Montana offers some of the finest fly fishing opportunities found anywhere in the world. And indeed some of the famous rivers like the Madison, Missouri, Bighorn, Bitterroot are known by most in the fly fishing arena. But located way up in the northwest corner of the state, is the much lesser known Kootenai River.
This is not typical big sky country up here. This is a place where the Pacific rainforest ecosystem crashes into the spine of northern Rockies. It’s a place of dense, coniferous forests, often misty in the early mornings, and a place where the stars are so bright and pointed at night you can almost hear them.
Kootenai country is grand and big and what makes it and the river so special is the lack of traffic. The Kootenai is very much off the beaten path. A destination fishery so to speak. And a wonderful one at that. With over forty miles of fishable water from below Libby Dam to the border of Idaho, the Kootenai is big, brawling and by volume the largest river in the state. It’s most effeciently fished from a drift boat but depending on flows offers some great wading opportunities as well.
But what makes it so different and so special, even now, is the lack of crowds. Yesterday I floated twelve miles and saw one other drift boat. And it was one of my guides. Kootenai rainbows average between 12″-15″ and while that’s a bit smaller than the average fish on some of the more famous rivers around the state, the Kootenia rainbows are more acrobatic than any others I’ve seen anywhere. Before you know it Kootenai bows will peel off fifty feet of line and jump four or five times before you even know you’ve hooked one. It’s also different since it can be fished with dry flies most of the time throughout the season. Of course we nymph certain holes but with all the long slick pools and runs the Kootenai is begging to be fished with size 16 pmd or caddis for most of the afternoon/evening.
The Kootenai is still uncrowded, wild, and an incredibly honest fishery. Perhaps the last one left in the state and that’s what makes it great, differnt, and special.