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jniz22

Fishing in Montana for a month HELP

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Hey everyone,

 

I am willfully unemployed this year after having lived internationally for the last 6 years.

 

I am currently in Cali, and will be heading toward Montana for Midmay through June... into July if i want!

 

I am just hoping to collect some good information from all of you of where to fish, what to fish, and where to camp. After having lived in Mongolia for so long, I have had so many of my Montana friends who have guided there tell me how similar the two are. The difference is, I doubt you are able to camp wherever you want in Montana... or can you? I am a little concerned about camping for cheap and near fishing :)

 

Have a truck... dont have a boat. Would love to hear from you all!

 

Cheers

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I doubt you are able to camp wherever you want in Montana... or can you? I am a little concerned about camping for cheap and near fishing smile.png

No you can not. However, there are places where you can camp for free (mostly in National Forests) or relatively cheap - some of the campsites along the Missouri River, in prime water, cost $7/nite; the issue there is finding one available. Lots of other places like that along well known and not-so-well known water where you can park your rig. Have fun, catch a bunch.

 

Regards,

Scott

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With the snowpack at 100-120% in most areas in western Montana this winter you may have to search to find rivers that aren't high and off color in May and even much of June in some areas. Do some research and be flexible and runoff shouldn't be a problem.

Most of all, enjoy, it's a wonderful part of the country to be a trout bum in.

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I know your question is about Montana. However, there are some places to consider on the way. I live in the bay area and used to fish Idaho and Montana for over 27 years. From the bay area both Silver Creek (near Picabo) and the Henrys Fork (at Last Chance) are pretty much on the way to Montana. If you like spring creek fishing, you'll love these streams. Just something to consider. You didn't say what part of California you live in so these streams may be out of the way for you.

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In my travels, I've found almost every town, large or small, has a campground. If it's got a river, the campground will be on it.

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For free camping, you can camp pretty much anywhere in the national forests unless there are signs indicating otherwise. Of course you won't have any water or toilet facilities, so you'll need to provide your own, and always leave no trace.

 

There are also lots of inexpensive NF campgrounds. You get what you pay for, though, and an inexpensive campground might have sites with a picnic table, fire grate, and a pit toilet, but often no potable water. On the plus side those campgrounds are often more isolated and quiet. If you want to camp on a big name river you'll likely have to pay more and you'll have more company. As a tradeoff you get drinking water and maybe a camp host to watch over things. Theft isn't a big concern in Montana, but being able to leave your gear in camp while you fish without worrying is sometimes worth the extra expense.

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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.

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not sure which road you're taking out of CA but it you're going on 80 I would really recommend making a stop at pyramid lake on the way for a day or two if the trout season will still be open.

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Don't you need a ladder to fish Pyramid Lake? Every picture I've seen from there shows people standing on the upper rungs of a ladder in the water.

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Its helpful but not needed especially latter in the season, all I bring with me is a 3 ft step stool.

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Hey all,

 

Thanks for all the advice. I am 100% mobile and able to go anywhere.... so any and all advice is appreciated.

 

As far as camping, i dont require anything more than a spot to park the truck and hop in the back. I usually bring a few jugs of water along so water is never an issue.

 

Having fished in Mongolia, slovenia, and romania, I have been spoiled with solitude. Sonce i have such a liarge chunk of time, I am happy to spend a few days fishing some of the more well known rivers but am also hoping to find some spots that are more secluded. Id like to hike into a few rivers if possible and have a few 2-3 day trips or just some over nights.

 

Thanks again for all the tips. Feel free to provide more!

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We rode dual sport bikes down to Montana a few years back. I had bought a book by Frank Amota called Fishing Montana or something like that, it identified several rivers and camping spots on the rivers. It was a great book and I just planned a route and took a crap shoot on where we should go. The campsites were awesome and I think about $7 a night.

 

We went to the following rivers:

 

Missoula and stayed at Craig Montana, three fly shops, two bars and a campsite. Paid for a guide and drifted the river, incredible day, my one and only guided trip ever.

 

Madison and stayed at campsite at the forks, south of Ennis. There was a private campsite right by the one we stayed at with real nice folks running that. Fishing was great with nymphs.

 

Rock Creek was really cool at this site we rode to down a winding rode. We stop at a bar that had some kind of a testicle festival coming up on the weekend. Decided a couple Canadians didn't belong there! Tough fishing there as we had a hard time finding a good access.

 

The highlight of that trip was the Flathead north of Glacier Mountain National park just outside the boundary. Beautiful campsite, easy access to River, great fishing! The mountains are rich in garnet and jade so the rocks along the river were purple and green. Truly one of the most buetiful spots I have ever fished!

 

Note: Do not try to ride the Hwy to the Sun on Saturday, July 3rd in the snow. 100+ miles in first gear, bike overheating, people and cars everywhere not watching where the hey they are going.. That sucked!

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Be sure to buy a license in every State you fish. Many States can confiscate ALL the equipment you have with you, if you're caught fishing without a license. At the very least, it can cost you $500.00 per fish in possession. And don't rely on the kindness of Game Wardens, no matter what your story is. They've heard it all before, and many States are really starting to crack down on poaching.

 

I, for one, support stricter, harsher penalties for illegal fishing. (no license, too many fish, possessing species out of season, etc.)

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jniz22 welcome home, Montana requires a conservation license ($10.) plus a non resident license ($86.) also a paddlefish tag ($15.) if you plan to fish them (Upper Missouri River) unsure if anyone fly fishes for paddlefish but I'd love to troll a large streamer and give it a try! I wish you a memorable trip I'll echo Mike, free camping is great, illegal fishing or any poaching you should expect no leniency. Know the laws in any state you fish. You should have a decent year water wise some of the best fishing extends well into the fall seasons. Tight lines and loops!

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Rock Creek can be pretty open people wise early in the season (especially during the week) and camping should be cheap (or possibly free). gets busy for the Skwala hatch. Agree the various branches of the Flathead near Glacier might be good opportunities for camping, hiking in, and could have good fishing, altho don't know what to expect re runoff, etc. SW Montana will probably have big runoff approaching June and YNP might be better water, but more folks. Lately, the Mothers Day caddis has been pretty strong on the Lower Madison, but water colored and fish not overly cooperative, altho camping can be cheap, but lots of people.

 

Good luck. You should see some great country and probably meet some nice folks!

 

P.S. - That "Bait Fisherman" thing is totally bogus, and I have no idea how to remove it. Any help would be appreciated!

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