Great Falls Area Report: Friday the 13th of March

While today may be considered by many to be the unluckiest day on the calendar, I’d definitely go fishing if I was not holding down the fly shop. I’m not superstitious in the least, though some people consider the fishing phobia against bananas to be superstitious. It’s not. That’s reality folks.

A lot has changed in the past week. Ice has come off most of the reservoirs and some of the lakes. The Smith, Sun and Belt Creek are ice free again. On March 6th, the temperature gauge for the Sun at Simms read 32. Yesterday afternoon, it was 47 degrees. That’s a huge change.

Anglers are reporting some success in Holter and Upper Holter. Word has been trickling down from some of the lakes up north. The reservoirs on the front have been clearing fast. Warm weather and strong winds will do that.

The Missouri River is still hovering around 36 degrees below Holter Dam, but flows warm up downstream by several degrees daily. Keep that in mind when you think about where you might want to be fishing. Reports from the past week have been mixed. Sometimes they are honest. A young guy told me he is totally embarrassed by his lack of success. A few fellows are baffled that their swinging flies are falling short. Another told me he could not keep the rainbows off a #14 Pink Amex. I heard that the worm is already on fire. One guy told me huge browns were crushing a White Dungeon. There were whispered rumors that the whitefish are back and eating bead heads with abandon. I do know that our own Joe O’brien had success catching some fine browns on one of his latest articulated creations.

The sudden changes brought on by warming weather and water conditions can influence angling success, especially when one has been fishing an established winter pattern. Be flexible and realize that it’s better to catch a few fish on a mild afternoon than a whole bunch with frozen toes and fingers. Our extended forecast looks sunny and mild with a few exceptions. You might consider fishing on the next cool and cloudy day. Be sure to let us know how it goes.