About this ebook
Beginning in 1984 through 1987 I worked for the Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks Department as a Fisheries Technician performing fish population estimates on most of the trout waters in Region #2 in Western Montana. I conducted trout populations on the Clarkfork River from Anaconda downstream to its confluence with the Flathead River near Paradise, Montana. I also conducted trout population estimates on the Clarkfork River Tributaries most notably: the Blackfoot River and Tributaries, Bitterroot River and Tributaries and Rock Creek. The fishable section of the Clarkfork River originates at the outlet of the settling ponds just outside Anaconda, Montana and flows northwesterly to the Idaho State Line.
I will try to give a run-down on the trout populations throughout the Clarkfork River Drainage. The Clarkfork River just below the settling ponds is big fish water; these large fish have migrated through the ponds and entered the Clarkfork River system. These trout are predominantly Brown Trout and can reach 20-pounds, however most of the population consists of one to three-pound Brown Trout and Rainbow Trout from 1½ to 10-pounds. The Brown Trout population in this area varies from year to year depending on the quantities of heavy metals entering the river system each year from the nearby smelting tailings from Anaconda. Some years the trout population is only 1,500 trout per mile of stream and in other years it is as high as 6,000 trout per mile of stream. The Clarkfork River Brown Trout population falls off rapidly just a few miles downstream towards the town of Deer Lodge; to just 250 trout per mile of stream. However, there is a high concentration of Brown Trout at the Deer Lodge sewage treatment plant out-let. These Brown Trout are neon colored due to the high level of nutrients entering into the river from the sewage settling ponds. From Deer Lodge to the Little Blackfoot River confluence, the Clarkfork River Brown Trout population is around 250 fish per mile of stream. The Brown Trout population increases slightly in the Clarkfork River from the confluence of Little Blackfoot River downstream to the confluence with Gold Creek. Gold Creek downstream to Rock Creek the Clarkfork River streambed was altered when the Interstate 90 Freeway was built and the river was channelized and constructed with a constant gradient. The Clarkfork River Brown Trout population below the Gold Creek confluence with the Clarkfork River falls to just 25 Brown Trout per mile of stream until it reaches its confluence with Rock Creek. The Clarkfork River from Rock Creek downstream to Mill Town Dam and its confluence with the Blackfoot River upstream from the Dam the combined trout population increases tremendously to 1,500 to 2,000 trout per mile of stream. The Clarkfork River trout species composition also changes; this section of the Clarkfork River, Rock Creek downstream to the dam supports 55% Rainbow Trout up to twenty-two inches in length, 5% Westslope Cutthroat Trout up to twenty-two inches in length, 43% Brown Trout up to twenty-four inches in length, 1% Bull Trout up to thirty- six inches in length and 1% Northern Pike some over 40-inches in length. Mill Town Dam was built without a fish ladder; this barrier has decimated the historic Clarkfork River Native Trout runs; the Westslope Cutthroat Trout and the Bull Trout. The Clarkfork River trout population is poor downstream from Mill Town Dam to its confluence with the Bitterroot River at only 500 to 750 trout per mile of stream. This section of the Clarkfork River runs through the city of Missoula, Montana. Until 1974 it was legal to throw garbage off any bridge in Missoula into the Clarkfork River. One of the best Westslope Cutthroat Trout and Bull Trout streams in Montana flows into the Clarkfork River in the heart of Missoula, Rattlesnake Creek. The Clarkfork River trout population below the Bitterroot River confluence increases slightly to 750 to 1,500 trout per mile of stream and is maintained at this level downstream to its confluence with the Flathead River. The section of the Clarkfork River below the confluence of the Bitterroot River contains some of the hardest fighting and leaping Rainbow Trout you will find anywhere in Montana. The Rainbow Trout in this section can reach over 25-inches in length and weight over 10-pounds. Also this section contains the Native Bull Trout, which can exceed 20-pounds. Now an update to the Clarkfork River January 1st, 2011; in the spring of 2008 the Mill Town Dam was breached and all migrating trout species now had access to the Blackfoot River, the Upper Clarkfork River and their tributaries. When they breached the Mill Town Dam the trout fishery for miles downstream was devastated by all the toxins that were released and most of the trout species were killed.
About the author
Gary David Blount was born in Dunsmuir, California in December 1955 to David Oliver Blount and Irene Rose Blount. Gary lived on the banks of the Sacramento River and began fishing as soon as he could hold a fishing rod. In 1964 his family moved to Moreland, Idaho on the banks of the Snake River. While living in Moreland, Gary’s father purchased a piece of property on the Henry’s Fork of the Snake River outside the town of Last Chance, Idaho. Gary’s father was a schoolteacher and every summer they would fish the Henry’s Fork of the Snake River and all the waters in the “Golden Triangle” of Yellowstone National Park. In 1966 the family moved to Sandy, Oregon on the banks of the Sandy River. At this time the Sandy River was one of Oregon’s best Salmon and Steelhead Rivers. At age eleven Gary began tying his own flies with fly tying instruction from his next-door neighbor, George Mac Alevy. George was a professional Fly Tier and wrote a weekly fishing column “By the River’s Edge” in the local paper. In 1984 Gary moved to Missoula, Montana and obtained a job with Montana Department of Fish, Wildlife and Parks as a Fisheries Technician. Gary’s duties consisted of: determining species composition, distribution, size, abundance and age of Wild Trout in Region 2 in Montana. In August of 1984 he was assigned to perform a cursory sampling on Rattlesnake Creek, which flows through the town of Missoula. Rattlesnake Creek upstream from the Water Company Dam, which is three-miles north of Missoula, had been closed to all fishing since 1940. After two-days fishing Rattlesnake Creek Gary realized the fishing regulations on Native Westslope Cutthroat Trout were far too liberal in the region and most of the Westslope Cutthroat Trout brood stock were being over harvested from all Western Montana waters. Gary had spent all summer performing population estimates on over eighty bodies of water in Region 2 and had not seen a fishery that even compared to the fishery in Rattlesnake Creek. Montana Department of Fish, Wildlife and Parks did not have the funds available to do a study on Rattlesnake Creek so Gary originated a privately funded research project, “Rattlesnake Creek Research Project”. Today there are special regulations for Montana’s Native Westslope Cutthroat Trout in all of Western Montana waters as a result of Gary’s “Rattlesnake Creek Research Project”.
Gary moved to West Yellowstone, Montana in 1989 and worked as a fishing guide for two-years before becoming a licensed fishing outfitter. Gary owned and operated Yellowstone Catch & Release Outfitter until 1996. In 1994 Montana Department of Fish, Wildlife and Parks made an Associated Press Release which stated: the Madison River had Whirling Disease and the Rainbow Trout population had diminished from 3,000 Rainbow Trout per mile of stream to less than 300 Rainbow Trout per mile of stream. This Associated Press Release unfortunately forced Gary out of the outfitting business. Gary and his wife Laura now live in Clarkston, Washington on the banks of the Snake River where he is publishing a separate book on each river he has fished while living in Montana.
