going to Great Falls, MT

[FarmerJohn]

Hey friends, so next week I get to travel to Great Falls, MT for a work trip. I am hoping I will have some extra time in the evenings to do some fly fishing. I think I'll also have the full day on Thursday available to fish.

Are there any streams/rivers that pretty close to town that you'd recommend? (I don't care about your secret spot, I just want public access points and parking areas.) Specifically, are there places I could wade or fish from shore?

How's the water been lately? Is it warm enough that I could wet-wade? My waders are pretty bulky to bring on an airplane for a non-fishing trip.

Got any fly shops in town you'd recommend?

(PS - definitely can't wait to get a chance to flyfish for a day. Currently live in Chicago, so it has been waaay too long. Thank goodness I've bought travel rods before! )

[Orthoman]

I'm no expert on the area but have fished the Missouri river -- only about 60 miles south of Great Falls -- down near Craig. Well worth hiring a guide for a day. As for fly shops, not sure about Great Falls but would be surprised if they didn't have a few. Definitely have many shops in Craig -- in fact, that is just about all there is. I fished the Mo. several days last summer and found it to be some of the best fishing and best grade of fish that I caught last summer. However, I fished from a boat. There should be areas to wade in the area also.

Good luck. There is a guide in the area named Dave Carnihan that I fished with -- good guy, good experience, good guide.

[Joel D. Popham]

John,
I live in Missoula and I'm not familiar with the fishing around Great Falls. You might "google" "Great Falls fly shops" or try one of these two here. They might have good suggestions. Best Regards.....

http://www.kingfisherflyshop.com/
http://www.grizzlyhackle.com/

[jimsnarocks]

John, The Missouri river from Craig to Cascade. There are a good number of fishing access spots on both sides of the river and Great Fishing. Good Luck, Jim
PS. If you are into Western art, visit the C.M. Russell Museum. It is worth a day's time. :{>

[chusha]

Hey FarmerJohn,
There are at least two shops in Craig and one in Wolf Creek (6 more miles from Craig).
Wolf Creek has a smaller stream, Little Prickly Pear Creek as well as being close to the Missouri.
Try this link: www.montanariveroutfitters.com/

[Thunderthumbs]

John,

The blue ribbon trout fishing is from the dam upriver from Craig to several miles downstream. Call the Headhunters Fly Shop in Craig (http://headhuntersflyshop.com/) and they will tell you all there is to know. There is some good wade fishing available, but if you have the time and money, I would highly suggest doing a float down the river with a guide. Headhunters has some top notch guides available.

Good luck, nd let me know if there is anything else I can help you with,

TT

[bobbyg]

You might want to give the Sun River a try while you're there. 40 to 45 mile drive to where I would suggest.

If interested, pm me and I'll give you some info.

Might check in with these folks. I'm not familiar with them, found their site online.

http://www.bigrflyshop.com/home69/big-r-fly-shop

Bob