wthorpe

Without more specificity on where in Montana you intend to go, it is a bit hard to provide good advice. But in general there are lots of wadable rivers in SW Montana including Madison, Ruby, Beaverhead, Big Hole, Jefferson, and to the north of them other spots in and near Missoula. In June you might also consider a look at the Madison and Firehole in Yellowstone, which are just a few miles out of Montana proper. I concur that runoff will be an issue in June in some spots. Some of these rivers are tailwaters where the dams impact the runoff problems. You will likely get better info on runoff very near the time you intend to fish, as it literally can be a day to day issue. One other thought to put into the puzzle: all of these rivers are very, very well known to the fishing world, and the better the fishing the more company you will have. Of all the rivers mentioned in this post i am most familiar with the Madison below the lakes and upstream of the float section, ie, around Raynolds Pass and $3 Bridge. Sometimes during high season on the salmonfly hatch, i cannot even bear to fish on that river, even with fish gobbling 2-inch dry flies, because there are so many, many people out there.

Well, there are a lot of good ideas in this thread, but i feel compelled to come to the defense of the poor downtrodden folks at Folstaff. I have had 3 Folstaff collapsible wading staffs used by both my wife and me for something like 15 to 17 years. One is bent, banged, and who knows what but it keeps on ticking, and the others are well used too. Cording is still good, and they still come apart when they are supposed to and not when they are not. Only damage to one was performed by the dog who apparently found the cork handle too tasty when i left it lying temptingly near the floor. I keep them holstered when not in use, but i deploy when in water literally over my shoes, and use them as hiking sticks while walking in shallow water. i also use them for hiking overland. I see some advantages over sticks that wont collapse and some advantages over sticks that are not as strong as the heavy aluminum. On the other hand ... they are a bit pricey.

...and one other comment: Silver's explanation of the technique typically used on the big, spooky, heavily pressured, wild fish on the Ranch is really excellent. If you did not read it carefully, read it again. It is so good an explanation in fact it almost makes it look easy! -- when in fact it takes a bit of trial and error! For folks who have not tried it, it is worth learning. It provides a very useful alternative to casting upstream, over the top of rising fish, in many circumstances.

The guides in Last Chance, Henry's Fork Anglers and Trout Hunter, guide a lot between Ashton and St. Anthony, ie, the so-called lower river, as well as the Box Canyon and the Warm River to Ashton section. The lower river ordinarily fishes well in June and dies off in very late June or first few days of July. It has some wading access at various places. The difficulty of the fishing on the lower river is much reduced from the Ranch section, but there are lots of nice fish there including plenty bows and browns over 20 inches. Not pushovers but catchable. Inexperienced fishers will find the Ranch very frustrating. For that matter people who fish it many days every year also find it challenging. The whole river from the Box Canyon a few miles upstream of the Ranch down to St. Anthony is a true national treasure for fisher folks. (By the way i am not sure when the original poster is going in June; the Ranch does not open til -- i think this is right -- June 15.)

i have some of those Dai Riki 135's and i like the offset hook. i also see that Dai Riki has a somewhat similar product, #125. I wonder if someone more knowledgeable about nuances in hooks could explain how they are different? Looks to me like 125 has a straight eye which should improve hooking ability, but i think it is 2X short, and i am guessing that might eliminate some of the hooking advanatage? The 125 also apparently is not offset. So in the end is the 135 teh better approach for zebra midges and similar flies?