My buddy and I are planning a fishing trip to northwest Montana in August or September. We’ll probably fly into Kalispell and rent a car. We generally prefer wading over floating.
Any suggestions on places/rivers we might want to check out in northwest Montana, Idaho, or possible even Canada? I’ve heard the Selway-Bitteroot Wilderness might be good if we want to backpack/camp, but we’d need to find a pilot.
Any ideas are greatly appreciated.
Thanks.
My suggestion would be to wait until summer if you can to plan the specific rivers you’ll fish on your trip and see then what places will be closed to fishing due to low water, fires and the other maladies that have resulted from the multi-year drought the state is in. The snowpack is terrible in the state this year, and unless the rain really starts coming down hard or the summer is an unusually cool one like last year, there will be lots of rivers closed to fishing in August and Sept. That said, if you flew into Kalispell, you’re close enough to drive to several different areas to fish.
cea wrote:
My suggestion would be to wait until summer if you can to plan the specific rivers you’ll fish on your trip and see then what places will be closed to fishing due to low water, fires and the other maladies that have resulted from the multi-year drought the state is in. The snowpack is terrible in the state this year, and unless the rain really starts coming down hard or the summer is an unusually cool one like last year, there will be lots of rivers closed to fishing in August and Sept. That said, if you flew into Kalispell, you’re close enough to drive to several different areas to fish.
That is very, very, very good advice. Here are some links (snowpack and streamflow data) in case you are interested:
ftp://ftp.wcc.nrcs.usda.gov/data/snow/update/mt.txt [url=http://waterdata.usgs.gov/mt/nwis/rt:2abdc]http://waterdata.usgs.gov/mt/nwis/rt[/url:2abdc]
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Warren F.
The information you have recieved is very good and you might check on the rivers out here before heading this way. I just looked today at the snow pack around the state and the area you are talking about is about 53 percent of normal snow pack. So be advised that you may want to keep and eye on what is going on here. No use spending all that money getting here if the rivers are closed. Check the Fish and Game site for river closings they will have them posted there.
The south western part of the state is even worse than the northern section.
Clark Canyon Lake is only 19 percent of normal right now. So I think the Beaverhead will be closed when the season is opened if we do not get a lot of rain or late spring snows. Same with the Bighole it to is in bad shape. Just have to wait and see what mother nature has in store for us this season.
I was in one of the local shops today and they told me they have a lot of people holding off booking dates until they know more. Good Advise. Ron
The other suggestions about checking on the snowpack and moisture later this summer is wise.
If you want to start thinking about places to go, I’d suggest the South Fork of the Flathead. Great country and some interesting backcountry fly fishing. If you wouldn’t mind a pack trip, you can really see some fine fly fishing. They do float back out, but I think the trips have plenty of wading potential. Check out: [url=http://www.spottedbear.com:99442]www.spottedbear.com[/url:99442]
If you want to do something out of the car, you could head down towards Missoula and fish the Bitteroot, Rock Creek, Clark Fork, etc. Plenty of water and plenty of public access.
Thanks guys… I appreciate your responses. Sounds like good advice. We’ll hold off awhile on planning a trip up that way.
Wouldn’t an alternative be, if conditions are dry, checking with some spring creeks…if you have the means to spend the money to get on them. I was on DePuy’s in December and it was AWESOME. But it was also at a discounted price because of the time of the year. During the summer they charge $100, but in December it is only $40. Just a thought. Good luck. I hope it isn’t too dry and I really hope there are no fires, because I am getting married in July at Big Sky.
I’d plan that trip for September, late September. Hopefully the fires will be out by then and there will have been some cooler nights that drop the water temp and bring out some BWOs. In that Kalispell area you could consider:
N. Fork Flathead
S. Fork Flathead
Kootnei River
Missoula Area
There isn’t that much epic fishing around Kalispell but those forks of the Flathead are beautiful and hold good fish, S. Fork is difficult to access but is the better one. The Missouri becomes a better option the longer you wait in September.
Stig: If you do make across to this side of the border be sure to drop by Vic Bergman’s “The Crowsnest Angler” shop in Bellevue, Alberta, then head out to the Crowsnest River for some fantastic rainbow fishing. There’s a ton of great streams in the SW corner of Alberta ranging from medium-size freestones with excellent rainbow, cutthroat, and bull trout fishing to smaller tributaries with cutties and higher up brookies.
Give us a call and maybe we can put a G&L FlyCraft “Crowsnest River Series” rod in your hands for the day! 
All the best…sounds like a trip to remember, that’s for sure!
John
G&L FlyCraft
Art. Science. Sport. Welcome to the convergence.
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