A year ago to the day, the trout fishing in western Montana went up in flames. Literally. By the second of July, we had already had two days over 100 degrees and lightning storms and high winds were starting and spreading wild fires in all directions. The Clark Fork, Bitterroot, Blackfoot, and Rock Creek were exceeding 73 degrees on a daily basis, and Fish Wildlife and Parks closed the waterways to angling after 2:00 pm. It was hot. It was smoky. And it was far from over. 

Today, in 2008, the hottest day in the 10-day forecast is 88 degrees. The Bitterroot Mountains still have snow and the lower Clark Fork is just starting to look like a river we might fish this season. There is no telling what will happen over the course of the next month. It might be 100 for a week at the end of July and then this wonderful, cool, wet early summer was all for nothing. Fires are bound to start. It will warm up. But as of right now, the fishing situation for late July and August could not look any better. Literally.