Kootenai River 05-12-2026

Kootenai River is fishing great right now! The flows are around 10,000 cfs. and the main river is pretty clear. There is some color coming in from the tributaries, but nothing crazy. The dam is expected to start their sturgeon flow towards the end of this month where they will ramp up the flow to around 25,000 cfs. and that should last for a couple weeks before drawing it back down. There is some good dry fly action during the middle of the day as there a decent amount of bugs coming off the river. Yesterday we saw some caddis, BWOs, midges, and even a big stonefly. Nymphs will still be your most consistent fly to use during the day and you can definitely get some on streamers if you stay after it.

The weather has been great lately so it's a perfect time to get on the water!