My wife and I will be rv-ing in Southwest Montana for 2 weeks starting July 11, after a couple of days in Yellowstone NP. We have 2 days booked in an rv park on the Yellowstone River in Paradise valley. After that, we thought we'd try the Ruby, Big Hole, maybe the Madison. We've also heard that the Beaverhead might be an option. We flyfish and spin, catch & release, and don't have a boat. Any suggestions you can give us to increase our chances for a productive trip will be really appreciated.

Nobody has any advice? or none they want to share with a visitor?

Not sure if anybody on here is from that area. I live in Butte but haven't fished the rivers south of me in several years so I have no current advice for you on the Beaverhead, Ruby, or Big Hole. Just get out there and fish!

Jay

Sorry , not ignoring you . Just no info for that part of the state. TOO much country to know it all.

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Here is where I came There is where I went Home is where I want to be!

Thanks for getting back to us. We've seen some stuff on these rivers on the internet by Big Sky Fishing and some of the other tackle stores, so we'll wing it. When we get back, I'll post a report on the rivers we end up fishing.

That would be wonderful!!
You do know you talked with the only two people in Montana, right?
No that side of the state is loaded with people and fisherman. Any one you run in to will be willing to give a suggestion. We are all nice people. Good luck ,have fun, and BE Careful! The bears are out in full force, take lots of pictures, you'll probably see lots of interesting stuff including some fresh snow...
Later.
D

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Here is where I came There is where I went Home is where I want to be!

Sorry for some reason I must have missed this post. Anyway, the big hole is a great river to fish. I've already floated it a couple times this year when the water was considerably higher, and will be fishing it much more over the next couple of weeks. The water is in great shape right now and should still be early when you are here. Wade fishing is certainly an option and there are plenty of access points. Float fishing this river is one great, even if the fishing is slow the scenery is always great.

One other river I would highly suggest also is rock creek. One of my favorite rivers to fish. I think i have been skunked only once on that river, and I have been there many times. It flows through national forest providing I think something like 30 miles of fishing access. I usually fish the upper portion and seldom see anyone else. Lots of fish and great hatches.
I dont know much about the the other rivers other than they are supposed to be excellent also.

Here is a couple of links to some fishing reports i like to read for the big hole and rock creek. I think its allowed on these forums, if not mods can take them down and u can PM me.

http://www.bigholetrout.com/
http://www.rcmerc.com/storefishcond.htm

I put in a vote for the Bitterroot river near Hamilton. (if your going that far) I fish the lower end near Missoula and always catch nice healthy fish. The upper portions (near Hamiliton and Darby) are easier to wade right now. I don't like to fish the lower end unless the flows are under 2000cfs at Missoula.

I did a 5hr float last Friday near Darby and caught about 20 fish. Mostly on black fuzzy nymphs with rubber legs (don't know the technical name), but some we caught on a size 18 pheasant tail nymph. If you want dry flies hope for a cloudy day and youll see PMDs and Green Drakes.

The upper Clark Fork is a good river to wade too, I like the portion around Garrison Jct.

All the rivers have their own little preferances on what to use. They all have small tackle shops nearby where one can get info and a couple nice setups specifically for that spot.
I would just drive the stretches of roads that you want to, and stop and buy a few things whenever you see a spot you'd like to try for awile.

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-DWT