Best Montana Fishing

Monday was the first of two days with long-time anglers, Jim and Doug.  This duo has been coming out in July for the last several years primarily to fish the spruce moth hatch on the Blackfoot.

Well, it has been super hot in Missoula the last two weeks so I reached out to the guys about options.  I told them that we could tough it out on the Blackfoot which didn’t look promising, we could cancel, or we could shift the trip over to the Land of the Giants in the jet boat.

After a couple days there last week I knew it was the best option around and I was happy to hear that Jim and Doug were up for it.  We motored out from the marina and started off in the middle river.

Jim hooked 3 solid rainbows and landed 2 while Doug was briefly connected to one on our first drift.  I adjusted Doug’s rig and both anglers boated big rainbows on our next drift.  We made a couple more passes on the middle river with bent rods and heavy fish each time and then headed upriver.

We went all the way up to the dam and couldn’t get out of that first run without hooking a fish or two on every pass.  Doug was especially deadly up there with hook ups on each drift and a super thick 22″ rainbow.

Once we finally made it out of there without a fish the faster water below that was productive and then we picked up a couple more in some big boulders on our way down to another fast run.  The next spot was really good too with a couple of doubles, including a flawless 22″ brown that Jim tagged  along with a number of big rainbows.

After several drifts in that run we started to work our way back downriver and picked up quality rainbows in every run.  Then we motored out to the lake for the last hour or so.

Jim and Doug are both good fly tyers and have much more lake experience than I do so I wanted to experiment with them.  Unfortunately the conditions were not ideal.  It was sunny and almost flat calm on the lake.  It usually fishes best with a light chop on the water but the guys still fished it hard.

We switched flies and locations a few times, and there were some opportunities.  Between both anglers we had 6 or 7 strikes and Jim landed a bright rainbow but it definitely was not as good as it can be on the lake.

Despite the slower fishing on the lake, it was still a tremendous day on the water with an absolute pile of big fish in the net.

Best Montana Fishing

Tuesday we were at the marina a little earlier and since we were already rigged from yesterday we motored straight up the dam to start things off.  Doug really like that run yesterday and it treated us well again today.

We spent most of the morning up there and hooked one or two fish on each pass.   Jim had one hot bow run all the way across the river into his backing, and we had to use the motor a couple of times to run back up to fish or get the right angle on some of the big rocks.  The best part was that we had the entire upper river to ourselves all morning.

Hooking thick 18-20+” rainbows on every pass and not another boat in sight was quite a treat.  Eventually we ended up with some boats around so we started fishing our way downriver.  There was no shortage of trout as the guys hooked up in every spot and there were a couple more hot runs into the backing.

By the time we made it through the middle river I knew I wanted to stay in the river instead of going out to the lake.  There wasn’t much wind to help in the lake and the river was just fishing too well so we motored back up to one of the faster runs.

The guys banged out several more nice fish on the nymph rods including another big brown trout for Jim.  Then we decided to grab the dry fly rod to close out the day.  The bottom half of that run had some rising fish, but there are lots of tricky currents and it is very hard to hold that heavy jet boat in the current like I can do with my drift boat.

We decided to give it a shot anyway and Doug was the first one up.  We started with a dry fly and a caddis emerger, and Doug was a little eager on the hook set, breaking off the emerger and setting too hard on a couple that ate the dry.

We ran back up and made another pass.  This time Doug got his fly in the perfect spot on the next pair of fish and one of them sucked it down.  I saw the line come tight and a giant fish turn in the current.  The rodeo was on from there.

A massive rainbow on a little 16 dry, 5x tippet, fast water, and a lot of big boulders made for an exciting fight.  Doug did a good job on the fight, but eventually the fish wrapped around a big boulder.  Amazingly it didn’t break off and I was able to motor above the rock to get the line clear and not long after Doug slid a very fat 23″ rainbow in the net.

That was a great way to cap off 2 unbelievable days of fishing.  I think we were all a little numb to the number of big fish we had seen.  Jim and Doug are always a treat to be on the water with.  I’m glad they were willing to change plans on short notice, it certainly paid off.

Best Montana Fishing

Wednesday was the first of 2 days with local angler, Bob at Land of the Giants.  We were scheduled to fish on Friday, but a cancellation allowed us to shift things forward and add a day to the trip.

