Thinking of planning this for next year. I will be on a budget so probably camping!!
Has anyone any experience of fishing there under 'financial restrictions'
and where is the best place to head for?

Thanks in advance

I live in the States and have been to Montana many times.

It's very difficult to answer your question because, as we say, it's big country out there. MT is about twice the size of the entire UK, but with only only a few million people. So essentially it's vast and empty.

Fishing opportunties are limitless. If you had 10 lifetimes they'd still be limitless.

It's impossible to say what's the best place, it depends entirely on the specific time you intend to go, what else you want to see and your budget.

Obviously you'll need a vehicle.

Keep in mind, MT is a deep freeze for 6 month or more per year. Can you be a little more specific about what time of year you intend to go?

Grouse

Sounds wonderful.

Montana is definitely on my TODO list as soon as I've managed to get rid of the kids.



Graham

__________________
hasthelargehadroncolliderdestroyedtheworldyet.com

Hi Frank,

My best advice would be not to bounce between rivers, trying to pack in as many as you can is a mistake.
Concentrate on 2 or 3 over a 2 week period.
When are you going?
This is important as there is such a thing as runoff which does catch people out.
Going into the back country to camp, great, but buy bear spray.
Lots of opportunities in Yellowstone.
We flew from Heathrow via Denver and into Bozeman, picked up a 4x4 and stayed in b&b's but camping will be fantastic.

Cheers

Richard

__________________
Richard Jackson
Fly fishing instruction and guiding in the heart of Devon
www.devonflyfisher.com

Hi Grouse
I get your point about how vast it is--- but if you were going again what time would you go and what places would you aim for. Any advice you could offer would be gratefully accepted it is one of my fishing ambitions. My preferences would be to avoid the "runoff" (whatever that is), to have only the company of bears (at a discreet distance) and to catch a few wild trout.
Oh and coming from Yorkshire I have deep pockets and short arms!!!

__________________
All good things come by grace, grace comes by art and art does not come easy.
Norman Maclean

Run-off is when the snow melts on the rockies, usually over by first week in July but not always!
Bears aren't a problem provided you are sensible.
Just think of the fishing, it is superb, i have visited twice, both times in early July, but an autumn visit is when i plan to go go back.
Cheers
Richard

__________________
Richard Jackson
Fly fishing instruction and guiding in the heart of Devon
www.devonflyfisher.com

Hi Everyone
Thanks for the feedback so far, I think my plan would be in late July/August but am not realy stuck for dates. At least 2 but more likely 3 weeks.
The plan would be to take out some camping gear but not with the intention of hiking, just as a cheap place to bed down, rent a car and buy some more camping stuff when we get there maybe from Walmart or similar then dump it when we leave.
Had a quick look at Livingston for start, there seems to be a good campsite there right on the river.
What type of rod would I need, I normally use an Orvis T3 9' 5 wt on my local river The Welsh Dee would this be OK??
I guess I would buy flies etc when I get there.
Look forward to more info
Cheers
Frank

Oh forgot to add that the flight seems frighteningly expensive, anyone any tips??

This is very good advice. I've see a lot of comments from visiting anglers that they didn't understand that the logistics of hopping from river to river wastes a lot of time.

I would also add to pick your rivers carefully. A lot of the famous rivers can be difficult to fish on foot and without a guide. Montana is NOT a state that has public access rules for all water, so there is absolutely private water that cannot be fished unless from a drift boat or raft. Major issue for the visiting angler.

Much of MT is public land, either Federal, NPS, or state-owned. That's great because it means access is open, but don't expect much in the way of niceties. Ya know, like roads for example.

It's always very hard to convey to those in the UK the scale of Montana. There's the tendency to look at places like Yellowstone and think, OK 45 miles from this river to that river, no problem I'll plan to fish the morning here and afternoon over there. Wrong! That 45 miles could easily take you 3 hours to drive.

"Runoff" refers to the time when most rivers are unfishable due to the snow melting in higher elevations of the drainage basins.

It's very difficult to generalize about runoff timing. Everything depends on which basin, weather conditions, and snowfall over the previous winter, etc, etc. Generally, (again GENERALLY!) it's over by July. HOWEVER! Timing a trip such that you get in on the early season action just after runoff is notoriously tricky. Get it wrong and you could end up with a great non-fishing holiday.

Another thing to remember is the affect of altitude on weather. June is early spring at altitudes above 7k feet. September is fall, and October is considered a winter month at these altitudes. Snow can fall 12 months out of the year at altitude, but it can also be 90 degrees. Be prepared! Also, temp swings can be huge. Last time in YNP we had 70 degree highs with lows of 23 at night.

Personally, I stick to August and September. It's not the cream of the crop for hatches, but the hopper action tends to be good and consistent.

Yellowstone NP is good if you need a means of occupying non-fishing members of your party. But for strictly angling, it can be a lot of work because the easy access sections get hammered by spinning tourists, so it's necessary to hike to get to less used water.

Also, YNP tends to be rather expensive because of campground fees and park admission. You can camp in national forests and other federal lands for next to nothing, so paying for YNP is a step up.

The area around Ennis and the nearby rivers are another great possibility. So is the area within 100 miles of Bozeman, and Bozeman is relatively easy to fly to so that's worth considering.

I've done some backcountry fishing in the Clark's Fork drainage of the Beartooth pass area. It can be good if you know where to go, but it involves extended hiking at near 10k feet.

I wouldn't rule out Idaho and the cutthroat fishing there can be awesome and high-volume. Logistics can be difficult, however.

The danger of bears is vastly overblown in MT. It is incredibly rare to see a bear in YNP and in 5 trips and over 1.5 months spent in that park in my life, I've never even seen one. Take common sense precautions especially where visibility is limited such that you may surprise a bear. Make lots of noise while traveling and they will avoid you.

Bison, on the other hand, are incredibly dangerous and in fact 2 tourists were killed by Bison in YNP just this summer. Bison look placid and many stupid tourists treat them like sheep. The problem is that the bison's natural defense when threatened is not to retreat but to close ranks and go on the attack. Never approach bison and if they approach you get the hell out of there. If a calf wanders too close to you and mama suddenly sees you as a threat, you will be gored.

I think the American west is one of the best experiences in angling and not just for the fishing. I've brought friends from the UK along and they are always blown away with the beauty and the incredible emptiness of it. It's a singular experience to stand in places and look out on scenes where there is no sign whatsoever that man is or has ever been present there.

Grouse

You might find it less expensive to buy seperate tickets. Try something like UK to Salt Lake City, UK to Denver, or UK to Chicago, then buy a seperate onward ticket to Montana.

Also check on UK to Calgary, then onward to MT.

Look at different airline options by going to Local Site Available (NOT co.uk). Montana doesn't have mega airports with lots of international traffic.

Grouse