The Clark Fork River

Running westbound directly through the heart of Missoula, the Clark Fork offers fantastic fishing opportunity for both expert and novice angler alike. The Clark Fork’s size and characteristics change dramatically over the 200-mile section that we fish. Often referred to as the “Upper” and “Lower” Clark, Missoula acts as a middle point dividing the two zones, creating easy access to anywhere you and your guide may want to go for the day. West of town, the Lower Clark is the culmination of water from all the other rivers we fish. Long banks and deep foam eddies often produce sizable Rainbow and Cutthroat trout throughout the year. Known to be some of the hardest fighting fish in the area, there is almost always a good hatch of some kind happening on the Lower! East of town, the Upper Clark Fork has a much smaller and more intimate feel to it. The Upper Clark snakes its way through a cottonwood river bottom, which creates amazing trout habitat in the form of quicker riffled water, cut banks, and sunken logs along the river’s edge. There are certainly a higher number of brown trout on the Upper River, offering a very balanced number of Brown, Cutthroat, and Rainbow trout opportunities for anglers to catch.