Fresh Clark’s Lookout State Park Fishing Reports

The Beaverhead regular season opener was Saturday the 17th and although the water is low the bite is good. Nymphing is your best bet on the Beav’. A two fly drop shot rig is what we recommend. Best flies right now are Zebra midges #18-20 in black, red, olive. San Juan worms in red #14-18. Scuds and sow bugs #16-18 in tan, pink and natural. Not much for dry flies right now. The streamer bite is hit and miss. Cloudy days are your friend for streamers.

Both the PMD and Yellow Sally hatches are in full swing and the fishing is as good as it gets! Current flows are pretty high at 900+ cfs but the fish don’t seem to mind. We’re primarily nymphing with an indicator and 2 flies but there are fish rising on some days, especially with clouds so dry flies are on the menu as well. Some of our favorite patterns. Nymphs; Pheasant Tail, Barr’s Emerger, Mitchell Split Case, Hunchback Infrequens, Frenchie, Kyles Yellow Sally, Perdigon hot spot Dry Flies; Pull Over, PMD Cripple, CDC Emerger, Sparkle Dun, Poly Wing Spinner, Rusty Spinner

I finally fished the Beaverhead opener in over a decade of staying away due to my dislike of fishing with crowds. Even with more anglers on the water, the river is fishing great! Flows are currently at about 550 cfs and of course visibility is gin clear. Your best bet is to fish from the boat while drifting but stop and work the buckets over to find more fish! Nymphing is the name of the game right now because the water temps coming out of the dam are very cold! Our favorite nymphs; San Juan worm in red, hot red or burgundy sizes #18-12. Psycho May in olive sizes # 20-16 Pandemic May in olive sizes #20-16 Split case bwo sizes # 20-16 Ray Charles in tan sizes #20-14 Scuds in tan, grey or pink sizes # 18-16. Run a drop shot leader with plenty of weight and an indicator.