An all-inclusive destination fishing lodge is a popular choice for many anglers for a fly fishing trip. After a day chasing fish, returning to the posh of a fishing lodge, enjoying cocktails and excellent food, and then retiring to a well-appointed bedroom and bath adds enjoyment to any fly fishing trip. There are plenty of destination fishing lodges in Montana and throughout the world. Arguably, Montana may be home to some of the best fly fishing lodges on the planet, but another type of fly fishing trip exists in the West. For anglers looking for unique adventures featuring all-inclusive lodging and guided fishing on Montana's best rivers, an overnight camping and fishing trip can provide great fly fishing guides and an experience unlike the traditional destination fishing lodge. These trips have amenities and dining options with chefs and staffs that anglers would expect at a destination fishing lodge. Here are five of the best fly fishing trips that are not fishing lodges, but are great trips for anglers who want comfort and great food.
The Ultimate Road Trip: Fish Montana's Best Waters with Deluxe Camping Accommodations
If you've ever felt like the "right place, right time" has evaded you on previous fishing trips, the Ultimate Road Trip was created so "you should have been here last week" doesn't exist for a Montana fly fishing trip. Montana is the 4th largest state in the country, but perhaps ranks 1st in the amount of top-quality fly fishing rivers, creeks, and lakes. On an Ultimate Road Trip, the Montana fly fishing guides and staff work in tandem to plan a fishing and travel itinerary that fishes the best waters at the best times. The mobile camping program means anglers can release their inner "Trout Bum" to explore the hundreds of miles of fly fishing water in Montana, but there's no bumming it with the food and lodging. Because the fishing program is mobile and the camp teams are custom to each group, many of the fishing locations are remote and often away from the tourist-centric towns or population centers.
Guests will enjoy deluxe camp accommodations including high clearance No Boundaries campers, large outfitter tents or wing tarps for our outdoor kitchen, and fantastic stream side meals. Camp chefs will move camp, campers and mobile kitchen as you progressively fish your way across the Big Sky state. With a travelling armada of diesel trucks, No Boundaries campers, wall tents, a mobile kitchen, rafts, drift boats, chefs, and first class fishing guides, guests sample the best water Montana has to offer. Each camper houses two guests and offers two beds, a hot shower, USB charging stations, heat and air conditioning, and a propane refrigerator. Dinners include appetizers, fresh salads, tasty sides and main entrees such as grilled salmon, rib eye steaks and rack of lamb. Delicious Dutch oven prepared desserts await those that still have room. A generous selection of beer and wine is provided in camp each evening. Hot breakfasts include favorites such as French toast, omelets and more. Our camp team prepares tasty picnic style lunches that go out with the guides each morning.
Fly fishing on a Montana Angler Ultimate Road Trip allows you to be in the right spot at the right time whether that means chasing a specific hatch, finding clear water during runoff, or simply finding the best fishing for that given day. Camping along these legendary rivers gives you the luxury of wade fishing over the evening rise as the sun sets over the spectacular backdrop. This one-of-a-kind Montana road trip program gives us the ultimate flexibility to be on the rivers that are in the absolute best condition on a daily basis. Our Montana Ultimate Road Trip program gives us the ultimate flexibility to get our guests on the rivers that are in the absolute best condition on a daily basis.
The Smith River: Montana's Crown Jewel Fly Fishing and Camping Trip
For many decades the quality of fly fishing on the Smith River in Montana has remained as good as it was before many of Montana's best fly fishing lodges were even built. The Smith River is one of the few specially permitted rivers in West. Demand for this spectacular canyon fishery is high and only a set number of anglers and guides are able to fish it each year. Fishing the Smith River in central Montana is one of the most anticipated Montana fishing trips of the year. The Smith River is a tributary of the Missouri River and boasts a variety of trout species, a breathtaking canyon, and remote access. The famous and fishy section of the Smith River can only be accessed by boat and is strictly regulated by Montana Fish Wildlife and Parks and the Helena-Lewis and Clark National Forest which limit launches to ensure the pristine beauty of the canyon is not overrun. A Smith River fly fishing and floating float trip is comprised of towering limestone cliffs and heavily timbered forests broken only by a few small clusters of cabins on private land. This is one of the best fly fishing trips for anglers desiring lodge-level amenities but want to fish and camp with great guides and hard-working staff.
