2016 Montana fly fishing

[Albert GRANT]

I'd be in too if flights happened to be reasonable at the time you pick

 

[Lee M]

Without the restrictions of work, time, money, spouse/kids we could all have a lot more fun! LOL

I would love to break out my 6 weight in Montana. Those bows were healthy and I have never caught a cutthroat. I do well on Brookies, Browns and rainbows here in the pocono mountains of Pennsylvania.

A few of us could swap a few trips and have a heck of a good time!

 

[Jfet]

Where you in the park, or up on Highway 191, or the Madison valley?

The Madison is my "home away from home", when I'm in Montana. Love it!

We were fishing off of Highway 191 below Earthquake Lake. I don't recall which place we put in at because I missed the sign as I was watching a bald eagle catch its breakfast 30ft from the boat launch.

 

[Brent in Az]

You are very correct about how fishing Montana properly readjusts ones attitude on life. I was on the Madison outside of West Yellostone on Tuesday. Just remembering makes me do this

Where you in the park, or up on Highway 191, or the Madison valley?

The Madison is my "home away from home", when I'm in Montana.

We were fishing off of Highway 191 below Earthquake Lake. I don't recall which place we put in at because I missed the sign as I was watching a bald eagle catch its breakfast 30ft from the boat launch.

You were down in the valley then. Lots of Bald Eagles around Quake lake. They are fun to watch. I was driving the highway next to Hebgen lake one day, and a Trout went sliding across the road. Two Eagles got in a fight over a trout one of them caught, and it dropped the fish on the road while flying overhead.
That whole area is an amazing place.

 

[Brent in Az]

Without the restrictions of work, time, money, spouse/kids we could all have a lot more fun! LOL

I would love to break out my 6 weight in Montana. Those bows were healthy and I have never caught a cutthroat. I do well on Brookies, Browns and rainbows here in the pocono mountains of Pennsylvania.

A few of us could swap a few trips and have a heck of a good time!

Here is a nice Cutthroat I caught on the Yellowstone river

 

[htx519]

Just an FYI,

There is some great wade fishing to be had in most of the rivers and creeks in western Montana. Some have better wade access than others, and with easy access comes more crowds. If you are up for a little hiking & boulder crawling, you will have a better chance of finding a few secluded runs all to yourself.

I always try and plan 3-4 guided floats as the wallet permits. I have been fortunate enough to find a few fantastic guides over the years in Southwest Montana. If anybody would like a referral, please feel free to PM me anytime.

Here's a couple of more pics from my phone...

 

[Bsto270]

@Lee M I'm a PA guy myself and a big fan of native brook trout fishing. If you love natives you would go bonkers for cutthroat. My take on them after a week was surface oriented like a bookie (at least when we were tossing hopper patterns) bit bigger and just as hard fighting pound for pound ( or in the case of brook trout in PA mountain streams ounce for ounce)

 

[Lee M]

We get some brookies in the 12-18" range as well in the bigger streams. Most of which are probably stocked and travel good distances.

 

[siml]

Super scenery and great fish.

 

[curtism1234]

You are very correct about how fishing Montana properly readjusts ones attitude on life. I was on the Madison outside of West Yellostone on Tuesday. Just remembering makes me do this

I just missed you, I spend 8 days in Yellowstone on the 25th.

The Madison and Lamar was moving too fast for my wife to figure things out, but I at least got to fish the Firehole a little bit before hiking to the lakes and pitching spinners.

Had a lot of luck at Grebe Lake by Canyon Junction, big rainbows and graylings.

 

[BWH]

Those are great pics..... I love fishing SW Montana.

 

[jeff]

Will be fishing the Black Foot and some other smaller streams this week end. It's about 3 1/2 hours away from home.

 

[Ragman]

Beautiful fish and beautiful country! Thanks for posting!

 

[TRAVEL EXPRESS]

I decided to take up fly fishing a couple of years ago since I live in the beautiful Bitterroot Valley of Montana and have really developed a passion for it this last year. I do feel blessed that the Main Bitterroot it's West Fork, East Fork and Rock Creek are all within a 30-40 minute drive from where we live. I am finding it difficult to concentrate in the office when there are trout calling my name. This Fall/Winter have proved to be an awesome Cutthroat experience for me on several wade fishing adventures:

 

[TRAVEL EXPRESS]

We are home once again and back to the reality of work, traffic, overpopulation, and the generally unfriendly people of South Florida. Our annual pilgrimages to the western states are more than mere vacations or fishing trips. They are a rejuvenation of the soul and a restoration of faith in the human race once again. It's good to know that there are still some unspoiled locations where the flora and fauna is breathtaking, and the general population is without malice or agenda. I truly envy those of you who make your homes in the western states, and I hope to join those of you who get to reside in a place of serenity and sanity in the not too distant future.

We did most of our fly fishing in western Montana this trip. We were blessed once again with great weather, consistent bug hatches and solid fishing. Here are just a few of our better pics from the trip.


The salmon fly hatch on the west fork of the Bitterroot River, Montana.

Beautiful photos and the West Fork is right in my back yard!!!

 

[siml]

@Travel Express , what reel you using?

 

[TRAVEL EXPRESS]

@Travel Express , what reel you using?

That one is a Yellowstone Grizzly 5/6 - probably one I use most often. Just like rifles
- can't have just one - lol!

 

[David Middleton]

One of my rugby buddies lives in Missoula and we fished with a guy originally from NH. He lived in a teepee set up wherever the best hatch is on. Visitors bring food and Pabst Blue Ribbon! Now that is retirement.

 

[Lee M]

Ok - A few pics of brown trout I caught in a NY state tributary that runs into Lake Ontario this past fall. These are the biggest I have caught in the 20 years I have fished here. It was just a crazy good day. I had to stop other fisherman and have them take the two pics of the big ones with me holding them. Without a good pic none of my fishing buddies would have believed my story. I used my 10" 7 and 8 weights (brought both) with small stoneflies and egg patterns in early Nov when the browns spawn and are following the salmon run. It was my first visit in about 5 years, but I'm sure to return next year. I also caught quite a few others in the 3-5 lb range. In PA where I do most of my fishing I measure them in inches, not pounds. I have been accused of fishing in a nuclear power plant pond by a friend on this AH site who I sent these pics. LOL. All fish returned to grow bigger for next year!

 

[TRAVEL EXPRESS]

Lee M - holy smokes, those browns are amazing - I bet that was an incredible fight to get those in. I also caught some browns here in MT in mid November that were spawning but they were babies compared to yours. Congrats!