  The weather was amazing! 40 plus degree temps ruled in the afternoons and it was gloriously sunny each day.  It was bizarre coming from Montana to such beautiful weather in January.  The shear numbers of fish/mile in these small streams is staggering, since none of them are larger than the Beaverhead.   We then spent a couple of days seeing the sights of the Los Angeles area, had a awesome personal tour of the Disney Theatre and had a great time eating and drinking ourselves into sleep each night.  After a wonderful dinner at Walt's Seafood in Seal Beach we drove up to the Long Beach Casting Club for my Presentation on Western Montana.  I have been to a number of fishing clubs but never have I been more impressed and warmly greeted.  They have a giant casting pond and a great club house with all the technology to provide an excellent presentation.  The presentation went off really well and I really enjoyed getting to talk to a large number of fly fishing enthusiasts.  To Bill, Jeff and the Long Beach Casting thanks again for everything and hope to see you all soon on the water's of Western Montana.  Tightlines and Cheers.

January

As the snow continues to pile up in the mountains we have had a serious warming trend in the valley's and the rivers have all bumped up quite a bit.  It is amazing how last week everything was darn near frozen solid and this week we are experiencing 40 plus degree temperatures during the day and the water is on the rise drastically.  I starting thinking back how a couple of years ago although we had a great snow pack up high in the mountains day time temps were such that the last week of February had some of the finest dry fly fishing of the year and as a result March had these amazing Skwala Stone Fly hatches.  I still think we are a ways out from that but who knows.  I remember launching the boat on the Bitterroot on Feb. 25th and thinking to myself, "do I really need this coat?"  We were really just out on the water to be there after a long winter of not trouting and not really worried about great fishing we just wanted to be out. As the afternoon warmed up the fish began to look up and holy cow! the fish were on!  We caught quite a few on the dry and a bunch more on droppers and as we drove back to Missoula that evening all of us agreed that was possibly the best day of trout fishing anyone of us had ever seen in February, and on the dry fly as well!  Western Montana's pre runoff fishing can be just as productive or more so than any other time of year.  We are truly blessed that because of the lower altitude of the Missoula area things warm up enough to offer literally three more months of great trout fishing than any other Montana fishing destination.  Come check it out!  Get ahold of me at http://www.sheerwaterguides.com/

I can remember why I got into fishing guiding in the first place.  It was to go down beautiful rivers everyday and catch fish! and here I sit behind a computer typing about nothing, responding to emails, checking the weather and snow pack trying to predict the next powder day or the beginning of the Skwala hatch in March.  I guess that is what winter is for, waiting until the weather warms enough to cast a fly rod and catch the first trout of 2011.  We have the new website up and I hope all of you enjoy it!  I think it is fantastic!  Let me know what you think.  I am starting soon on a new skiff design I have been thinking about for the last few years and am pretty excited to see how it turns out.  It is going to be 15ft. long and about 57 in. across wich will help it draft over the gravel bars of the Bitterroot and Blackfoot when the water gets low in August.  I still think if thing continue as they are right now that 2011 is going to be another banner water year. So give me a call and lets go fish.  Cheers.

Viva La Nina!

As I sit here working on the final parts of getting this new website up and running, I can't help but look outside and be excited!  It is snowing and has been snowing very regularly for weeks, we are having possibly the biggest winter I have ever seen.  What this snow means is that if it continues through the winter fishing and waters levels will be in amazing shape again this year.  For those of you who have fished with us in the last few years have experienced what a healthy spring runnoff does for the trout of Western Montana.  Viva La Nina!  Our Spring fishing season will start in Early March this year and be great dry fly fishing all the way through April.  The fishing always lasts longer into April before the water starts to blow out on big snow years because the earth is cooler and slower to get runoff going.  Also remember that we run spring discounts on our guide days at only $375/2 anglers/boat this quite a savings.  Lets just keep praying for powder which really helps pass the time until we can float down rivers again, fly rod in hand.