Per the discussion on the Fishing with Fiberglass Fly Rods I am pleased to announce the first Montana Glass Clave in *********, MT, co-hosted by ********* Rod and C Barclay Fly Rods. Tom and 406 Fly Lines will be heavily involved as well. The response has been great and we have people coming from all over the country and world. Dates will be August 17-19th, however, since it is such a far destination, a lot of us will be there around and fishing most of the week. We are receiving quite a bit of snow with some heavy snow months in the spring still to come. The events will be at Sacajawea Park 5pm-whenever on that Friday and Saturday. I plan on having some level of catering, probably pizza and maybe some bbq. I might look to one of the restaurants to host a night as well. Cost of event will be $50 which will include an event t-shirt and food. Saturday evening will include a raffle in which ********* Rod will be giving away a rod and apparel. There will be tons of other items as well. I will publish them when I have a complete list.
Here's a current report of our snowpack with 2 more months to come that are typically pretty snowy.
https://www.wcc.nrcs.usda.gov/ftpref/gis/images/mt_swepctnormal_update.pngLodging: There are tons of hotels in the ********* and Bozeman area as well as lots of camping (lots of free National Forest Camping and Fish Wildlife and Parks options, there's too much to list) a simple search on one of the travel sights like Expedia, etc...will be great for hotels. THE hotel in ********* and maybe all of Montana is the Murray downtown *********.
http://murrayhotel.com/news-updates/Air Bnb should have lots of options. Here's a local Vacation listing company to check out.
https://www.staymontana.com/Chico Hot Springs is roughly a half hour south and is a great little resort.
https://www.chicohotsprings.com/Dining: Anthony Bourdain has done 2 show episodes in Montana, both in *********. For such a small town we have great options for fine dining. Rib and Chophouse (our most popular eatery), Second Street Bistro (fine dining), Gils Goods (wood fire pizza), Yellowstone Valley Grill (fine dining in Paradise Valley), Pine Creek Cafe (in Paradise Valley and one of my favorites and a potential event host), Mustang (Lunch), The Sport, and Chico Hot Springs (a saloon as well as fine dining). We have 2 large supermarkets for those of you who would rather cook. Bozeman is a very hip and expensive town and has more dining options than I could write, PM me for recommendations.
Fishing:
Fishing in August during a good water year can be my favorite, especially because of hoppers. Small Stream fishing can be phenomenal during most water years. Other than the spring creeks fishing isn't very technical this time of year.
For everyone coming please buy this book, he's a local author and glass fisherman. THE best guides to Montana have been written by him.
https://www.amazon.com/Fly-Fishing-Montana-John-Holt/dp/0762796820/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1498797515&sr=8-2&keywords=john+holt+montanaFly Fishing Guide for Yellowstone Park by Craig Mathews:
https://www.amazon.com/Yellowstone-Fly-Fishing-Guide-Craig-Mathews/dp/155821545X/ref=sr_1_fkmr1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1519778991&sr=1-1-fkmr1&keywords=craig+matthews+yellowstoneFish and game puts out a nice access book that is free and would reccommend getting while you're here.
Montana Fisheries:
We have some very major watersheds here that are world famous for very good reasons. The Yellowstone River runs through ********* and the upper sections above Yankee Jim close to Gardiner and in the Park are great for walk and wade fishing. Cutts, Rainbows, Browns, and Whitefish.
Boulder River: 45 Minutes East of ********* near Big Timber. Cutts, Rainbows, Browns, and Whitefish.
Gallatin River: 30-60 Minutes west and/or south of Bozeman. Great Rainbow trout fishery with some browns, and a Westslope Cutt every now and then. TONS of small tribs too.
Upper Madison River: 45-90 minutes SW of Bozeman. One of the most famous trout streams on the planet and for a reason. I would recommend fishing the walk/wade section above Lyons Bridge. Lots of Bows and Browns
Small Streams: Too many to list, PM me for options.
YNP:
Firehole: Too warm that time of year.
Upper Gibbon, fun little attractor Fishery.
Gardiner River nice hopper fishing.
Lamar River one of the best Cutt fisheries and one of my favorites.
Soda Butte Creek, a smaller version of the Lamar.
Slough Creek, my favorite and lots of potential hiking and backcountry.
The Yellowstone, the Black Canyon, the Grand Canyon, and in between the falls and the lake. BRING Bear Spray, better safe than sorry.
Western Montana has so many great fisheries, if you are interested in more exploring PM me and consult John's book.
Fly Shops and Guides (Driftboats and Rafts don't row themselves):
Yellowstone River:
Yellowstone Angler
https://www.yellowstoneangler.com/Sweetwater Fly Shop:
https://www.sweetwaterflyshop.com/Nelson's Spring Creek: Wonderful Spring Creek Tucker and Jaquie Nelson are the guides.
https://www.nelsonsspringcreek.com/Hatchfinders (custom flies, reminds me of some of the old eastern fly shops)
Bozeman:
Montana Angler on Main Street
https://www.montanaangler.com/Montana Troutfitters (great place for tying materials)
https://www.troutfitters.com/Big Sky/Gallatin/Madison
Gallatin River Guides (trips on Gallatin, Madison)
https://www.montanaflyfishing.comUpper Madison River:
Kelly Galloup's Slide Inn
https://www.slideinn.com/The Rest of Western Montana. I have fished most of Western Montana extensively throughout my decade of Montana Residence. Please PM me for other options, there are a whole lot of them.
Look forward to seeing everyone in August!
Dusty