DIY Guide to Fly Fishing the Ruby River in Montana

Within the terrain of Southwest Montana, the Ruby River begins its journey at the Gravelly Range. As it runs through this region of Montana, it flows into the Ruby Reservoir.

It is at the reservoir that the Ruby River takes on a new terrain as it finds the Ruby Range on the south side and the Tobacco Root mountains on the north side.

The Ruby River finds its conclusion at the confluence of the Beaverhead River near Twin Bridges.

For the angler looking for solitude and breathtaking scenery, the Ruby River will not disappoint. 

With the two distinct sections of this river come options for the fly fishing angler. If your preference is tackling rainbow, grayling, and cutthroats, the upper stretch should be your destination while the lower section offers prime brown trout fly fishing opportunities.

There are plenty of access points to the upper stretch in the Beaverhead-Deerlodge National Forest. The lower section is known to be more access friendly. We will go into more detail on access in the coming paragraphs.

The rainbow trout population in the upper section is average in size. Of course, larger rainbow can be found. In the lower section, the average brown trout will fall between 10-14 inches. It is not uncommon for browns to come in between 18-20 inches.

Let’s look at access points in more detail on the Ruby River. From the origin of the river to Ruby Reservoir, the upper stretch, the access that is the easiest will be found on the national forest land. The Cottonwood Campground south of Alder, MT (see map above) is a great place to explore the Upper Ruby. Outside of this area, access is practically impossible due to private land restrictions. The exceptions to this are the select few bridge crossings, but even these are difficult.

The reason for the difficulty in access once the river leaves the national forest land is due to it flowing through private land. The landowners in this region are not angler friendly, and have constructed high fences to thwart angling opportunities. The bridge crossings, which normally would afford opportunities for fishing, are difficult for the same reasons. High fences that would need to be scaled are found at these crossings.

The lower section, in particular below the Ruby Dam, offers numerous public access points. There are also many bridge crossings which will not require an anger to scale a tall fence to access the river.

Below the dam thick brush lines the banks throughout this section making wading a bit difficult. The river opens up south of the Vigilante FAS as the landscape changes to open, arid agricultural land.

With relatively light fishing pressure, particularly above the reservoir, the trout are considerably less finicky in the Ruby than other heavily fished rivers in Montana.

On the upper section, small (size 16) Adams, Royal Wulff, Stimulator, Elk Hair Caddis, or X-Wing Caddis dry flies have proven effective.  For nymphs, a size 16 beadhead Pheasant Tail or Hare's-ear nymph with a soft-hackle dropper will do the trick.

If you find yourself fly fishing the Ruby River during the later summer months, small tricos work well.

Grasshoppers are found throughout the lower section, so hoppers are the fly of choice. Other patterns that fare well for the larger browns include various minnow patterns and woolly buggers.

A 3-wt or 4-wt rod is sufficient for the smaller trout in the upper Ruby River, while a 9-foot 5-wt fly rod with floating line is perfect for the larger fish you may encounter on the on the lower Ruby River. 

The Ruby River is located in a more remote portion of the state of Montana. The closest interstates are I-15 and I-90. Hotels are found scattered throughout the river, with Twin Bridges having a small selection. Camping sites are available on the national forest land, and at various access sites on the lower stretch.

In closing, it bears to mention again that the private landowners along this river are not known to be angler friendly, so please respect their property rights. There are public access spots for us to use.

Feature image by Mike Cline