Fly fishing Montana: Missoula

Make Missoula your Montana Fly Fishing base

Missoula makes an excellent base for your Montana fly fishing vacation. Here you’ll have quick access to some of the best fly fishing rivers in Montana, from a town that truly offers everything: great Montana hotels and lodging, breweries, restaurants and access to other activities such as mountain biking, hiking and rafting.

Montana brown trout ready and waiting for fly fishing vacations.

Here are four of the great Montana fly fishing rivers you can access from Missoula, as well as info on some of the best fly fishing guides in the area.

Rock Creek: Just south of Missoula you have this pristine fly fishing creek. Here you’ll have the chance to catch prize for brown, rainbow, cutthroat, and brook trout, and may occasionally hook an enormous bull trout (bull trout are illegal to fish intentionally, and must be carefully re-released). Besides excellent trout fishing, you’ll have a chance to see Moose and Bighorn Sheep to the Salmonflies and the trout that eat them.

The Blackfoot River: Yes, this is the classic fly fishing river made famous by A River Runs Through It. Here, just northeast of Missoula, you’ll find a river teeming with rainbow, brown, cutthroat, and the endangered bull trout. You’ll also find it a beautiful stretch of water as much fun to float as it is to fish.

Clark Fork River: This river is known for it’s hard-fighting rainbow trout, but contains populations of brown, cutthroat, and endangered bull trout. The average fish here measures about 15 inches, with a decent number reaching 20. It’s a great river to fish, and great way to experience the beautiful land northwest of Missoula.

The Bitterroot River: An excellent fly fishing river to the southwest of Missoula that offers up some enormous trout, reaching the 20 to 25 inch range. Here you’ll find cutthroat, brown, rainbow, and brook trout, as well as Montana wildlife such as elk, moose and deer.

Montana fishing guides help you get the most out of your trip.

For best results on your Montana fly fishing vacation, you’ll want to grab a local guide who knows these waters, and can advise you on where to go and what flies to tie, to ensure you get the most from your time here. Here’s a few suggestions.

• Blackfoot River Outfitters: Owned and operated by Terri Raugland and John Herzer, this fly fishing outfitting company based in Missoula has a staff with tens of thousands of hours of combine experience on the local rivers. The owners have guided here since 1990. Call (406) 542-7411.
• Carl Mann’s Montana Experience Outfitters: Carl Mann has outfitted in the Missoula area for 30 years, and has been featured on the fly fishing shows such as Fishing the West and Good Fishing. Call 406-777-1687.

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