Our family is set on a horse packing / trout fishing vacation trip somewhere in the west. I’ve never fished between Colorado and Alaska and would hope to solicit some advice from FAOL fly fishers familiar with the area and pack-in trips.
Here would be our criteria:
One to two week trip in the second half of August, pretty much anywhere in the Rockies (Colorado to Alaska).
We’d much prefer to avoid crowds and are willing to trade less or smaller fish for solitude, remoteness and naturl beauty.
My older son (13) and I would like to spend as much time fly fishing as possible. My wife and younger son (10) don’t fish and would prefer to ride and hike. We all have extensive horseback experience.
Trip cost is not a driver as long as costs are commesurate with level of service offered. We would prefer to avoid snobbery and ‘exclusivity’ if possible.
Based on my experience in the areas I fish (Cape Cod) it is very difficult to find a top-notch outfitter and location from the Internet, and I would hope there are folks on FAOL who could help us find an exceptional vacation. Thanks in advance
If you’re up for some beautiful backdrops to catching some spectacular fish, you might try a pack trip in Yellowstone. While I haven’t been on a pack trip myself, I do have experience with the guys from this outfitter and they are top notch.
Thanks folks. I do appreciate the help. I should mention we’d much prefer to fish streams to lakes, and that we’re worried about crowds in Yellowstone.
Why not search for gold ~~ golden trout that is. There are pack in trips available in the Golden Trout Wilderness of the Sierra. Not big fish ~~ but beautiful fish. Think about it.
I can think of two places that would be awesome: the Wind River range and the Bob Marshall wilderness. Both remote and in the Bob don’t be surprised to hook some monsters. Some of the horse outfitters are notorious douchebags so watch out and ask for and actually call references to find out what the operation is all about.
Josko, kudos to you for taking your family on such a trip.
Try this website [url=http://www.trailswestoutfitters.com.:c7998]www.trailswestoutfitters.com.[/url:c7998]
I went on a trip with Bob Sundeen, the main man, last August. He has two places that he carries folks to. Our trip was in the Absoroka Range in Wy. Very private and beautiful. The wind howled most of the time and we had rain, snow and sleet, in August no doubt. We fished the Graybull River, but it was high and muddy and with my limited trout fishing skills I came up short. But the strange weather made for some great photography.
Bob is a first rate guy and has been doing this for 10 or 12 years I think. His camps are very nice, not plush but comfortable. The food was excellent and the two wranglers working with him were knowledgable and not drunkards. The folks that I went with are not fishermen and did not fish so I was kinda on my own and didn’t spend a lot of time fishing. Wonderful trip though. Might want to check his website. He’s a good one.
Hope you have a great trip! I’v fished alot in Wyoming, Montana, New Zealand,Florida Keyes, Texas Gulf Coast, and mostly Cape Cod. The Bob Marshall Wilderness was great and remote. Hope to go back there again. If on the Cape this summer or fall contact me and I’ll take you and your son fly fishing from the beaches if you don’t mind walking a ways. If you need advice on certain areas in the Rocky Mtn. area for fishing let me know.
If all these good people give you such wonderful advice, can we get a story and photos when you return. This is the kind of trip I only dream about so I’ll be willing to settle for a good tale.
jed
[This message has been edited by Jed (edited 19 March 2005).]
Gus, that’s exactly why I’m nervous about this whole thing. There’s gotta be a mechanism for picking a reputable outfitter without calling up references or just praying for the best. If it was just me, I could wing it, but I really want the family to have a super time.
Is there a board sponsor who’s in this line of work? I suppose that’s one thing that an Orvis endorsement is good for - weeding out the ‘douchebags’. (I love that word.)
I normally don’t do this but if you are interested in doing the Bob Marshall trip you might check out spotted bear ranch in Kalispell at [url=http://www.spottedbear.com:68631]www.spottedbear.com[/url:68631] I know nothing about their service but I do know they have been in business for a number of years.Another guide working the Bob is
A Lazy H Outfitters out of Choteau Ph.#800-893-1155 again know nothing about them but may give you a starting point.you might also be interested in picking up a copy of Big Sky Journal flyfishing 2005 it’s a touristy magazine touting alot of touristy stuff and over valued properties but on page 106 there is an interesting article on the southfork of the Flathead river with some really beautiful photography of the area
Thank you all. Your input is very helpful. I’ve been doing some looking and noticed a lot of horse packing trips ihn the Banff area. The scenery looks beautiful, but the fly fishing promotion is strangely subdued. Would there be some reason why flyfishing up there is any worse than in the Yellowstone area?
I’d like to put in a good word for Spotted Bear. [url=http://www.spottedbear.com/:e0c36]http://www.spottedbear.com/[/url:e0c36] While I didn’t do the pack trip, I met the guides and staff and was very impressed. When the stars align, my wife, father and I will most likely do one of the backcountry trips into the region. The South Fork of the Flathead is fantastic and the fishing is pretty darn good!