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Spring Trip Report: Cody WY
Published on 2012-04-23 10:36:28
We just returned from our annual spring guides trip. This year we went back to Cody, WY after visiting last season when we got rained out on the Bighorn. The rivers were blown out last year in May but we enjoyed the area so decided to give it another shot. Half of the fun of [...] > read more
Trip Report: Futa Lodge and Futaleufu River, Argentina 2012
Published on 2012-03-27 21:26:21
Patagonia Trip Report: Chile and Argentina Fly Fishing 2012 Overview: After much research coordinating we set out for Patagonia on March 9th. We had some hectic last minute changes to our trip in the final weeks. Our first hiccup was an unexpected airport closure in Esquel which is just across the border from the Futa [...] > read more
Spring Hatches Producing Excellent Dry Fly Fishing on Armstrong’s Spring Creek
Published on 2012-03-26 16:48:22
Excellent dry fly fishing on Armstrong’s spring creek started this week with thick hatches of both baetis and midges. Fish are taking anything parachute, such as a parachute adams, parachute BWO, and even parachute ants! The fish are looking up productively all day too providing non stop surface action. Anglers can also pick fish up [...] > read more
Spring Fishing on the Missouri
Published on 2012-03-25 23:27:02
Matt Morris, his girl Laura, and I took a drive over to the Missouri below Halter today. We were let down by the weatherman, who called for 68 degrees and sunshine. Instead we encountered fog and low clouds with temperatures barely breaking the high 40′s. Our attitudes weren’t glum for long though; fortunately our day [...] > read more
Spring Fishing on the Madison: Two Firsts
Published on 2012-03-23 00:12:23
I took my wife to the Lower Madison to fish on a partly sunny 50 degree afternoon. It was certainly nice to be on the water again this spring, which has produced high quality spring fishing. We parked the truck and took a short walk before fishing a deep bucket (depression). I immediately hooked and [...] > read more
Winter Fishing in Montana Impresses
Published on 2012-03-05 17:18:45
My good buddy Dan visited Bozeman this weekend for a short late winter vacation get-a-way. Dan and I grew up in grade school together, later became college roommates, and more recently served in each other’s weddings. We awoke Friday morning to the delightful surprise of 11″ of cold smoke powder skiing at Bridger Bowl, located [...] > read more
A Guide to Montana fly fishing in July
Published on 2012-02-04 11:52:25
July fly fishing in Montana produces some of the most diverse angling conditions of the year. July is hand’s down the busiest time of the year for fishing the blue ribbon rivers of the Big Sky state. The popularity is due in part to the fact that July is often when a lot of people [...] > read more
Winter Fly Fishing in Montana: The Only Flies You Will Ever Need
Published on 2012-01-31 17:22:05
Winter fly fishing in Montana isn’t rocket science. The fish have left the shallow riffles and heavy pocket water in favor of the slower and deeper pools. Once you find a good wintertime run there will probably be dozens if not hundreds of trout in it. The trout are going to do 95% of their [...] > read more
The Best Dry Fly Fishing in Montana Part 2: Where to Fish
Published on 2012-01-09 21:30:10
If you ask most avid fly fisherman to recount some of their most memorable days on the water, many will tell tales of dry fly loving trout on their favorite waters. Watching a wild trout suck down a dainty mayfly spinner is exciting. Keeping your cool when a monster brown crushes your foam hopper in [...] > read more
Eastern Strategies for Western Fly Fishing
Published on 2011-12-27 07:55:01
As a kid growing up in Pennsylvania I dreamed of visiting the Rocky Mountain West to fish those big rivers that I saw in the fly fishing magazines. Western rivers seemed so different compared to the smaller fisheries that I spent my youth on and I was a bit intimidated when I first arrived in [...] > read more
The Best Montana Dry Fly Fishing Part 1: Best Times of Year
Published on 2011-12-26 10:25:34
One of our most frequently asked questions by seasoned anglers planning Montana fishing trips is “when and where is the best dry fly fishing?”. As with most fishing related questions the first answer is “it depends”! The biggest attribute of fishing in the Big Sky state is the vast diversity of high quality fisheries that [...] > read more
Montana Fly Fishing Equipment Wish List
Published on 2011-12-18 20:58:12
I find myself doing a lot of day dreaming about fishing equipment over the holidays. My wife is from Nebraska and I usually end up with a Cabela’s gift card or two and contemplating what new gear I “need” is just a normal part of ’tis the season. With a trip to Argentina and Chile [...] > read more
Thanksgiving feast: Large November Montana Brown Trout!
