Montana in Early September?

[4rowe]

Hi All,

Been fly fishing around the Sacramento area for a few years and buddy just recommended i join this site; so thanks for having me :)

I am going to be making a road trip to Montana in Early September to go fishing for a week and have never been before so wanted some advice. Any suggestions on places to fish or a good guide? My brother and father will join me on this trip so ideally looking for stretches of river that are wadable or good lakes to try out. My brother is just getting started fly fishing so we need areas that can be suitable for a novice. I imagine we will get a guide for a day or two and then fish by ourselves for the rest of the week. Since there are so many good options, it is a little overwhelming; if there are any favorites please let me know.

Anyways, any suggestions on guides, private water to try, or just places to fish are definately appreciated. Thanks in advance!

Keith

[mems]

September should be a good time. They have had high water most of the season, so when it clears the fish should be hungry and that should last until september. I would suggest doing a float on the big hole or the blackfoot or the clark fork. If you want to start off, the small feeder creeks are great for lots of action and get little pressure. I think rock creek is excellent for wading, it is beautiful and loaded with fish. If you want to fish the private waters, then you will need a guide, the spring creeks have fish, but they can be tough to catch with minimal skills. One of my favorite stretches is the West fork of the bitterroot above the campground, lots of big fish there. Good luck, Mems.

[4rowe]

I was wishfully thinking the same thing about the water levels leading to hungry fish.

thanks for the suggestions Mems; it is appreciated

[huntindog]

September in montana is magical. crowds are gone for the most part and you can have blue ribbon streams to yourself...what part of montana will you be in? I went to school in bozeman and there are tons of good day trips from that area. All the major rivers that you know and hear about will be fishing good. It was also my favorite time of the year to go into the park (yellowstone) and fish.....Very jealous...wish i was heading to Mt. in Sept.
I also really loved fishing the yellowstone river between livingston and gardner in sept...lots of big browns and cuts just getting all worked up for the fall frenzy.

[RJSFLYTRIP]

If you stay in Dillion then there are lots of options. You can fish the Bigfoot, Big Hole, and Ruby easily within a 30 minute drive. Big Hole is going to be a good option for hiring a guide. Absolutely huge fish on the Beaverhead. While the bigfoot is a great walk/wade river that is easy on begginners. Then the Ruby is a small stream with lots of willing trout. Sounds like a perfect match for what you are looking for.

Expect some crowds this September. With almost everyones June/Early July trips being cancelled or rescheduled it seems like everyone is looking to come in September. I know that is the way it is on the S. Fork of the Snake. All of our clients have moved their trips to September and now the Lodge that I work for has one of the busiest Septembers they have ever had. So you will probably see more people this year compared to a normal flows year.

Hope this helps.

Tight Lines!

[4rowe]

We are driving up (and fishing along the way) so have plenty of flexibility about which part of Montana to fish. General thinking was we would start around Bozeman and go from there.

Appreciate all the help and suggestions thus far; thank you!

[Bill Kiene semi-retired]

If you stop by the Blue Ribbon Fly Shop in West Yellowstone they can help you with lots of advice.

They can also get you set up with some good guides.

http://www.blue-ribbon-flies.com/

[huntindog]

If you stop by the Blue Ribbon Fly Shop in West Yellowstone they can help you with lots of advice.

They can also get you set up with some good guides.

http://www.blue-ribbon-flies.com/

x2....on that..one of my single favorite fly shops in the world..also really like rivers edge fly shop in bozeman..

[Jed Peters]

I'm doing the same thing the 10th-15th in montana.

Virtually all of the west part of the state has good fly water, if you know where to go.

We are starting in Id, driving up to Hamilton, then to the deer lodge area, then off to dillon, then finishing in Bozeman.

Lots of good water to be had in that timeframe.

[Bryan Morgan]

I second the option for Montana. If you are in the Bitterroot area, try the West Fork. But don't overlook the East Fork out of Conner, I have had some memorable fish there also.

[Jed Peters]

I second the option for Montana. If you are in the Bitterroot area, try the West Fork. But don't overlook the East Fork out of Conner, I have had some memorable fish there also.

You're killing me bryan..... :fish:

[easymends]

Try these guys. Been there twice and wouldn't even think about using anyone else for SW Montana.

http://www.thestoneflyinn.com/

[Willowemac]

Montana should be great in September. I just got back from 2 weeks fishing in Ennis,Dillon, and Livingston. The rivers have a lot of water, and the fishing was the worst I have seen in 25 years because the fish are spread out and the bugs cycles are off. Things are 3-4 weeks late. So you should have good water levels and probably hoppers in Sept.

Where you go depends on how much money you want to spend on quides to float certain rivers. For wade fishing, it is tough to beat West Yellowstone, and I second the advise about Blue Ribbon Flies for quidance.

The Dillon -Beaverhead,Big Hole,Jeffrson- area (use Frontier Anglers) and Craig (Missouri River Lodge) are best fished floating. Wade fishing is possible, but more limited than West Yellowstone. The Ruby is the exception, but the big fish options require a boat. The spring creeks in Livingston are an option but cost $100-125/day to fish.

Missoula has the Bitterroot and Rock Creek (a terrific stream) for wade fishing and the Clark Fork and Blackfoot (beautiful float, but spotty fishing) for floats.

Lots of options, and it should all be good this year

[Frank Alessio]

What does Southeast Montana have in the way of Fly Fishing?