[IveofIone]

During this recent cold spell of single digit temps I have let my mind wander to thoughts of a stream somewhere that holds trout and is not overun by hordes of fishermen. Somewhere in Montana or Idaho maybe that would make a nice road trip in late June. The fish don't have to be huge, the stream doesn't have to be a "name brand" destination and a rustic campsite would be preferable to a large campground filled with aluminum boxcars.

My dream also includes one or two guys that have a similar penchant for the road less traveled that could meet me there or drive our rigs over together and maybe check out some other water in route. I don't necessarily know who these guys are yet but if you know of a spot that roughly meets the qualifications let's talk. I know very little about the locations of such streams and just driving over from here and searching alone for such a place is a fool's errand.

I will be taking my truck with a full kitchen and grills as half the fun of catching fish is cooking, grilling and sipping ales during the non fishing hours. Whether it is fishing a meadow stream for 8'' fish with a 2wt or a freestone creek with high floating Humpies it will work for me. The main goal is solitude and quiet with plenty of time to study the water.

Any one know of a Curtis Creek out there that they would like to share for a few days?

Ive

 

[Don Davis]

I haven't shared this before, but yes those rivers and streams do exist. Many of the "big name" rivers in Idaho and Montana have tributaries spilling in. Often times I will go explore those with a 1 to 4 weight and dry flies. Almost always there is no one else around even if the main river a mile away is stacked with fishermen. Next time you are on the Madison, go up the West Madison and see for yourself. The problem is the "big name" rivers get the press. There are some tremendous streams just off the beaten path that can produce as well if not better than the big name does. I have had great success on the Tribs of the St. Joe. like Boulder creek and the North Fork of the St Joe without another person around. Not to mention a half dozen tribs of the North and South Forks of the Snake in eastern Idaho. The St Regis River, a trib of the Clark Fork gets very little pressure. Amazingly enough there are some VERY productive tribs of the Yakima, where I have never seen another fisherman all day long, while the canyon is a parade of boats. Even in Yellowstone Park. all anyone needs to do is get away from the crowds and you could have a whole river for yourself. Go east out of Ashton Id and explore some of the tribs feeding the Henry's Fork. Go North to Libby, Mt and most of the time you could have the Kootenai to yourself on most days and catch 50 to 75 fish a day with the chance to catch a really big wild rainbow or bull.
If I can arrange to go the same time, I would be delighted to share these "secret spots". Regardless, all you have to do is ask and I will be more than happy to share even if I can't go.

 

[Richard Olmstead]

Ive-
For many years, I used to spend a couple weeks in Idaho and Montana fishing the famous streams. I hadn't been back for a while, but I did a 2-week trip last summer through parts of Idaho and Montana with the goal of hitting places less visited. There were some busts, but the there were as many or more great ones. I still have flashbacks - more like hallucinations, really - about some places on that trip. I usually can never get away until late summer, due to work commitments, but late June might be just right for some of the smaller streams. I hope you find someone to go and share it with. Like FlyCatcherman, if you want more info, drop me a note sometime before you go.
Dick

 

[Old Man]

June might be a bit to soon. Run off doesn't let up for a few more weeks. SO where do you want to meet up at. The Big Hole can get a few to many people there as does the Beaverhead. The Ruby can also be high. The lower Madison is controlled by a dam. And the Gallaten will be high also.

If you have your heart set on Montana July would be a better time. Or September after all the out-of-staters are gone. The rivers are devoid of fly fishers by then.

Of course if you have your heart set on bigger rivers there is the Big Horn or the Yellowstone. I haven't been over that far to try them out. I just like the smaller rivers.

Jim

 

[CutBow]

Ive
Good to see ya dreaming in all this cold weather, I am also looking ahead to some dry fly fisihing this spring and will be taking my usal number of trips to Montana and Idaho , i have few places that are those well known rivers and streams i frequent. My goal is to do mid week trips and avoid some of the crowds.I plan to hit the Big Horn in the early spring with DB in tow as well as the MO in April/may . Hope to be able to fish with you this year and get some stillwater tactic training in ! Keep me in mind when it comes to scheduling your trip, I do know that my oldest son am I will plan a weekend on a river(small) in Montana during run off(june) that was good to us last yerar amd not a long drive for you . See ya on the water .

Ed S.

 

[Panhandle]

Woops, meant to be a PM

 

[Jamie Christian]

Man that gets me thinking of a Road trip I took a couple years ago. We fished from Rock creek down through Bozeman and Livingston. We fished the famous rivers, but hit the smaller less know tributaries where we could. Drank a bunch of ale, maybe a fish whistle or two, and had a great time. This year, my plan is to do a bunch of the high stream/ lakes here in colorado. We have a bunch of untouched jewels that just require a bit of walking and patience. The trout arent huge, but they come readily to the dry, and they fight with spunk.

 

[Bob Jones]

All of you are making me want to cry, I've been wanting to do this for some time. My nephew lives north of Cour de alene and has invited me over to fish his favorite area,
the Moyie and the Kootinai up to the Canada border. He is a worm teacher but not very good not many can swim after his lessons. He doesn't know the answers that I need to get for fly fishing there. Have any of you fished the Moyie? I'm just not sure how much more fishing I'm going to be able to do. I'm trying to post my pics to the gallery of My Dream Trip to the Sierras we took just before I got sick. We went in Sept. 07 and I got sick Jan. 1, 08 . Please watch for me to get these posted and see what fun we had. I've gotten some pics started but have to get them all in and in order yet. thanks Bob

 

[IveofIone]

Thanks for the heads-up on the runoff OMJ. I'll just wait a few weeks and go in July instead. I'll PM you guys with some questions soon.

Ive

 

[BDD]

There is simply just too much water to fish and not enough time. A trip like you describes sounds wonderful. But then again, I keep hearing about brookie creeks up in the small tribs of NE Washington that I have wanted to explore for a couple of years now. I just can't seem to fit it in my schedule. I'd take the streams less traveled for smaller trout on dries than fishing the big-name rivers any day.

 

[ak_powder_monkey]

sounds like the stream I spent 2 months on this summer I probably shouldn't mention the "private" steelhead run