For those of us who are obsessed with catching huge trout, whether it
be on 8 inch articulated streamers wrapped with an entire pack of
marabou or size 22 thread midges, the Beaverhead River can
simultaneously treat and fuel this obsession. If you do some research
on this river, you'll come across a consistent statistic indicating that
on average there is a fish over 20 inches for every 20 feet of river.
Dating back to the '90's the upper reaches contained over 700+ fish
per mile over 20 inches! Given these statistics and my experiences,
one could easily conclude that the guides and fisherman that live in
this area may be a bit spoiled, especially when it comes to big browns.
Throughout the year the Beaverhead takes many forms as a result of
the changes in the flows coming out of Clark Canyon Dam. When
rrigation demands are calling, the flows of late spring and early
summer can climb to over 800 cubic feet per second (cfs) causing
many sections of the river to look more like a diversion canal than a
legendary trout stream. In the fall and winter, the flows can be down
around 100 cfs. When at these lower flows, those seeing the river for
the first time will find it hard to believe that so many trophy trout live
in such small quarters. Regardless of the flows, trout more
appropriately measured in pounds than inches reside here. Finding
them and fooling them, however, isn't always easy.
The entire river, from its’ upper sections with the densest trout
populations all the way down to Twin Bridges, MT contains ideal trout
habitat. The Beaverhead River is "brown town". Winding through
agricultural land, the river's overhanging vegetation, weed beds, riffles,
runs, deep oxbow pools, and undercut banks provide enough cover for
the cautious and reclusive trout to live the daylight hours in absolute
seclusion. At night, however, is when cannabilistic river monsters
come out of hiding in search of other fish, sculpins, mice, snakes and
who knows what else.