Rivers and Lakes

Travelers have flocked to the Big Sky state to experience the pure beauty that abounds. Northwest Montana does not disappoint, with Glacier Park out the back door and Whitefish, Bigfork, and Flathead Lake all within a short drive. The wonders of the Montana skies, mountains, and lucid waters of it's rivers never gets old and each day is a blessing.

The Flathead River

This river flows within minutes to Whitefish, Kalispell, Bigfork, and Columbia Falls. The Flathead River, fed by glaciers, is one of Montana's cleanest and clearest rivers in the state. Residing here are native West Slope Cutthroat and Rainbow Trout that are eager to eat the dry fly. There are three forks to the Fathead River. The South Fork starts deep in the Bob Marshall wilderness and the Middle Fork starts deep in the Great Bear wilderness. The North Fork waters flow out of Canada. On most days, anglers can expect to catch fish with a variety of dry flies. Big bugs on the surface attract these fish. Numerous other species of fish in the Flathead River will get your rod bent, including Whitefish, Lake Superior Whitefish, Lake Trout, Bull Trout, and Pike. Only the luckiest of fisherman get to catch a Sucker Fish!

The Missouri River

Pound for pound, the Missouri River is likely the best trout fishery in the state of Montana for fly fishing. It has the best of everything in Montana: habitat, hatches, water temperature and density of fish per mile. The quantity and size of the fish caught here are greater than anywhere else in the state. This river is known throughout the world for its blanket hatches and pods of rising trout. People certainly do travel here from all corners of the globe for a chance at a monstrous wild trout on the fly. Most of the angling here is done sub-surface on this giant spring creek, but when these fish rise it is sublime. As with all fly fishing, having a great drift is of upmost importance for these big picky fish. We fish the Missouri River out of the small fish towns of Wolf Creek, Craig, and Cascade, all which are located between Helena and GreatFalls.

This bountiful river is my favorite on a day off.

The Clark Fork River

The Clark Fork is an enjoyable river to fish and we love it! It's a beautiful river with excellent opportunities to catch great fish between 13 and 17 inches on the dry fly and even some bigger ones. It's a little bit of a drive from the Flathead, but well worth the effort for a days journey. We catch many trout here in the spring, early summer, and during the fall hatches.

Lake Fishing

When we are unable to fish the rivers due to runoff, we fly fish lakes with a variety of opportunities. Beautiful Grayling, large Pike, Bass, Lake Trout, Rainbow Trout, Perch, and West Slope Cutthroat Trout live in these waters. An assortment of techniques can be utilized to catch these fish.

Flathead Lake

If big lake fishing is your style and you want the chance to catch some large Lake Trout, then Flathead Lake might be what you're after!  With multiple fishing access sites, you could be fishing the largest natural freshwater lake that's west of the Mississippi.  Flathead Lake offers more than 200 square miles of fishing potential.  Please inquire about this great option.