Bitteroot river Mt

[birddog]

I will be in Stevensville Montana in July.
I will be there for 6 days. Any advise for would be apreciated.(I have never been there)
books about the area? possible fishing destinations? If I do a drift trip that would limit the rest of my fishing to public access. Or could I spend my money more wisely to fish pay for access for several days? Also may think about packing in to a stream for a day fishing?
thanks in advance,
Jeff

[RonMT]

I will not attempt to give you any advise on fishing the Bitterroot as I have not been over there for many years. (To many people anymore in that area)
But I just wanted to say that you do not have to pay for fishing access. There are a number of Fish and Game access points on that river and you can go anywere you wish using them as an access as long as you stay below the normal high water mark. Not many people pay an access fees to fish the main rivers out here.
There are a couple of other rivers in that neck of the woods to try out. The Clarks Fork and the Blackfoot Both good fishing rivers to. Ron

[LadyFisher]

The upper reaches of Rock Creek at that time of the year can be nice too - that is National Forest and open fishing as well.

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LadyFisher, Publisher of
FAOL

[trout-seeker]

The Fishaus in Hamilton, 702 N First St., speak with Bill Bean @ 406-363-6158. He can hook you up with a really good guide. The place to eat is The Coffee Cup right on S. First St. There's a Comfort Inn also on First St.

Check out the Kingfisher's site for reports - [url=http://www.kingfisherflyshop.com/:50f81]http://www.kingfisherflyshop.com/[/url:50f81]

Flyfisher's Guide to Montan by Greg Thomas.

The BitterRoot is my favorite river. When I lived in SoEast Washington (State) I'd drive over two times a year (early April/late May and then again in Sept). It's a great place and you'll have a super time.


Greg

[Benjo]

I've fished the Bitterroot nearly every day for the last week and a half and I guide and fish on it all the time. As far as July, I'd say that depending on when in the month and what the conditions are like then will determine what kind of fishing you'll run into. Honestly, I don't think it'll be the best option then, but that's a bit of speculation. Email me when it gets closer and I'll give you an up to date assessment. Plan on golden stones, hoppers (especially with the early spring), maybe still green drakes, PMDs, possibly olives. Pretty much hopper dropper type fishing. I don't even know where you'd pay to play up there, all you'd be paying for is slightly better access. You can walk the whole legnth of the Bitterroot if you're ambitious. I'll say that some of the more unaccessable places can be better, also there are some channels that don't have boats in them. If you get a guide, check out the River Otter Fly Shop in Florence, right down the road from Stevensville: [url=http://www.riverotterflyfishing.com/riverotterflyfishing/:dc0be]http://www.riverotterflyfishing.com/riverotterflyfishing/[/url:dc0be]

They're the best shop in the valley and can definately point you in the right direction and have great guides.

[birddog]

Thanks for the info.
one other thing to add is that have caught lots of browns and rainbows but would love to catch some of the native speices like cuthroat. the rock creek idea seams great for a day trip and I am sure I will fish the Bitteroot all the other days I am there for atleast an hour or two a day. Will I have a chance at other species besides browns and rainbows?

[Benjo]

You will definately catch cutthroat. There aren't many bull trout in the Bitterroot so you probably won't catch any of those.

[Sawkill]

Wow, brings back memories. In the 70s and 80s I fished the Bitterroot and surrounding area seven or eight summers. Almost moved there. Fished with Doug Swisher. He's still out there, you might want to check his web site. He's a great guy. [url=http://www.dougswisher.com:7b7d0]www.dougswisher.com[/url:7b7d0]
If I could afford it, I probably still be going out there every year. If you get a chance, look into the upper Selway over in Idaho too. Most beautiful river there is, IMHO.
Have a great trip, I envy you.

Bob

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There is a fine line between fly fishing, and standing in the water waving a stick.



[This message has been edited by Sawkill (edited 13 March 2005).]