Robert Allen you are a lucky man. Do you guide somewhere else in the off season? I was just name dropping on the Madison. A few years back I bought 20 acres over there with the thought that when my sons (now 10 and 13) get into high school and college that if I had a cabin over there it would be a pretty darn cool place to row a boat for someone and pick up a few bucks as a summer job. That is great country over there, my older son shot a 6pt bull and a mtn goat over there this year. Truely an extrodenary year, he caught his first steelie last year.
e7 lots of good advise on this thread, like rt said the best bet would be july, mid july. I'd also be flexable on which river to hit as they all have hot and cold spells and like all rivers you can't always predict them (or the weather very long in advance. Good Luck and oh ya don't forget Freds.

Bob Marshall Wilderness Area

Matt

The Bob Marshall is good fishing for hikers Rip'.

Snap', "Angler's Guide to Montana" is excellant.

I've fished the Swan River valley on the west side of the 'Bob' many times. We grew up visiting relatives with property on Flathead Lake and I caught my first fish there as a toddler. And on to the Swan, and the other rivers already mentioned, years later.

But the Swan River and Sealy Lake are all I've fished near the Bob Marshall Wilderness. I've seen good flyfishing for cutts on outdoor TV programs on the upper South Fork & Mid. Fork Flathead R.'s in there. Hike or hosreback in there - except for one small remote airstrip. I've also never fished 3 places on the east side that I would like to try someday - the Sun and Dearborn rivers in the 'Bob', and the Blackfoot Indian reservation small lakes for trophy 'bows that C&D mentioned. I think casting flys for those from a float tube would be great. I have fished the Cutbank R. west of that reservation in the GNP with little success, but I'd bet it's good inside the reservation where it gets less pressure and more equatic insect feed. Best scenery in the world in the GNP right nearby!

Geez, talkin up these fishing excursion topics about MT, BC, & AK always get me jacked up on a ramble.



[ 11-16-2001: Message edited by: RT i ]

e7,

Last year I fished Montana for the 1st time. I wanted to take the family to Yellowstone National Park and do some fishing at the same time (end of June after the kids got out of school). I wound up camping in my tent trailer at Yellowstone RV park, 20 mi south of Livingston. I just had to go over the bank from my camp site to fish. Like you, I am not a fly fisherman and was trying to figure out how to catch fish and observe/follow the regulations. I bought some clear floats from Teds in Lynnwood and tied flies onto the float with monofilament leader. The best combo seamed to be a teaser fly followed by a sinking nimph. I caught lots of Rocky Mountain whitefish. My wife caught the biggest trout, 16" or so...it had red spots on its back and had a copper or tan look (not sure if it was a brown or a cutt throat) ... beautiful fish...very different than the trout around here. There are a lot of fishing possibilities in Montana with lots of turnouts for launching / picking up a drift boat. Good luck!