Published on 2011-11-26 08:57:20
As I mentioned in my last post, fall fishing in Montana is synonymous with huge browns. Miles, Doug, and I headed out the day after Thanksgiving to target some large browns and weren’t disappointed. After driving through some nasty blizzard conditions in the dark we arrived at the Missouri River to do some wade fishing [...] > read more
Montana fishing in November
Published on 2011-11-24 07:56:48
Many anglers flat out forget about Montana fly fishing in November. Out of state anglers don’t want to make a trip in the late fall and risk winter weather and most locals have moved on to hunting elk, deer, grouse and other fur and feathered critters. November has a lot to offer and can produce [...] > read more
New Fly Fishing Destinations
Published on 2011-11-09 09:04:54
Winter comes early and stays late in Montana. Although we still like to get out in the winter months to wet a line and enjoy some cold weather Montana fishing, the allure of aggressive wild trout and tropical ocean flats is sometimes too hard to resist. Myself and many of our guides have long enjoyed [...] > read more
Cast and Blast on the Madison River
Published on 2011-11-02 23:05:50
I took my yellow lab pup Sawyer on a road trip after several days of laborious shopping for my wife’s new car. We searched for mallards and big brown trout, both of which we encountered successfully. I also enjoyed a long night with a frozen water dog in a cold single digit tent. After an [...] > read more
Great Montana Fishing In June
Published on 2011-06-03 15:25:49
When summer finally arrives in Montana there is still plenty of snow in the mountains. Warmer weather melts snow at a rapid rate during spring run off and many rivers become high, dirty and dangerous. Although some favorite rivers like the Yellow > read more
Tips from the Guides: Catching More Montana Trout
Published on 2011-05-06 14:39:50
There is a lot more to Montana fishing than just the catching, but getting a few trout to the net never hurts! Here are a few tips that most of our guides use with our fishing guests to instantly help folks get more hook ups with very little extra > read more
A guide to Montana Fishing in May
Published on 2011-05-01 15:21:08
May has arrived and with it comes some of the most exciting and diverse fly fishing of the season. May can produce the most intense hatches of the season as well as some of the most unpredictable weather and water conditions. It is also a month o > read more
Montana Spring Hatches are Heating Up!
Published on 2011-04-18 15:04:55
Several of our guides have been out on a variety of different waters lately and the last few days have produced some outstanding fishing. Midges continue to produce good dry fly fishing on the Gallatin and Lower Madison. We had a very good report > read more
Dry Flies on the Gallatin!
Published on 2011-04-10 08:30:36
I’ve been hoping to run into a good midge hatch one of these days. It seems like everyone I talked to was reporting a nice run in with rising fish over the midge hatch the last few weeks. On friday I met up with seasoned guide Sean Blaine a > read more
Update on Felt Soles in Montana
Published on 2011-03-31 18:05:40
It looks like House Bill SB230 was effectively killed off so there will not be a ban on felt wading boots in Montana for the foreseeable future. Apparently one of the legislatures had an affinity for the traction they produce and withdrew the bill > read more
Eggs and Bacon on the Ruby River
Published on 2011-03-27 10:31:37
I had a few friends in town from Colorado so we went and fished the Ruby yesterday. I’ve had some good midge action in the past this time of year on the Ruby so we went in hopes of seeing some heads but the hatch never materialized. Fortuna > read more
Early spring fishing in Montana: take what you can get!
