Missoula Montana

[CoachBob]

I have husband/wife friends who are vacationing in Missoula and want to fish. They have asked me to teach them casting and have made decent (by no means proficient) strides. They want to fish up there but don't want a guide. I know, but don't go there.I notice most of the fishing is with dry flies (good for them to detect takes) and that there are several waterway options. So...is there an easy to fish water they might have a slim chance of getting fish to rise?
What's the best fly shop in the area? (Maybe it'll talk them into a guide.)

[narcodog]

Easy to fish and easy to get to, is Rock Creek. Have them call Rock Creek Mercantile for flies. October Caddis should be on the water now along with BWO's

[The Chronicler]

Have them speak to the people at the Grizzly Fly Shop. They can find it listed on the Internet.

[ScottP]

Missoula, and the surrounding area, is blessed with great water and great flyshops, like the ones already mentioned. I'd also check out Kingfisher, always enjoyed dealing with them; lots of options and they'll steer your friends in the right direction. Rock Creek's a great dry fly stream and gets a nice run of browns moving up out of the Clark Fork in the fall intent on making baby brown trout; getting them to bite on top may be another matter, but the locals are often willing. Just my $.02 here, but I've found it to be a real b.tch to wade, having taken a few dips (one leading to reconstructive knee surgery) even with cleats & studs and I always move a lot more carefully there. Also, the Rock Creek road is no place for cars with low clearance anywhere above MM 10 (or is it 11?). Although he's spent a good portion of the year on the other side of Lolo Pass this year, John should chime in here too; he's got the local perspective.

Regards,
Scott

[JohnScott]

I spend so little time fishing in Western Montana, except on the East Fork of the Bitterroot and upper Rock Creek during the winter, that I have very little to offer. The most and best access, despite a pretty rough road, is on Rock Creek. And it probably does offer the best prospects to a wading angler for catching fishies on dry flies this time of year.

The Bitterroot, the Blackfoot, and the Clark Fork have relatively limited access and are best fished with watercraft to fish from and to cover more water. You can spend a lot of time walking and wading on these rivers with little, if any, reward. They are not for novices out on their own, unless they are just out for exercise.

The Grizzly Hackle, Kingfisher, and Blackfoot River Outfitters in Missoula are all good shops. I don't include the Missoulian Angler simply because I have no experience with them. There are other good shops in the vicinity and down the Bitterroot Valley.

Most of the fishing reports on the fly shop websites strike me as ads for their guide services and the flies they are presently pushing. Most of what they have to say seems to me to be largely irrelevant to the wading angler, the possible exception being Rock Creek because there is limited guiding on that river. If one shop is an exception to that generality, it would be Kingfisher.

John

[randyflycaster]

John,
I'm disappointed, then. I'm thinking of relocating to Missoula, but I like rivers where I can wade, like the Catskill Rivers.
Randy

[JohnScott]

Randy -

Missoula is a great place to live.

An experienced angler willing to make the investment in learning the rivers around here will likely have a lot of satisfying days, wading or otherwse.

And there is always the other side of Lolo Pass.

John

[Steven McGarthwaite]

Missoula also has the wonderful "Big Sky Brewry) that produces some of the finest ales in the world, will wonderful names such as Moose Drool (brown ale), Trout Slayer (wheat ale), Scapegoat (pale ale)... I came to enjoyed these brews while I was attending the 2003 Idaho Fish-In, and still enjoy them today in Minnesota.

~Parnelli

[ScottP]

I'm disappointed, then. I'm thinking of relocating to Missoula, but I like rivers where I can wade, like the Catskill Rivers.

If you find Missoula's fishing disappointing, you may want to consider another hobby.

Regards,
Scott

[bobbyg]

I am enjoying this thread as I plan to fish the area around Missoula next year. Not my first time in the area as I've fished both Rock Creek and the Blackfoot.
I would agree that Rock Creek requires some careful wading and your novice fisherpersons might take a dunking or worse.

Anyone have some info on the Little Blackfoot River? Is that an option?