East Branch Delaware River Fishing Forecast

A regional note specific to this water: the river's most productive time of day is the time you are on the water, and the time you are on the water is the time the river gives back, and the river gives back what you put in, and what you put in is your time, and your time is the river's time. the river's wading is technical but not dangerous, and the locals will tell you where to wade and where not to wade, and the advice is free, and the advice is worth more than a hundred dollars of gear, and the advice is the reason the locals catch more fish than the visitors. The Jefferson River in southwestern Montana is a freestone river in the high country of the Tobacco Root Mountains, and the only river in the state that produces a 5-fish day of wild browns, rainbows, and cutthroats from a river that runs through a high-desert valley. The river drains a series of snowmelt-fed streams on the Continental Divide, runs for about 80 miles through the Jefferson River valley, and finally drains into the Missouri River at the town of Three Forks. The unedited version: The most popular trout water is the upper river between the town of Twin Bridges and the town of Cardwell, and that water is managed as a wild trout fishery by the Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks. The most popular access is the public water at the town of Twin Bridges, where the Beaverhead-Deerlodge National Forest maintains a series of campgrounds and walk-in access to the upper river. The river is a freestone in the canyon and a tailwater below the dam. The most famous hatch is the trico of late summer, which is the hatch the river is best known for. Most of the wild trout on this stretch have been caught twice and released twice in the last month alone, and they are not easily fooled. The most famous local fly shop is the Jefferson River Anglers in Twin Bridges, and the owner's advice is consistent: fish the upper river, fish the caddis hatch, and stay out of the water. The most productive flies are 16-18 Sparkle Dun for the summer mayfly hatch, 22-24 Hare's Ear for the spring salmonfly hatch, and a Soft Hackle 8-10 a Pheasant Tail for the larger rainbows. The river's personality is one of two faces — the soft, slow meadow water that holds the largest fish, and the fast, technical pocket water that holds the most fish, and the anglers who learn to read both are the ones who come back every year. Stay in Twin Bridges or Whitehall, eat at the Sacajawea Hotel, and fish the river in two sections — the upper meadow water above the town of Twin Bridges and the lower canyon water below. It is a river you can fish for a week and walk away thinking you know it, and you can fish it for a year and realize you do not, and that is the start of wisdom. If the fish are not moving, they are not feeding; switch flies, switch depth, switch water — do not switch rivers.