MT trip for my sister and nephew

[Scoot]

My sister is taking her son to a "wilderness camp" this coming week. It should be a cool week- mom and son goofing off in the wilderness of MT. They're pretty excited about it.

When they are done, she'd like to take him fly fishing for a day or so. She's looking into a guided outting, but so far everything she's found has been too expensive ($400-$500/day, which is more than her budget allows).

Do you folks have any suggestions as to a decent place for her to try ger her son a trout on the fly? If he's not successful, they'd be more than happy trying their best to get one in a picturesque MT stream.

She'll be leaving Kalispell and heading East on the way home. She can take HWY 2 home or she's happy to head South of there and take the Interstate home too. So, anywhere East of Kalispell or South down by Great Falls, Boseman, or Billings is a possibility too. Suggestions, info, and help greatly appreciated!!!

Thanks,

Scott

[OnAFly]

It's gonna be tough to find a guide for less than $400 a day out there. They mostly cater to the "I'll fly out from anywhere and drop $1000 a fly gear so I can say I went fly fishing for one day" crowd. It's pretty much what that entire state is turning into.

You might be better off buying a cheapo setup at Cabela's or something and giving it a shot at one of the many public accesses. There are some good ones down between Great Falls and Holter Dam on the Missouri. The weather should be warm enough to wet wade it out there.

There's also smaller rivers that way like the Dearborn that might be easier for wading.

Headhunters flyshop in Craig, MT will be happy to give you info on the area waters even if you aren't going to hire one of their guides. Their site can easily be found on Google.

[Guest]

Just was out in that area last week driving to CA. Many spots that are clearly marked in the rivers streams to fish. Just stay on Main Street thru Bozeman and then take #84 towards Norris MT, won't have to drive that far, Norris is like 30 miles out but about 10 miles out you will hit the Madison Creek (more like a River)and you will be alongside the river for miles. You will see the little signs with a pic of a Fish hanging from a hook and that is the access areas, they are all named, and you will see guys in the river fishing, some standing, some in boats. I did not get a chance to fish...was in a hurry to get a vehicle out to my daughter in CA and hopped on a plane home.

[Slabasaurus]

I have an old friend who is guiding out there now, he's not too cheap but if ya need one, shoot me a PM and I'll try to hook y'all up.

He's good people, been fly fishin since I've known him (so the better part of 3 decades now).

Otherwise, I know it's possible to find some public water and get on fish out there, as usual Onafly gave some good tips.

Sounds like a fun trip though!

[Scoot]

Thanks guys- I greatly appreciate the replies and info. He's already got a fly rod, but has never fished for trout in his life. I'm sure he'll struggle, but just getting him in the water and spending time with his mom doing it will be a great experience. I'm sure she'll take lots of pictures...

Thanks again for the help!

[Ufatz]

Scoot: tell her to ask around the fly shops in Bozeman and Livingston to see if she can get a half-day float. Explain that she has a kid who is new at it, has his own fly rod and is ready to go. If there is a decent guide around he is going to take that kid for a half-day, show him the ropes and maybe catch him a fish. Yes, it is going to cost a few bucks, but I will bet you they come home happy and thrilled with lots of nice photos. The guide will take pix of both of them on the river; will help the kid understand what fishing is all about and will keep them safe while doing it. Cut expenses someplace else.

Report back to me on the fun time they have.

[Guest]

Here is a pic I took last week on my way through there as earlier posted, forgot I had it on my phone. I saw some guys ready to pull out at a public access and I whipped in there and took a quick shot.

[redneckdan]

I'd be willing to chip in some bucks to help make a guided trip happen.

[Scoot]

I'd be willing to chip in some bucks to help make a guided trip happen.

Wow- that is one incredibly generous offer! However, we can't take you up on it. Save your money and use it on your own kids, nephews, nieces, or friends. It's tremendously kind though. They'll make the best of what they have and will have fun doing it. We've never done much with guided trips in our family- typically avoided them when possible. Certainly nothing wrong with them, but it's not really our thing. Probably mostly driven by money (or lack thereof), but it also seems like a mindset too. My guess is they'll get some local knowledge where ever they end up fishing and Cody will latch into a fish or two. I'm certain they'll have fun!

Again, thank you for the kind offer RND, but we'll pass and make the best of it on our own. Just looking for info and points in the right direction and certainly didn't meant to come across like I was looking for handouts.

Thanks again and any further info would be greatly appreciated!

[OnAFly]

The Big R store in Great Falls has a website that has a decent fishing report on it and the HeadHunters website has a really good one too which is updated at least a couple times a week. When I used to go out there, I went off thier info and had success.