:?: Need info PLEASE.
I have been approached by a large local company here in Alabama to provide information on where to go and who to fly fish with in Montana. 1 rep and 5 executives. Although I have some contacts with friends in the FFF in Livingston and a few of the lodges endorse by Orvis I am uncertain where to send them.
Trip is planned for July- August. I would like to make sure the trip is a huge success for both the rep and the company. Any suggestion would be greatly appreciated. My local knowledge of smallmouth, largemouth, bream and southern tailwater trout could be helpful in exchange if anyone is interested.
Can’t help you with any lodge recommendations, but as to fishing, the northern Rockies were blessed with a lot more precipitation this past winter than they’ve had in years so it could be a banner year for fishing throughout the state for most if not all of the summer. Most of the rivers are currently high/dirty so it would probably be best to plan for later in July or into August, if possible, when the rivers should be coming into good shape. You might want to check with some flyshops in areas they might be interested in for recommendations on accomodations; they can run anywhere from 5 star resorts to camping out of the back of a pickup right along the water (that’s what I do, but I get the feeling your group would be more interested in the former).
Regards,
Scott
ps - At the very least, they should invite you along for your angling expertise
Wherever you decide to send them, you need to get them booked ASAP if the trip is for this year. It’s already very unlikely you could get them booked on the Paradise Valley spring creeks in that timeframe, if they wanted to do that. If it’s for next year, book by January 15 if they want to get on the creeks and by March 15 for floats or walk trips elsewhere --this way you’ll be sure to get them with top guides.
Some things to guide your decision:
~with the amount of water we have, August will be at least as consistent as late July, there will be less biting bugs, and there are usually less people.
~are they going to want to do walk trips as well as floats? With the spring creeks probably booked, Yellowstone Park is the best place to go, which suggests Gardiner as a starting point. If they just want to float, Livingston (or Bozeman) would make just as much sense.
~Do you want the trip to be all-inclusive, or do they want to stay at a motel/hotel/B+B and just be guided? If the former, options get pretty narrow. Otherwise, check with outfitters/shops for their lodging recommendations before booking, then try to book the lodging before confirming the guide days. Most things in town here are tight until late August at least, so that will be a bigger sticking point than getting a guide.
~how fancy do the business types need it to be? In other words, do they want a fancy lunch or is a sandwich okay? Some shops cater to upscale tastes (Anderson’s), while most of the time you’ll get some kind of basic picnic lunch fare. I suspect the lodges are generally more fancy on average.
Any of the “real” shops in the Livingston/Bozeman/Gardiner/West Yellowstone area are goingg to treat your sports just fine when it comes to the fishing. It’s the stuff above that should determine who you actually book with. Hope you’ll at least consider booking with me, though I ain’t doing venison for lunch. www.parksflyshop.com
I strongly recommend the Frontier Angler fly shop in Dillon Montana. Tim Tollett is the owner and he has some excellent guides. I have been using this guide service for many years.
The great thing about the Dillon area (southwest Montana) is the wide variety of waters to fish, hence there is always something good for fishing. You have a nice selection of rivers: the Beaverhead; the Big Hole (my favorite); the Jefferson; the Madison; and the Ruby. Plus you have some great lake fishing and Pointer Slough.
The Frontier Angler has cabins available if you don?t want to stay in a local motel.
Im a big fan on Montana troutfitters in Bozeman, and there are tons of hotels around. Plus, if they dont work out there are TONS of other shops that can usually find someone to guide with a couple days notice.
Wade, just got back from Twin Bridges, The Stonefly Inn www.stoneflyinn.com, my wife and I have been going there the past four years. They concentrate on the Big Hole, Beaverhead, Jefferson, and the Madison. They also have access to private spring waters. As I said we just got back from there two days ago, and despite all the “bad” reports of high unfishable conditions we found great fishing in ten days and the two guided trips were as good as any other years we were there (and they were absolutely great!). They have housekeeping cabins and also do the all inclusive packages if you would like, and they are very, very reasonably priced. The Big Hole and Beaverhead are very fishable right now! The Madison, Gallatin, are high and muddy as of two days ago.
Send Benjo here at FAOL a message, see if he has days free. He is in the Missoula area, and there are many choices around there. Missoula also has an airport and all of the comforts of the big (for Montana) city.
-Are these experienced fly fishers that can cast from a drift boat or handle technical fishing?
-Are they looking for a wade or drift boat experience or both?
-Any monetary constraints?
I have a friend that I enjoy fishing with who used to own the Kootenai River Outfitters in Troy (near Libby). He still does some guiding with them. If you are going to be in the Libby area I would definately recommend checking out KRO.
Wade,
In my experience of arranging trips for me and my friends or me and my wife, I strongly advise that you have a backup plan and/or side trips planned. Although many if not most people on this board would rather fish 24-7 it’s my experience that most (occassional fishing) people can’t handle a long trip of only fishing. So I suggest that you think about staying at a place that, in addition to fishing, has horseback riding or whitewater rafting or at least skeet shooting. Although one of my favorite places to fish is the Bitterroot Valley, I’d try to hit one of the areas with a bigger river and make sure that you float- this way the guides will have better control over the fishing and your rep won’t be solely in charge of getting them into fish. Staying near Yellowstone might be a good idea (Bozeman etc). Twin Bridges is within reach of a number of rivers. As someone else mentioned, your timing is not good (many people book these at least a year out) so you are probably going to have to do some research on your own since a lot of the shops mentioned here might be booked.
One place that I have stayed that is about to become more built up is the Seeley Lake area. We stayed at the Double Arrow resort which has their own golf course and it is near the Blackfoot and other rivers in Swan Valley. Moving up in the elegance factor is Paws Up. Yes, cheesy name, but they off just about everything that you’d want to do in MT: http://www.pawsup.com/resort/montana-fly-fishing.php
—sagefisher—