Thoughts On Montana? Where To Go? Where To Stay?

[OKFlyFisher44]

I'm in the process of planning a trip to Montana , looking at going at the end of the summer/early fall. I've researched 100s of outfitters/guides and read all kinds of articles on the many rivers in Montana. Its a lot to take in so I was hoping that maybe some of you have traveled there and could give me ideas on where to go, where to stay, outfitters, guides, etc??

Any input you guys could give me would be great....looking for some info on a personal case by case level instead of just looking at outfitter/guides websites and reading outdoor articles....

[Leonard]

I guess the big question is

What part of Montana??

If I had the chance to go.. Id be looking at Slide Inn (Run and operated by Kelly Galloup) www.slideinn.com

On the Madison river.

[Micheal Kyle]

I have a very good friend of mine that guides for Hubbard's of Yellowstone. It is just just out side of Livingston it is a first class opperation and the the fishing that time of year is awesome. By the end of season the rivers wont be as crowded and the fishing is hot. A lot of two and three fly set ups. They hopper copper dropper is one great set up.

If you are going to go out early fall like in the end of Sept. through Oct. I would look at the Upper Missouri below Holter Dam you can call the Missouri River trout shop out of Craig a very first class operation as well. When you call or look up there number you need to look up Wolf Creek. The fishing is awesome and the streamer fishing for big trout is awesome. During the day late afternoon you will get into some tremendous dry fly fishing and the fish can be in pods that will hold 200-300 fish per pod. You will have the opp to catch all the 20-22 inch rainbows that you want to. Plus the browns are very aggressive as well there are nice browns that are caught out there during the fall on streamers.

I hope this will help you if you have any other questions just ask and I will do my best to help you out.

Michael

[OKFlyFisher44]

Not really any place in particular as I've read about so many good places. Just looking for personal opinions...

[OKFlyFisher44]

Thank ya Michael, I will make a note of those places and fly shops! It will definitely be late august at the earliest or possibly Sept or Oct when I go.

Trying to get in 2 "big" trips this year....going to the San Juan River hopefully in May or June.....then Montana later on. But we will see how that turns out...

[Al Agnew]

Well, wife and I like Montana so much we bought a cabin out there. In my opinion, the area with the most possibilities is the Livingston area. Not only do you have the Yellowstone River there, you're an hour from Yellowstone Park and its streams, and within an hour in other directions you have choices of several streams, including the Gallatin, Madison, Boulder, Shields...plus a bunch of little creeks that the crowds don't know much about. Lots of guides and outfitters in and around Livingston.

[jscheetz]

Hey OK, You can't go wrong with MT. But you might want to decide what kind of waters you want to fish there - Mountain streams, high Mountain lakes, the parks, or big rivers like the madison etc - I personally like the smaller streams, but it's all good!

Here is a report I posted this last fall - http://ozarkanglers.com/forums/index.php?s...ic=8212&hl=

See if that works - if not search for bighorn river - that is certainly a place to go in the fall. Like Al, we love it up there as well, and spend a couple of weeks up there in the spring and fall - fall is obviously the better fishing when the rivers are low. I have a place close to Red lodge, 26 miles from the border of Yellowstone so I fish a lot around that area - the Yellowstone, and Stillwater are close by - but really, everything is close. Fishing inside the park is awesome as well - you just have to go after labor day to avoid the crowds - but Slough creek can be killer - especially if you can hike up to to top meadow, and all the rivers in the park have been good to me - Soda butte, Lamar, Firehole, of course the Madison and Gallatin etc. Of course the added bonus of fishing in the park is all the wildlife you get to see. (Last time I was up Slough creek I got to sit and watch as a pair of wolves harrassed a mother grizzly and two cubs - so that was worth the trip by itself!!) Also, there are tons, and I mean tons of really good lakes in the Beartooths, if you like mountain lake fishing - you just have to hike a bit.

Livingston is a great base as Al said - the paradise valley is usually good, but can get pretty crowded. Then you can go further NW to Dillon and hit the Bighole and of course a little futher to the Blackfoot - but there are so many smaller streams in between that sometimes I think the "famous" rivers are more crowded and you can catch just as many fish on other streams. But I suppose they are famous for a reason.

As for guides I don't really know cause I usually just go it alone, but I can say that almost every little town has a fly shop or two so finding a guide of somekind should be possible.

Anyway, if you have any questions I would be happy to share any info I can -

JS

[Gavin]

There are so many places, nice places to visit in Montana.....I usually fly to Bozeman and rent a car (airfare is usually the cheapest) book a couple guide days and do several on my own. Favorite places to fish...Yellowstone Below Livingston, L. Madison, Ennis Lake, Bear Trap Canyon on the Madison, the Boulder, Black Canyon of the Y. Stone in the Park. Stillwate River...If you are looking for a guide I'd recommend booking through Brian & Jenny Grossenbacher http://www.grossenbacherguides.com/ out of Bozeman or Tim Wade at N. Fork Anglers in Cody, Wyo. I'm not familiar with any of the Guides in Ennis, West Y. Stone or Missoula. Another good guide.. "Andy" Szofran Red Lodge, MT 406-446-3819 or 406-425-1761. Cheers.

[PerfectDrift]

Fished the area for the first time last year and stayed in Big Sky. Very quick access to the Gallatin. Also drove to Livingston and took a guided float down the Yellowstone. Fished the Madison and Boulder while there also. Obviously the scenery is second to none but my favorite river to fish was the Gallatin. The fish were nice sized, fought hard, and weren't overly picky. I did not enjoy wading the Madison at all. It's about 100 miles of ripple that just didn't suite my eye or fishing. The Yellowstone offered some nice fish but I think almost requires a guide. We went in the timeframe you mention and do to the heat and drought they were forcing river restrictions so no fishing after two in the afternoon on the Madison and 'Stone. Gallatin was open all day.

[flyfshn]

No Leonard the big question is........can we go with you!! You know....he can adopt us and take us along. Better yet, we could get Al to take us to his cabin and have Michael set us up with his guide buddy....us poor people that is!