Clark Fork/Kootenai River Report 2.16.17

Coming off the best January of fishing I have ever had, hopes and expectations were high as we headed into February. We were finally getting a break from the snow and the temperatures were crawling up into the mid 40's on the sunny days. I had 4 straight days off, trips lined up everyday and a streamer box full of new treats.

What could possibly go wrong? Turns out a lot, but that is what I love about fly fishing. Every time you think you have it all figured out, the fish always find a way to make you question everything you've ever thought you knew about the sport. For four consecutive days, I beat up every stretch of open water I could find between here and Canada.

I fished the Kootenai River from Libby to Troy and all over the Clark Fork River. Never even had so much as a tug on my line or a curious follow. I threw every streamer in the box at every depth and spent most of the day scraping bottom with a heavy sink tip. My efforts were in vain.

Curious how the river is doing? Check out the current river flows here

However, the days were far from a waste. The weather could not have been better and the company was great as usual. Lots of laughs, theories on what will work and a couple near death car crashes made for a memorable weekend either way!

Every evening, as we made our way back from the river, our minds would be churning trying to think of what went wrong and what we needed to do tomorrow. Only to have to repeat this the following night as I was once again trying to figure out how we were able to catch fish during a miserable cold December and January, but were getting skunked during 45 degree days in mid-February. Such is the life of a guy stuck in North Idaho who refuses to ice fish and I wouldn't have it any other way!

Need to stock up on your favorite flies? Check out our fly selection here