Probably the coolest fly fishing in NW Montana is the vast amount of warm water fishing opportunities. If you like chasing smallmouth bass or northern pike then we have several options for you. The pike fishing is best in the late spring as we sight fish and blind cast in intimate river sloughs and coves. If you love watching toothy fish crush your fly, then there may not be a better freshwater eat than that of a pike. Pike fishing is crazy fun. During the peak of summer we have some incredible smallmouth fishing here in Flathead Valley. This may be one of Montana’s biggest secrets. Everyone thinks about trout when they come to the Big Sky state, and they don’t realize the vast amount of warm water fishing that occurs. Most smallmouth are in the 1-2lb range, with 3-4lb fish common. If you’re lucky, there are some absolute giants that we get to cast a fly too. Trust me, if you’re an avid angler, you’ll have more fun chasing these warm water species than you will another trout on a dry fly. Come check it out.

The Flathead River is a great local fishery that flows right through the town of Kalispell, MT. The Flathead is a great place to introduce your family to fly fishing. This free-flowing large river is home to a cutthroat, rainbow, and bull trout. These cutthroat trout frequently rise to dry flies. Even though most of these fish are on the smaller size from 8-14”, this is a great place to learn the basics in fly fishing. Come out for a morning half day before the family is awake and then rejoin them midday for family activities. This is a great way to wet your appetite and get some fly fishing in during your family vacation. You can be to the river within 30 minutes of any town in the Flathead Valley.

We fish the Lower Clark Fork River between St. Regis and Paradise, Montana. The Clark Fork is a big open river that is perfect for drift boats. The river is full of large riffles, rock out croppings, and eddies. It is a super fun fishery as each bend of the river presents a new kind of water to cast your fly into. The dry fly fishing on the Clark Fork is excellent as we try to catch rainbows, cutthroat, cuttbows, and the occasional brown. Most of the fish are going to range from 12-17”, with fish pushing 20” caught on a daily basis. If you like casting dry flies and fishing for hard fighting large river trout, then this is the trip for you.