Kootenai River Outfitters

06/22/2026

How's it fishing Mr. Guide? Great! PMDs, Drakes, Purple Chubbies & Haze, Caddis and Sedges, Pats Rubber Legs, Stonefly Nymphs of choice. Or strip some streamers. Everything is fishing well.

Koot is prime and will be so now for the rest of the year. We have lots of cold water. If you're dealing with low water, heat and shut downs as much of the West is...that doesn't happen here. Maybe time to give us and some new water a try. We still have good fall availability and September is always a great time to be here. Come on up!

Small streams still holding up. Lake Creek is in wonderful shape. High Mtn Lakes all good to go. Take a hike and let us know.

Weather is hot and sunny. But the forecast is for a major change last part / weekend of June with wet and much cooler moving in. As dry as it's been everywhere in the west it will be much welcome moisture. And probably great Blue Wing Olive weather.

06/18/2026

Meet Dottie! If you want to give belly rubs and puppy love you'll have to get here. 😁🥰

06/15/2026

Here's some from the last few days. Everything is fishing well. Season in full swing. Small streams and the Koot. High Mtn lakes too. Come see us in NW Montana!

06/10/2026

Invasion of the Cherry Thieves! AKA...the annual Cedar Waxwing migration. They are here in high numbers this year which is really really good to see as the last 2 years in a row have been quite sparse and concerning for the species. This is prime migration time and they are swarming the orchard by the hundreds.

A Catch - 22 as they certainly put a hurting on the cherries...besides being very cool looking...like masked little thieves...we really like seeing them thrive so...all critters need to eat and we enjoy the show. Most years they eat through a couple of early ripening black cherry trees...rest a little and move on fairly quickly. They breed further north in BC. Thankfully they leave us more than enough behind. (Hopefully this year too) 🙂

06/05/2026

Ok folks, I rarely come on here and ask for help of any kind in regards to local issues. But this hits close to home. And affects everything here you all love and enjoy.

It's death slowly by a thousand cuts. Bull Lake does NOT need more shoreline development.

I'll keep it short and let everyone do their own research. But suffice it to say that there is a local...well known unscrupulous land developer...who already has a proven track record of rule breaking and the environment be dammed...once again trying to fly under the radar and get permitting approved for more houses and tiny little lots on the shores of Bull Lake. Yes...the same lake that feeds our beloved Lake Creek and eventually the Kootenai River.

A clean healthy Bull Lake is the direct and indirect support for literally 100s of local jobs. Not just guides and outfitters but the local restaurants, hotels, shops, rentals, markets, etc etc. Far outweighing the insignificant short term gain of one developer with an already proven negative track record.

What is being proposed fills in more wetlands and as far as I can tell breaks many of the counties lakeshore development rules and will not meet Corp of Engineers requirements.

However that DOES NOT MEAN IT WONT HAPPEN! Or that damage won't be done. He has in the past blatantly flied in the face of the rule makers and done it anyway with very little consequence for his actions.

The lack of drainage engineering in his current subdivision was a DIRECT contributor to massive amounts of sediment from last years floods that are still having an impact 6 months later.

So anything we can all do to shoot this down BEFORE it gets started would be very helpful.

Please...pretty please... help to protect this pristine lake, watershed area and environment for generations to come and take a couple of minutes to read the following and submit a unique comment. Even just a few lines. They all help. It would TRULY be appreciated and Jeanie says there will be extra baked goods and jam for those that do. 😉

Thank you!

A developer wants to fill protected wetland for a 7-lot subdivision on the north-end peninsula. The Army Corps is taking public comments now. Here's how to be heard in 5 minutes.

06/02/2026

Even at high water it's fishing really well.

05/28/2026

Here is a picture recap of the last week or so. It is small stream time. Lake Creek at the lodge and cabins is in great shape. Visibility has improved dramatically in the last couple of weeks and we're about back to normal from last winters floods and storms. It's good. Real good. Green and Gray Drakes, Golden Stones, Caddis and a smattering of PMD's just starting.

Kootenai is running high for sturgeon for a couple of weeks but floatable. For now focus on the small streams.

Come see us. Its prime time in NW Montana!

05/25/2026

So here's a brief preview of the last few days. This young Bull Moose snuck up behind us and we didn't know he was there til he was less than 100 feet down stream. He headed up the creek past the lodge and didn't care one bit that we were there.

Fishing report is...Lake Creek is now quite cleared up. Not perfect but 5 or 6 feet of visibility. It is absolutely good to go now and has been fishing REALLY good. Seriously. Gray Drakes, some Salmon Flies, Golden Stones and some deep nypmhs and streamers. It's springtime and the best small stream time of year. I'll be posting lots more pics and video over the next week. We've been seeing some very good healthy fish this season both on the Creek and on the Koot.

Come see us folks. It's on!

05/13/2026

Ok folks...in keeping with the "what's new" theme. Bunk Rooms!

Not really new as we have used these rooms for years as overflow for larger groups renting out the lodge or other cabins. However we have given them a complete refresh and update for '26 and we are now going to rent them out as stand alone units.

Updated with new furniture, Wi-Fi, flat screen TV's, lighting and charging ports...these are perfect for the solo traveler or couple looking for a more affordable way to explore NW Montana without the frills of a full lodge or cabin. Just want a quiet clean peaceful place to rest yourself and shower after a day fishing or exploring? These are perfect.

These are NOT streamside with a view but a short 3 minute walk to the water. They are on the top floor of the Big Shop. You have access to the entire property just like all guest. They are basic clean and quiet rooms. Nothing fancy. There is a refrigerator, coffee pot, table, chairs and microwave downstairs.

We value your privacy. No one will be grabbing equipment or firing up a tractor outside your window during off hours. Though we might come by in the middle of the day to grab things from the shop. From 6pm till 10 am it's all yours quiet and peaceful.

2 people max each. 2 queen or full sized beds each. 2 night minimum. Think Best Western rooms or similar. There is a shared full bath for both rooms. But we do NOT rent out both rooms to different parties. Rent one room with 1 or 2 people and we block the other. (Bathroom is only shared if same party.) Or rent both rooms with up to 4 people in the same party.

Rooms are $125 per night OR $75 per night with cabin / lodge rental. You can book online, look at a property overview to see where these are located and find info anytime here:

https://kroutfitters.com/cabins2and3.html %20Shop%20Bunk%20Rooms%201&2

Or give us a call with any questions.

Have a great day! Robert & Jeanie.

05/12/2026

Time for a little bit of Montana life update and the silver lining that is this past years storm damage and clean up.

There are always plenty of fish pics to go around and we'll get back to them but for now I thought some of you would appreciate the following. I know we have lots of homesteading and do it yourselfers out there.

Having spent the last few months in clean up and repair mode we found ourselves with a somewhat happy dilemma. What to do with the roughly 20,000 board feet of timber that has been salvaged off the property? (There's still more hidden out back but...I digress.) So...what to do? Well...Buy a Sawmill and build a Sawmill Shed that's what! 😉😁

So ...it begins...here's a few pics of where we are at. Building site is mostly prepped. The outside posts of the mill are marked in the pics. Foot print is 16'x40' under roof. Main opening 24' wide. Today we finished up the permanent mounting of the saw. Now the milling of the first posts begins and the shed gets built around it.

In the coming year(s) we'll be using the wood for a bunch of new projects and improvements like a new picnic pavilion for guests down in front of Cabins 2&3, some much needed strategically placed benches and tables out back streamside, bridge repairs and lots of other things we haven't thought of yet. In other words we're going to put it all to good use.

Anyhow...hope folks enjoy these. I'll update as the build goes. Cheers! Have a great day everyone!