The Ultimate Trip

[trailratedtj]

Well i have sweet talked the "future to be". The plan for the honeymoon is to travel either through these selected states.

Starting in Minnesota to South Dakota to Wyoming to Idaho to Oreagon then finishing in Washington and then flying back.

or...

Starting in Minnesota to North Dakota to Montana to Idaho to Washington and then flying back.

The plan is to drive through the night from place to place, fly fishing in the morning through the day then driving through the night to the next fishing destination arriving by the next morning.

The question is which route should i take and which river, creeks, or streams should i fish. keeping in mind that we dont want to travel north and south through the states to much, more east to west. I want to fish nice bueatiful rivers and creeks staying away narrow streams and heavily covered shores.

what do u think? to much to ask for?

basically which river or creek would be your dream place to fly fish in those states?

[trailratedtj]

oh yeah....

id like to wade each river or creek. dry flys being to best but nymphing and streamers are fun to. no floating and no boats. My wife at the time(fiance now), is a photographer so to keep her loving the trip it would be nice if the rivers and creeks are in nice scenic places.

[turiprap]

I don't get to travel much, but I have been lucky enough to fish in the Black Hills of SD many times. My favorite creek there, hands down, is Spearfish Creek.

I fished very briefly in the Metolius River in Oregon and on the Deschutes. I'd love to give both a much more serious whirl. The Crooked River in Oregon is another river I'd love to fish.

Good luck.

[trailratedtj]

thanks!

anyone else got any ideas?

[so haaad]

You'll run into great water either way you travel. I've fished the Black Hills, the waters around Jackson Hole and Yellowstone, Montana, the Green River in Utah and of course Colorado. You didn't mention what time of year that you'll be travelling. But if I could pick just one river to fish, I would pick the Green River in Utah because the combination of unbelievable water clarity, big spottable fish and alpine desert scenery is really tough to beat. But maybe that's a little south of your travel route. Yellowstone is a great place because of the scenery. Not many places can you share a streamside with elk and bison. But the drawback with Yellowstone is that there are so many fishermen and so many tourists/tourons. The black hills are actually decent for fishing. I've experienced some great dryfly fishing there. But the size of the fish and quality of the fisheries do not have the same magnitude as the streams out west. I guess I would travel through South Dakota vs North if I had to choose a route. You'll be fishing sooner going through S. Dakota and the Black Hills. Unless you want to meet up with Deadhead of this site near Fergus Falls and flyfish for carp!

[DEADhead]

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Unless you want to meet up with Deadhead of this site near Fergus Falls and flyfish for carp!

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OH I see how it is....

If you go the North Dakota route, a stop on the legendary Otter Tail River is almost mandatory. It is home to some of the best smallmouth fishing in the state. If you're not looking to float or boat it, there's a popular, but often crowded spot, to fish from shore, downstream of the Orwell dam. I fish the area and its backwaters quite often, in search of any fish that swims. You can fish for anything from smallmouth, walleyes, channel cats, pike, to buffalo, drum, carp, redhorse and suckers. Taking those native "roughfish" on the fly can be quite the challenge! Depending on the wind, sometimes it is necessary to break from tradition and grab the spinning rod, but it is all fun nonetheless.

If you decide to go that route and are interested in more information, let me know and I can get you setup.

[trailratedtj]

sorry deadhead im trying to stick to just trout and possibly salmon and steelies once reaching the west coast. I do appreciate the offer, next time i come up that way i wouldnt mind hitting the otter tail. ive passed over it several times wondering if it was any good.

[DEADhead]

hey no problem. Have fun on your trip and good luck.

[trailratedtj]

i still got a while and im already jumping out of my skin to go. I have a trip plannd before the wedding for the bachelor party to go to the boundary water or lake vermillion and im not even excited anymore. Im ready to get married just so i can fly fish the streams of my dreams....

Daniel

[so haaad]

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Unless you want to meet up with Deadhead of this site near Fergus Falls and flyfish for carp!

OH I see how it is....

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Figured you'd appreciate that comment, fellow carp-on-the-fly guy!

[DEADhead]

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Figured you'd appreciate that comment, fellow carp-on-the-fly guy!

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we might need to have a spring get-together!

[so haaad]

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[so haaad]

Sounds good to me, either next spring or summer sometime. I always enjoy "roughing it" on a fly. I think it's a little ironic that the first fish that I caught last spring on a newly built steelie flyrod was a redhorse.

[DEADhead]

yeah the first fish I caught on my new 9 weight last year was a silver redhorse. I bought the rod to be able to handle big pike and muskies, and here this little redhorse had the rod bent down to the grip, I though it was going to break!

[-Marc V-]

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we might need to have a spring get-together!

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I'm in! Don't think there are many other fly roughies on FM out there though.

Goal for spring is a bowfin on the fly...

Sorry Trail...didn't mean to hijack your post. Sounds like a good trip. Sounds like a good girl if she wants to go on a honeymoon of this sort. Congrats on your engagement and upcoming wedding. Haven't fished out west yet, so can't offer much. Sounds like a trip of a lifetime. Enjoy.

Marc

[trailratedtj]

no problem Marc. Thanks for the congrats. she is a good girl, shes loves being outdoors, just not in a hunting sense.

I think we are just gonna go to the black hills and then montana to the yellowstone river. then maybe somewhere in paradise valley.

[Ufatz]

Yellowstone R. runs right through Paradise Valley of course. There are quite a few spots you can splash along and cast a fly. Fish the Y.river in the Park too. There is some easily accessible water near Bozeman too. There are some small creeks of course. Ask at the shops in Livingston and BZN. If you book a day on a spring creek, and you have not fished like that before, be prepared to have fun but not catch many fish. Or any fish!! I know guys who have fished them for forty years and still have days they can't catch a fish on Depuy's. In fact I know one guy like that very very well.

[Sully20]

trailratedtj- If your plans are not set in stone and you are still considering heading west past Montana, let me know. I moved out to ID from MN about 3 years ago and have quite a bit of the state figured out for great fishing of all types. The wife would love the photos she could get at some of the high lakes here, and the fishing at places like that can be world class. There are plenty of scenic streams and rivers too. Also know of quite a few good spots in western MT and eastern OR. If you plan on making it this far west let me know, I can put you on some good spots. What time of year are you going to be heading out? Also, what type of vehicle do you have? (some of the "roads" out here aren't really roads, they're more like hiking trails that are wide enough for a truck)