Due to the isolation of the Bob Marshall Wilderness, the river and its tributaries remain lightly fished. This results in the quality of fishery now being as good as it was many decades ago. Skilled anglers can catch over 100 cutthroat per rod on good days, but it is common for each boat to land 40+ native cutthroat each float day. These Cutthroat Trout range in size, but there are many in the 12-18” range, and they love to rise to dry flies!

The South Fork is also one of the only places where an angler can fish for the native Bull Trout. The South Fork Drainage is the largest stronghold of these native Char in the Lower 48 states. These big fish act like an anadromous species, migrating upstream every July from Hungry Horse Reservoir. Some of our lucky anglers have brought Bull Trout in excess of 30 inches to hand.

Legal fishing season for Bull Trout closes on July 31.