Fishing trip planning help needed
Hi all,
I'm considering broadening my horizons a bit this year with a trout trip out west. I'm getting a little burnt fishing the Adirondacks and Catskills here in NY. I was thinking the area around Bozeman, MT. Maybe fish the Gallatin, Madison, Yellowstone..you get the idea. What I'm looking for is advice as to when the fishing is good (I'm thinking of going after Labor Day), where to fish, and specific guides/shops to use. With the economy the way it is, I'm not even sure this is going to happen. If not, then I'll continue to fish NY and maybe PA (hear that Heinrich ;)). Any and all advice will be appreciated. Just so you know, I'm not looking to stay at a 5 star resort/camp, nor am I looking to camping under the stars...something in between those 2. Thanks in advance.
Ken
Fish the Big Horn just below the dam
You should check out the Big Horn River in Montana just below the dam (its just north of the southern Montana border). It is a fabulous river with tons of fish and clear water. It is on the Crow Indian reservation or at least in the middle of it. Remember "Dances with Wolves". That is what the terrain looks like (prairie). The fly shops are very knowledgeable about the good flies for the day and if you are going to use a guide they are good. I just put my pontoon boat in and float it. There is a guide, tall lanky character who wears a big floppy white hat whom I watched with his customers and was very impressed with him. He took a lot of time teaching the guys who were with him. They caught a lot of big fish. I don't know his name.
I stop along the way and wade in. You should be pretty good at nymphing with a strike indicator though because it is the best technique for the river. The float I do is about three miles long and covers great water. There is a pull out parking lot there to leave your vehicle. I like to fish it in June. It is so much fun and the water is easy to float on a pontoon boat, pretty flat with riffles and runs.