Blackfoot River

Blackfoot River

Pumped full of cold, clear water via a web of veins in the vast, mountainous expanse bordering the Bob Marshall Wilderness, the Blackfoot is a storied trout stream synonymous with the sport of fly fishing. The river has most certainly gone through it, another watershed imperiled by the lust for precious metals, but the motto “More Precious than Gold” fortified a campaign to restore the Blackfoot to its former glory as a pristine, legendary trout stream. Gold can still be found here, adorning the flanks of both resident and migratory brown trout that return to natal waters to spawn in the fall. Westslope Cutthroat, rainbows and hybrids thereof rise willingly to salmonflies, golden stones, and green drakes shortly after runoff, providing anglers with unforgettable big dry fly action paired with the stunning scenery of the Blackfoot in early summer bloom. The corridor is one of the last strongholds of voracious bull trout, and the relating of one of these gargantuan char attacking a hooked trout is a story that is commonly shared on Missoula bar stools après-fishing. Seasoned anglers target the early spring streamer bite in search of the Blackfoot’s largest fish; those elusive two-foot browns that seem to disappear once the splash-and-giggle crowd descends on the river with the initial summer heat wave. Regardless of the fish tally, a day on the Blackfoot is a day awash in one of nature’s great cathedrals.