Montana river scenery, a long way from Sarasota Bay.
I hosted a group of friends and clients on one of my annual destination fly fishing trips to recently. Richard Weintraub, Jim Kuhlman and I traveled from Sarasota to Bozeman, MT and met up with Tim Siegel, from IN, Ray Hutchinson, from MI and Trevor Elmquist, from Pine Island, FL.
We made the 2-1/2 hour drive to Medicine Lodge, on a 100,000 acre working ranch near the Beaverhead River, outside of Dillon, MT and met up with group members Mike Perez, from Sarasota and Dennis Kinley, from IN.
We fished the Beaverhead, Big Hole and Madison Rivers and a couple of spring creeks with guide Dave King, owner of King Outfitters (406) 596-0209 in Dillon, MT and his talented group of guides and caught some quality fish. I’ve fished with Dave for more than 25-years, his guides do a great job and know their fishery well.
Jim Kuhlman, from Nokomis, FL, with a nice Montana brown trout caught and released on a fly.
Trevor Elmquist, from Pine Island, FL, with a healthy fly caught Montana brown trout.
Richard Weintraub, from Sarasota, with a Montana brown trout.
Ray Hutchinson, from MI, with a Montana brown trout.
Mike Perez, from Sarasota, with a Montana brown trout.
Dennis Kinley, from IN, with a 25″ Montana brown trout.
Water levels were higher than expected and despite some restrictions, fishing was generally good. Schedules are adjusted for earlier starts and we’re done fishing before heat of the day. We had morning temperatures in the high 40’s to low 50’s some days, which was refreshing compared to Florida in late July.
We fished 4, 5 and 6-weight fly tackle and caught and released brown and rainbow trout to more than 20” on streamers, dry flies and dry/dropper rigs. The dry fly action was often a hopper, sometimes with a nymph or with a smaller dry fly dropper and a few other bugs. Wildlife was plentiful, we crossed paths with deer, moose, bighorn sheep and antelope during the week. This is an annual trip for me, so if you have an interest in technical fly fishing for big trout or if you want to learn the ropes and travel with an experienced group, please let me know.
Tim Siegel, from IN, with a Montana rainbow trout.
Back in Sarasota, catch and release snook fishing around dock lights and bridges should be a good option. You might also find juvenile tarpon in a few places mixed with snook around dock lights. Juvenile tarpon in canals and creeks may also be a good option.
Our natural resources are under constant pressure from red tides fueled by residential, industrial and agricultural runoff, toxic spills and intentional releases, freezes, increasing fishing pressure and habitat loss and degradation, please limit your kill, don’t kill your limit!
Rick is the owner of Snook Fin-Addict Guide Service, Inc. He's a full time fishing guide and outdoor writer based in Sarasota, FL. He’s been guiding since 1990 and is an Orvis-Endorsed fly fishing guide here at CB’s Saltwater Outfitters, the 2011 Orvis Outfitter of the Year.
I hosted a group of friends and clients on one of my annual destination fly fishing trips to recently. Richard Weintraub, Jim Kuhlman and I traveled from Sarasota to Bozeman, MT and met up with Tim Siegel, from IN, Ray Hutchinson, from MI and Trevor Elmquist, from Pine Island, FL.
We made the 2-1/2 hour drive to Medicine Lodge, on a 100,000 acre working ranch near the Beaverhead River, outside of Dillon, MT and met up with group members Mike Perez, from Sarasota and Dennis Kinley, from IN.
We fished the Beaverhead, Big Hole and Madison Rivers and a couple of spring creeks with guide Dave King, owner of King Outfitters (406) 596-0209 in Dillon, MT and his talented group of guides and caught some quality fish. I’ve fished with Dave for more than 25-years, his guides do a great job and know their fishery well.
Breathtaking Montana river scenery, it’s a long way from Sarasota Bay.
Water levels were higher than expected and despite some restrictions, fishing was generally good. Schedules are adjusted for earlier starts and we’re done fishing before heat of the day. We had morning temperatures in the high 40’s to low 50’s some days, which was refreshing compared to Florida in late July.
We fished 4, 5 and 6-weight fly tackle and caught and released brown and rainbow trout to more than 20” on streamers, dry flies and dry/dropper rigs. The dry fly action was often a hopper, sometimes with a nymph or with a smaller dry fly dropper and a few other bugs. Wildlife was plentiful, we crossed paths with deer, moose, bighorn sheep and antelope during the week. This is an annual trip for me, so if you have an interest in technical fly fishing for big trout or if you want to learn the ropes and travel with an experienced group, please let me know.
Jim Kuhlman, from Nokomis, FL, with a nice Montana brown trout caught and released on a fly.
Trevor Elmquist, from Pine Island, FL, with a healthy fly caught Montana brown trout.
Richard Weintraub, from Sarasota, with a Montana brown trout.
Ray Hutchinson, from MI, with a Montana brown trout.
Mike Perez, from Sarasota, with a Montana brown trout.
Dennis Kinley, from IN, with a 25″ Montana brown trout.
Tim Siegel, from IN, with a Montana rainbow trout.
Back in Sarasota, catch and release snook fishing around dock lights and bridges should be a good option. You might also find juvenile tarpon in a few places mixed with snook around dock lights. Juvenile tarpon in canals and creeks may also be a good option.
Our natural resources are under constant pressure from red tides fueled by residential, industrial and agricultural runoff, toxic spills and intentional releases, freezes, increasing fishing pressure and habitat loss and degradation, please limit your kill, don’t kill your limit!
Rick is the owner of Snook Fin-Addict Guide Service, Inc. He's a full time fishing guide and outdoor writer based in Sarasota, FL. He’s been guiding since 1990 and is an Orvis-Endorsed fly fishing guide here at CB’s Saltwater Outfitters, the 2011 Orvis Outfitter of the Year.