Matching the exciting fly fishing on the Smith River, is a refined and very comfortable camping and dining program on the Smith River. Each group of anglers on the Smith is accompanied by several gear rafts that carry all of the support gear, including food, wine, liquor, tents, cots, sleeping bags, and more. Many of the trips feature professionally trained chefs planning menus with local farm-to-table options. Because the gear rafts are large and the staff hard-working, a fly fishing trip on the Smith River is a unique experience that combines the well-appointed comforts and amenities of a fly fishing lodge, but brings it to an overnight river camping and fishing trip. Camping is at remote sites along the river corridor. While you are fishing on the river, up to three gear rafts will row ahead of the anglers to set camp up. The camping is elaborate and comfortable and the food is both abundant and delicious. Time slows down on the river and you will quickly fall in love with the easy pace and gorgeous surroundings.
The Smith River is on many angler's top lists of fly fishing trips to take in their lifetime. With fish counts in the thousands per mile and habitat that is both fishy and beautiful, if you are looking for a fly fishing trip that has the opportunity for consistently good fishing and features lodge-like amenities and food, going on a fully outfitted trip Smith River fly fishing trip should be on your list indeed. It has a variety of prolific hatches. The best early season hatches occur just before, during and after runoff. Anglers can often enjoy some great dry fly fishing in the pre and post runoff windows. Summer fishing is often dependent on water temperatures but terrestrial fishing can be excellent when water temperatures are cool. Strong terrestrial fishing extends into the fall along with some nice fall blue-winged olive hatches in October.
Overnight River Camping and Fishing Trips: Experience Montana's Best Rivers Under the Sky and Stars
If the Smith River is the crown jewel of Montana's overnight and backcountry fly fishing trips, then a Montana River Camping and Fishing Trip is a very close second. With the same level of amenities, staff, gear, and food as a Smith River trip, the river camping program at Montana Angler was inspired by the successful Smith River camping program. Each evening anglers on these trips enjoy camping at its finest with great meals, beverages, and hard-working staff and fly fishing guides. Wake up to the smell of hot coffee and the sound of a sizzling breakfast. Because these trips are completely custom to group size, seasonality of fisheries, and even trip duration, these are perhaps the most custom fly fishing trip available in the West. There is no better way to appreciate the grandeur of the legendary Montana fly fishing rivers than to enjoy an overnight camping and fishing trip. Our team of personable and highly trained Montana fly fishing guides are specialized in overnight trips and will show you how to camp and fish like you have never dreamed possible.
These standard overnight river camping trips allow you to combine both floating and wading while maximizing time on the water. Because Montana is home to so much great fly fishing rivers, creeks, and lakes, our talented team of guides and camp crews choose whichever southwest Montana river is fishing best for your trip. Camping along these legendary rivers gives you the luxury of wade fishing over the evening rise as the sun sets over a gorgeous Montana river. Most of our camps are float-in only on river islands and others are accessed by 4 wheel drive on private ranches depending on river conditions.
On most of these overnight camping and fishing itineraries our camp crew and chef float the entire camp down the river on gear rafts or jeep them onto private ranches that we lease. These trips include all of the equipment needed for a world class camp including tents, heavy duty sleeping pads, cots, sleeping bags, tables, chairs, tarps, toilets, grills, lanterns, coolers, etc. Unless you or your spouse are professionally trained chefs, you will most likely eat better on the river than you do at home. Dinners include appetizers, fresh salads, tasty sides and main entrees such as grilled salmon, rib eye steaks, and rack of lamb. Delicious desserts await those that still have room. A generous selection of beer and wine is provided in camp each evening. Hot breakfasts include favorites such as French toast, omelets and more. These overnight river camping and fishing trips combine all of the great elements of a Smith River trip and compact it into a shorter itinerary.
