My wife’s family will be holding a family reunion in either the Billings or Red Lodge area of Montana. Final plans have not yet been made as to the exact location. However, another family member and I will be spending a couple days fishing. The first day we will probably hire a guide for either a float trip or wade trip. The second day we will probably fish on our own either wading or float tubing if we happen to be lake fishing. This event will take place during the week of July 12.
A couple of questions for you all:
Any suggestions as to a guide?
What waters to you consider “MUST FISH” in the Billings and or Red Lodge areas?
We won’t mind driving for an hour or so to get to the water so the location does not need to be particularly close to either Billings or Red Lodge.
The other fisherman is a VERY experienced fisherman. I, on the other hand, would consider myself “moderately experienced”. I can’t handle quite as “technical” of water as my fishing partner.
If in the Billings area, I would spend a day on the Big Horn River. Call Ellyn at Fort Smith Fly Shop & Cabins. http://www.flyfishingthebighorn.com/
If you are in the Red Lodge Area, I would consider fishing the high alpine lakes up on the BearTooth Parkway.
I used to live just north of Harrisburg, SD. Its a great place!
If you are willing to drive you are not that far from a lot of great waters. You could go over to Livingston and fish the Madison. There is a couple of great shops that guide in Livingston.
If you only want to drive an hour, you should stay in Red Lodge instead of Billings. The Big Horn is farther than that from Billings, and access to the lower Yellowstone and Stillwater can be problematic. Rock Creek is a decent little stream and runs right through Red Lodge. Really, if you could convince people to stay in Livingston you’d have a lot more options, including for “family” activities.
Royce,
Your best bets are Rock Creek between the town of Roberts and Red Lodge about 35 minutes from Billings, the Stillwater which is 40 minutes from Billings and has plenty of access. The are quite a few lakes you could hit in the Beartooths around Red Lodge aswell. The snow pack is pretty bad, so we will have to see what kind of run off we have, but the fishing should be ok during this time. There is also some small mouth action if you head east of Billings on the Yellowstone.
Your 1st fishing choice is a no brainer----the Big Horn. Plenty of float guides out of Fort Smith where the dam is located. Limited access for wading. I like the Big Horn Trout Shop. They have a web site.
If your up in Red Lodge I would go to the Stillwater River. Plenty of access as mentioned earlier. The name is very misleading. It is a high gradient stream that really rips in spots.
Clarks Fork of the Yellowstone around Clark, Wyo. About 40 min from Rock Dodge and awsome rainbows and cutts. A little research will get you good small lakes near by.
Good luck on the run-off.
PM if you would like.