fly fishing montana in May
Fly Fishing Montana in May
May proves to be our team’s favorite weather month in Montana. The sun is out in full force many days… the only issue is that sunshine triggers the snow melt in the high country, causing river levels to rise.
While there is an outside chance that many of our freestone rivers will have days of good fishing early in the month, it is difficult to count on that. This heavily limits our options in May. However, the three primary options we have in May are fishing at their peak.
While many traveled anglers think that Montana shuts down in May for spring runoff, May ushers in peak season on the Missouri River and area Stillwaters. Dry fly season is here!
May Fishing Options
The Missouri River provides the most consistent fishing in the month of May. Moreover, it’s consistently excellent fishing. The water temperatures in May will range from the mid 40’s into the low 50’s. May fishing on the Mo’ provides fishing that is accessible to every angler. If you have never picked up a rod before, no problem, we will catch fish. If you have fished 4 continents, I would wager that May on the Mo will still provide some “wow” moments. From a subsurface standpoint the Mo fishes great. But the insect activity in May can provide outstanding dry fly opportunities. May sees hatches of midges, baetis, march browns, and caddis on the lower river. The water temperatures are also conducive to a phenomenal streamer bite, and with ultra clean water this can be highly visual!
The Paradise Valley Spring Creeks with their ground sourced water continue to provide excellent fishing from top to bottom. The rainbow trout finish their spawn early in the month and feed with fervor to regain lost body condition from the spawn. The spring creeks continue to see solid emergences of baetis and midges. Small terrestrials begin to play as the grass greens and the chance of a hard freeze is gone. Additionally, the nymphing remains solid. With the warmer water temperatures, fish will move into shallower haunts and this gives our guests the opportunity to sight fish on clear days.
Private water, specifically the stillwater options, provides excellent fishing. We see both high catch rates and large fish. While the thought of fishing a lake may conjure thoughts of sitting on five gallon buckets with cane poles, this is much more sophisticated.
Stillwaters provide a multitude of angling opportunities. Generally, we start the day determining the depth in which the fish are feeding. We do this by stripping specialty lake lines that sink at known rates. While fishing lakes we always keep an eye on the shoreline as hatches of midges and calabaetis can provide phenomenal dry fly fishing to fish that are measured in pounds, not inches!
May Weather in Montana
Montana By The Month
Get a breakdown of what it’s like to fly fish in Montana each month of the year.
Either way you’re in luck – there’s no bad time to go fly fishing in Montana!