Published on 2011-03-21 23:17:44
March is still winter in Montana but it is close enough to spring that sun craved Montanans break out into shorts when temps hit 40 degrees. This intense craving for “fishing weather” sometimes replaces the rational with the irrational. Such > read more
Montana Fishing in April
Published on 2011-03-06 20:37:35
Spring is fast approaching and everyone is itching to get out and wet a line. Although winter fishing is great…things really begin to get exciting when water temperatures begin rising in the spring. One of the great attractions of fly fishi > read more
Montana Considers Banning Felt Sole Wading Boots to Protect Rivers
Published on 2011-02-20 14:37:26
State legislaters are currently drafting a bill calling for the ban on felt soled waders and wading boots. The bill is still in draft status and has not been presented to the Montana State Legislature. The concern with felt bottomed boots is that > read more
New Bighorn River Fly Fishing Lodge!
Published on 2011-02-12 17:32:38
The Bighorn River is one of Montana’s finest trout rivers. With one of the highest trout densities of any river in the world, the Bighorn’s 7500 trout per mile attract anglers from far and wide to its legendary waters. Montana Angler > read more
The Geometry of Wade Fishing in Montana
Published on 2011-01-23 16:52:21
In a land where float fishing reigns supreme, we have great success on both our guided trips and our own personal fishing when wading. Float fishing obviously has some tremendous advantages such as covering vast amounts of water and accessing stret > read more
Fly Fishing Montana Spring Creeks in March
Published on 2011-01-09 17:56:39
As winter begins to wind down the desire to hit our local rivers and streams hits with full force. Water temperatures are still cold and many of the larger rivers are still in their winter time patterns. One of the best options for fishing at thi > read more
How to Catch Large Trout!
Published on 2010-12-29 10:31:58
1) Fish often Even a blind horse finds water sometimes. The more time you spend on the water the better the chances that you will stumble into the trout of a lifetime. 2) Fish where large trout are common This is probably the mos > read more
Smith River Fly Fishing Trips!
Published on 2010-12-23 22:20:56
We recently partnered with fellow outfitter Joe Sowerby to offer Smith River fly fishing trips. The Smith is one of Montana’s great trout rivers and is unique because of the very limited access. There is over 100 miles of river to fish belo > read more
Winter Fly Fishing on the Gallatin River
Published on 2010-12-11 15:01:39
The Gallatin River produces some of the best winter dry fly fishing in Southwest Montana. Although the regular fishing season is closed, catch and release fishing is permitted on many of the larger rivers such as the Gallatin, Madison and Yellowsto > read more
The best Montana nymph fishing techniques
Published on 2010-11-22 11:41:56
Nymph fishing is a bread and better technique when fishing Montana rivers. The vast majority (over 90%) of a trouts diet comes from subsurface sources such as immature insects, crustaceans and other fish. Day in and day out nymph fishing is often > read more
Winter Fly Fishing in Montana
Published on 2010-11-12 15:52:55
After enjoying a spectacular fall with very pleasant weather, it looks like winter has finally arrived. A winter storm hit on Monday bringing snow and seasonable (i.e. cold) temperatures and the forecast looking forwards looks like temps in the 30& > read more
November fly fishing in Montana
Published on 2010-11-01 14:08:30
Montana fishing trips during November can be a bit of a wild card. November is a transition time and both the weather and water conditions are changing rapidly. By the end of November trout will be in their winter time lies. Early in the month > read more
Montana fishing temporarily on pause for hunting season!
Published on 2010-10-19 22:04:36
Fishing continues to remain great on our local rivers. We have had a magnificent fall with very pleasant weather. Kevin Guettler just returned from a multi day kayaking trip down the Smith and reported hanging some big browns on the lower end t > read more
Madison River Fly Fishing: 5 tips for the fall
Published on 2010-10-08 08:27:56
Madison river fly fishing is possibly at its best in October. The river is nearly empty as tourists have gone home and many locals are in the woods fishing. This is also a time of the year when some of the largest trout of the year are landing i > read more