Flathead River is a river flowing into Pend-d'Oreille River (Lower Arrow Lake watershed). Recorded fish: Bull Trout, Cutthroat Trout, Dolly Varden, Kokanee, Mountain Whitefish, Westslope (Yellowstone) Cutthroat Trout.
The water
It flows into Pend-d'Oreille River (Lower Arrow Lake watershed) within the Elk River watershed (Elk River → Kootenay River). It runs stream order 7 (well down the network, toward river scale; the scale runs from 1 for a headwater trickle to 6+ for a river) and roughly 93 km. Bull Trout, Cutthroat Trout, Dolly Varden, Kokanee, Mountain Whitefish, Westslope (Yellowstone) Cutthroat Trout, recorded here in provincial fish-inventory data (217 records). Named tributaries: Sage Creek, Kishinena Creek, Couldrey Creek, Commerce Creek, McEvoy Creek, Cabin Creek, Harvey Creek, Middlepass Creek, Leslie Creek, Foisey Creek, McLatchie Creek, Shepp Creek, Twentynine Mile Creek, Elder Creek, Morris Creek, Gumbo Creek, North Kintla Creek, Calder Creek.
The fishing
As moving water, a tributary of Pend-d'Oreille River (Lower Arrow Lake watershed), Flathead River fishes the way rivers of its size do: read the runs and seams, fish a dry-dropper through the warm months, and swing streamers or nymph the deeper slots as flows drop. Match the fly box to the season and confirm against a current local report.
Access & the rules
Access for Flathead River, meaning the roads in, put-ins and any walk-in or seasonal limits, is worth confirming locally before you commit a day. The drainage map shows how the water sits in its valley.
