Montana, honored with clear cold waters, is a beautiful state for fishing enthusiasts. Montana boasts thousands of miles of rivers and streams and a generous amount of lakes.
Fed from glaciers, snow packed from winter, and deep mountain springs, natural cold waters are an excellent habitat for trout. Rainbow, Lake, Cutthroat, Brown and Brook Trout flourish to the pleasure of bears and anglers.
There is something about fishing for trout. Nothing is quite as relaxing and mentally stimulating at the same time. You’ll never forget your first image of what fly fishing for trout is really like.
photo credit: venturewestranches.com
Montana is about as large as California but has 1/30th of the population. While it still has a lot of wide open spaces, some residents say the state’s already too crowded.
On prairies, there are rivers that meander like something you’ve seen on a postcard.
All you have to do is find a right hot place for fishing, and learn the art of fly fishing. When you hike to your spot from the road, you might see signs reading “Beware of grizzly bears.”
To cast you let out a couple of feet of slack. Also, hold a couple of feet of line in your free hand. Wave the rod forward and back with mainly just your wrist.
Get the feeling for the weight of the rod and the line. While doing this, search the opposite bank for some still water.
Trout love to wait in the still water for food to pass by with the current. Then you cast upstream from the still inlet that you spotted. Release the extra line that is in your free hand to extend the cast. It is not about the power. It is about the technique.
By letting the stream do the work, you can dangle the lure near the hole to seduce the trout. It takes less time than you think to learn fishing with a fly rod. You quickly learn that finding the right spot is the problematic part that comes with years of practice.
Fishing with a fly hook is not much different but floats on the water. It can get frustrating at first. If you find yourself with an empty creel, ask a local where Loveland Pass is. It is a small lake that is full of trout. You have a great view of the mountains there, and it is just off of the highway. It’s a local secret, and you can catch as many fish as you desire.
- Rainbow Trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss): Montana’s number one game fish, the Rainbow Trout is a highly prized favorite among trout anglers and fly fishers.
- Brook Trout (Salvelinus fontinalis): Brook Trout are numerous in mountain streams with gravel bottoms. An excellent spot to try your luck is in the overhang of trees that protect preying birds and a bit of shade.
- Brown Trout (Salmo trutta): For many an angler, the elusive Brown Trout is hard to catch. The Brown Trout is a lot warier than other species. Its shy habits help to ensure longevity in streams where other trout have been fished out.
- Cutthroat Trout (Salmo clarki): Icy mountain rivers that in the end flow into the Pacific Ocean are the preferred territory of Cutthroat Trout. They feed on minnows, worms, crustaceans and insects. In fast moving water or rapids, fly fishing is the method of choice. Brown Trout can also be taken with grubs, worms or lures.