Wilderness Pack Trips into the Bob Marshall Wilderness: Experience Float Fishing and Camping for Native Trout
If one trip exists to truly get away from the buzz and hum of human civilization, a wilderness fly fishing trip into Montana's Bob Marshall Wilderness is that exact trip. As the largest complex of roadless and wilderness areas in the Lower 48, the Bob Marshall Wilderness is home to the South Fork of the Flathead River and several other small streams home to fly fishing that has remained unchanged for generations. The main desire on these backcountry fishing and camping trips is the South Fork of the Flathead River and its tributaries. This remote river drains much of the "Bob" and is home to the largest genetically pure native trout population in Montana. The South Fork is also one of the few places in Montana where the threatened bull trout may be directly targeted by anglers. While bull trout numbers in other fisheries are low where they must compete with non native trout species, they are still healthy and robust in the South Fork. These large predatory trout are eager to hunt well placed over-sized streamers. This is only place in Montana where anglers can legally fly fish for bull trout. If that fact isn't good enough, the outfitter who provides these trips is experienced and packs in many of the amenities you would expect from a high-end fly fishing trip.
With plenty of chef-prepared food and a professional camp and wrangling crew, this overnight camping and fishing trip is also a horseback trip. The first two days of your trip will be spent travelling on horseback to get to the upper reaches of the river. These first two days are mostly riding days but you will have the chance to fish near the camps in the evenings and mornings while camp is being setup or taken down. The third day of the trip will be spent wade fishing the upper reaches of the South Fork of the Flathead as the gear team transitions gear from the horse pack to floating portion of the trip. The remaining three and a half days of your trip will be enjoyed travelling down river in rafts, enjoying both guided wade and float fishing, great meals on the river, and comfortable backcountry accommodations. All camping and fishing equipment is provided.
While floating and fishing the South Fork of the Flathead, catching a bull trout on the fly rod is a real possibility. The South Fork drainage is the largest stronghold of these native Char in the Lower 48 states. These lunkers act like an anadromous species, migrating upstream every July from Hungry Horse Reservoir. Bull trout are frequently caught in excess of 20" and specimens up to 30" are possible. Legal fishing season for bull trout closes on July 31. Many of the cutthroat also run out of the massive Hungry Horse Reservoir to the north producing surprisingly sizable fish mostly in the 12-18" range with a few over 20".
Yellowstone Country Horseback Trip: Explore and Fish the Wilderness for Yellowstone Cutthroat Trout
Many of us learned to fly fish using single dry flies on small streams or ponds. The backcountry waters of Yellowstone National Park's surrounding areas can sometimes feel like the fly fishing rivers of your youth--casting bushy dry flies to rambunctious and hungry trout. Add to the excitement a multi-day horseback riding trip into some of the most remote, rugged, and beautiful scenery in all of Yellowstone country and you have one of the most special all-inclusive fly fishing trips that isn't a destination fishing lodge trip. These overnight horse pack trips take you deep into the wilderness of Yellowstone country in southwest Montana.
The base camp for these unique trips is the Hell Roaring plateau and it's exciting wilderness style fly fishing. The long-time outfitter running these trips use semi-permanent wall tents and a base camp set up by professional wranglers. The location of the camp is inside of the remote Absaroka-Beartooth Wilderness just north of Yellowstone Park. Grizzlies, wolves, mountain lions, goats, and sheep are common in this wild area. The camp is just below timberline and requires a 6 hour ride over a high mountain pass--the scenery is some of the best in the world. Most folks generally break the ride into two days, the first day offers a shorter 2 hour ride into a camp on the northside of Independence Pass with some fishing options on a tributary of the Boulder River. The next day guests ride into camp with time to fish in the afternoon near camp. No riding experience is needed but being in decent physical shape is recommended. Guests will each have their own sleeping tent (2 to a tent with outdoor carpet floor and cots). The last day of the trip is spent riding out of camp. Once there you will make shorter rides to alpine streams and lakes filled with native cutthroat trout that rarely see anglers. Dry fly fishing is very good for fish in the 8-14" range.
For anglers wanting to truly get away from it all, a fly fishing trip combined with a horseback riding trip to Yellowstone country with professional packers and wranglers is hard to match. If submersing yourself into the remote wilderness away from the distractions and demands of technology sounds good, this trip could be ideal for you...plus the pot is always sweetened because the fish here are unpressured, hungry, and often smack dry flies without caution.
Montana is home to several great all-inclusive fly fishing lodges on some of the West's best rivers, but there are also some exciting fly fishing trips that include lodging, meals, and guided fishing that are not lodge-based. Whether you desire to float fish and arrive at a well-appointed river camp complete with a professionally trained chef or want to discover some one-of-a-kind wilderness fly fishing with native trout, these fly fishing trips are the best non-lodge trips that have the all-inclusive features of a lodge-based trip.