We motored straight to the upper river, but there was a boat at the dam so we stopped short and started off in some fast water.  A couple casts into the day Bob was tight to a hot rainbow and after motoring around with that fish he had a 23″ bow to start things off.

By that time the other boat had drifted downstream so we settled in at the dam for a while and Bob had a hey day.  He hooked up on every drift we made and they were all hard fighting rainbows and one nice brown trout.

We could have stayed there all day but I wanted to see some different water so we started floating downstream.  The fast run where Bob picked up that 23″ in the morning produced another solid hook up and I could tell right away that this was a heavy fish.

We had to chase that trout around for a while and Bob did a great job keeping it out of the boulders.  I almost couldn’t fit it in the net when Bob brought it up.  It was an absolutely huge rainbow.  There is a lot going on in that upper river with fast currents, big rocks, and a heavy motor boat so the priority was getting the boat safely anchored.

Then we snapped a couple quick pics and let the fish go.  I would love to know exactly how big that rainbow was with a measurement, but it was more important to get her quickly back in the river.  I have zero hesitation saying that was a 25″ fish…..you will see my reasoning soon enough.

So, when you catch your biggest Montana rainbow ever what do you do for an encore?  If you are Bob you just continue to stick fat bows in every run the rest of the way.  It was literally that good, one to three fish in every run all day long.

We grabbed the dry fly rod at the end of the day and took some shot at risers.  Bob was feeding them really well, but we had a couple bent out hooks and one break off because these fish are no joke on dries.

After rigging up we made one more pass and Bob closed the deal on another massive rainbow.  The eat and the hook set were perfect, and then all hell broke loose.  Bob survived the initial runs well and boated the fish in short order.

It was a thick 24″ rainbow on a small dry.  At that point there is really nothing left to do so we called it a day.  It very well may have been the best day of trout fishing I have seen in Montana.  I know without question that Bob landed more fish 20″ or better than under 20″ and he put a pile of fish in the net today.

Best Montana Fishing

Thursday was day 2 with Bob at Land of the Giants and we went straight back to the upper river first thing this morning.  The run at the dam was not as consistent as it has been the last few days.

It’s funny how quickly we get spoiled, but instead of hooking a fish or two every run today Bob was getting a fish every 2 runs.  They were still big, healthy rainbows that were ripping all over the river.  It just wasn’t automatic this morning so we started making some longer drifts and found that the faster water downstream was producing nice fish every time we drifted through.

We started to focus on that faster water and after a few drifts and several nice bows I watched as Bob came tight and I saw a really big fish move in the rocks.  I am sure it doesn’t help my anglers but sometimes I can’t contain myself.

I said, “Oh shit, that’s a big one.  Be ready to let ’em go.”  Bob did just that, and he played the fish very well.  It is a little nerve racking in that faster water with giant rocks to make sure you don’t hit anything with the boat and keep it in a good position to land the fish, but it all worked out and before long Bob had a huge brown trout in the net.

We were able to anchor quickly so there was a chance to get a measurement and a couple quick pics.  It was a 24.5″ brown, and a gorgeous healthy fish.  What an incredible moment.  That happened at around 10:00 so there was still plenty of day left.

We moved downriver from there and the next fast run was lights out with 3 solid rainbows.  The middle river produced 3 more on our way to a shady spot for lunch.  Bob was pretty much cashed out at that point but I convinced him to fish one more run on the lower river while he had his after lunch cigar.

That yielded a 15″ rainbow, our smallest of the trip but it was the perfect back to reality moment after 2 insane days of fishing.  When the cigar was done we motored out to the marina and headed home.

Best Montana Fishing

I have always adhered to the philosophy of undersell and overdeliver when it comes to fishing.

That has served me well over the last 20+ years of guiding so I really don’t know what to say about the last week of fishing.

Maybe the stars all aligned for us on those 4 days, I don’t know?  What I do know is that it was some of the best trout fishing in Montana I have ever seen.

I have a couple of 2 day windows open in August for anyone who might like to give it a shot in the month ahead.

Tight Lines,

Tony Reinhardt
Montana Trout Outfitters
406-544-3516