South Fork of the Flathead

Working in a fly shop, time off is a luxury that we rarely get to enjoy during the summer. However, Rod and Pam gave me the best birthday present I can think of, 5 days off for a trip to one of the most gorgeous rivers I've ever been to, the South Fork of the Flathead. This remote river in Northwest Montana winds its way through the Bob Marshall Wilderness and its upper sections are only accessible via horse, backpacking, or if your really lucky like a group of forest service workers we ran into, helicopter. Seeing how that wasn't an option, we went with backpacking. There are plenty of good campsites alongside the river starting about 3 miles in and we choose to start camping at Black Bear which is about 6 miles upriver from the trailhead at Meadow Creek. One of the aspects that makes the South Fork so special is the smattering of Cutthroat Trout that live in the river. It is one of the last major watersheds in the state that only offers native trout species (cutthroat, bull, and mountain whitefish) and there are more cutthroat than one could hope for. It's always nice when you can roll out of bed (for me a hammock) and walk 10 feet to the river and catch 10 trout on dries before breakfast. The water there runs clear and is colder and more refreshing than your favorite brew. While hanging out in camp one day and watching my best buddy catch trout after trout and seeing all the stress and anxieties of living in New York City melt off his shoulders, I joked with my other amigo that when I die this had better be heaven because I'd be impressed if you could show me a more perfect river than this. 

When planning a trip make sure to bring all the attractor, caddis, and terrestrial patterns you can find. Royal Wulffs and Lime Trudes were my go to flies in the morning and as soon as it heated up we started throwing foam beattles and hoppers. Caddis worked all day. We also saw a huge damsel fly hatch on one of the days and seeing how we didn't have anything to match my buddy Josh threw the biggest fly we had, a size 4 Rogue River Salmon Fly. Turned out to be the best salmon fly fishing we've ever had. It didn't seem like you ever had to match the hatch, as long as it floated and was somewhat the same size the cutthroats would hit it. 

Also keep in mind when heading into this area that it is wilderness and a multi day trip should entail some careful planning, aka proper food storage and clothing for the elements. Bear spray isn't a bad idea either. We only saw one small black bear, but there were more grizzly bear tracks than I care for.