Any body ever fish Kelly Creek Idaho?

[mems]

Aloha, going to baja in June with Jay M. for two weeks, then up to Spokane to visit my daughter and then off to Montana for some trout. I was going to go to Kelly Creek and the upper St. Joe on the way. Any one ever fish Kelly Creek, it looks wonderful for cutts? I will post some pictures when we get back. Mems

[Fly Guy Dave]

I fished it a few years back and it is indeed a solid stream for WS Cutts. It is supposedly even better if you are willing to hike up the trail from the campground, but it seemed like everyone else was doing that, so I fished the waters closer to the road and did just fine. Despite the remoteness of the Creek, there are still quite a few people that make the drive, camp out and fish, so it isn't exactly a place you can have to yourself. However, I found that the NF of the Clearwater, which is a very short drive away, was even better than Kelly Creek. The trout seemed even more plentiful and a bit larger in the Clearwater. Worth a side trip.

[mems]

Thanks Dave, yeah I have read that the north fork is a better stream. I think all the creeks in that area are wonderful. I love westslope cutts, very beautiful and aggressive fish. I have fished the clearwater and there are some nice steelhead in there as well. I would like to take my son to Kelly Creek and get to fish it. I hope it is in good shape with the low snow pack. Thanks for the info, Don.

[betty]

Agree with all above. RE: upper St. Joes: great stream!! Be sure and drive up to road's end at the last campground and fish those last couple of miles. The walk up stream from the campground is easy and there's some beautiful water up there.
Betty

[Larry S]

Mems,
It can be a great time. On your way there, stop by Poppy's Redshed Fly Shop in Peck on the Clearwater.
He is one of the "gods" in 2-handed fly fishing. I've sent you a PM.
Best,
Larry S

[Bill Kiene semi-retired]

Hi Bill,

I have had many customers go fish it but I have not! Dang, we get busy and there are so many waters to fish.
What I can tell you is that it is an excellent west slope cutthroat fishery with above average sized fish. Customers report nice sized fish that readily eat dries. It is remote and can be accessed two ways, one of which is from I-90 near Superior , MT. There are dirt roads, maintained by the Forest Service, and good campgrounds. We have many who like it later in summer for the October caddis hatch also. It is all wade fishing and some pretty remote country between access points.

Dan Shepard
Grizzly Hackle Fly Shop
Missoula, MT

[Bill Kiene semi-retired]

Bill,
Kelly Creek is a freestone stream with a slightly steep gradient with medium to hard wading. The rocks range from small to pit river size depending on which stretch of the river you are fishing. Fishing gets better the more up river you go, later on in the summer the water gets warmer and the fishing gets spotty. At one time it had an excellent reputation for good fishing but not as of the past 5 or so years. I'm sure the spring runoff can have a big impact on the substrate and bugs which reflects on the fishing. You can get there out of Superior, MT and take a about a 50 mile dirt road to it. Very pretty steep mountains. Once being known as an excellent river to fish more than likely didn't benefit the fishery. Are you planning a trip there? There is tributary to Kelly Creek that does fish a little better, I don't know the name of it but you come in contact with it on the road out of Superior.
David Armocido

[esummers]

I've never fished it, but I've inquired about it quite a few times on my annual Montana trip. June might be pretty early in terms of flows. The snowpack up there isn't that bad this year the last time I checked. I was thinking in a normal snow pack year, Kelly Creek doesn't usually come into shape until July. I'm not certain about this, but you might want to check it out.

[mems]

Thanks guys for all the help. I will be there at the end of June, start of July and I hope the low snow pack will mean an early runoff. There are lots of choices in the general area, and I thought it would be fun to take my son there for some camping hiking. I miss trout fishing and look forward to hitting some streams and rivers in Washington, Idaho and Montana. I am going to check out some places around my daughters home in spokane, like Crab Creek and Rocky Ford. Then we are going to drive over to Hamilton for a week and hit some of our favorite streams like Rcok Creek and the West fork of the Bitteroot. I still love fishing the small feeder creeks with the TFO 1/2 wt rod. Sorry I can't name those streams, but is is good fun getting a 16inch cutt on the 1/2 wt rod. It should be a fun trip, we want to hit some new spots as well. I hope you guys get some rain, thanks again, Don.