Overnight Float Trip - Montana or Utah

[jamie.charles1]

I know a question like this might be too broad and/or might cause a couple disagreements but I have to ask. I have decided to finally plan a trip I have dreamed about now for a long time, only I am having difficulties narrowing it down to a location. I am hoping this group could lend some advice and reasoning to my decision. 

I will be planning an overnight float trip out west and although Montana comes to mind first, I have always wanted to fish the Green River in Utah as well. So my question for whoever might be interested in helping an indecisive angler plan a trip is:

1. Which western state would you recommend?

2. Which river would you choose?

3. Is there a guide service you have used before?

Again, I know this is a very broad question and has numerous factors in determining the answer (experience, season, costs, etc.) but as I have no experience in western rivers, I figured any and all insight would be better than nothing. 

So thank you for any help!!!

[Connor Donovan]

Add the Smith in Montana and the middle fork of the Salmon to your list.  I've heard fantastic things about both.

[Andrew LaVigne]

if you're interested in Montana, you have a ton of rivers to choose from. All depends on the time of year, flows, experience you want, etc. Freestone/tailwater, big water, small water, remote/less remote, hoppers/streamers/hatches...it's too big to distill into 1 trip. 

When I tell people about the state, I divide it into 6 sections

-East: The bighorn, stillwater, Boulder - best based out of Billings

-Yellowstone river & park - base from Livingston, Gardiner, or Bozeman

-SW MT (Madison/Big Hole/Gallatin/Ruby etc) - Bozeman, Butte, Twin Bridges, Dillon

-Central: Smith, Missouri - Helena or Great Falls

-Missoula: Clark Fork, Bitterroot, Rock Creek, Blackfoot - Missoula

-NW: Flathead (south, main, north), Yaak, Kootenai. - Whitefish/Kalispell

Most of the fly shops out there are pretty good at telling you straight up what's fishing and what's not. Streamflow matters there more than you would realize at first. when I lived there, Kingfisher in Missoula, CrossCurrents in Helena, and Parks' fly shop in Gardiner were my go-to stops.  

As far as what I'd recommend if you're floating for a couple days, here would be my top choices 

1.) the locals prize a Smith River floating permit over almost anything. They're hard to get, but i'm told it's amazing, and truly wild. 

2.) The Big Hole. It may be the prettiest valley in the state, which ranks it high up globally. Go in September for hoppers. 

3.) The Missouri or Big Horn. tailwaters, similar to fish, biggish water with tons of 15-20-inch fish. Better hatches on the missouri, but both are amazing. 

4.) The Yellowstone. Paradise valley is incredible. Plenty of water to fish, good sized fish, lots of tactical options. 

5.) South fork of the Flathead. Super wild & remote. Cutthroats/bull trout. 

Single day floats on literally any of the rivers can be fun. Boats are the way to go out there. For guides, Walter Wiese at http://www.ycflyfishing.com/ is great for Yellowstone, the Park, and that neck of the woods. Most fly shops can hook you up with good guides pretty easily as well. 

On Friday, July 8, 2016 at 11:39:19 AM UTC-4, jamie.charles1 wrote:

[Carl Z.]

The Green isn't really an overnighter.  It is a tailwater of Flaming Gorge dam and it warms up after 20 miles or so.

I can't think of any trout over-nighters in Utah.  If you want to camp in the high mountains next to a small creek, it's great, but long runs of floatable trout water isn't going to happen in Utah.  

Carl

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[jamie.charles1]

This is great. Thank you for the input. I am leaning towards SW MT so I will be looking at either Big Hole or Madison as I am aiming for 3rd weekend of Sept. Thanks again!

[Yambag Nelson]

Alot of the rivers listed here including the big hole and madison are very good rivers to float, but I am not sure if they are all great overnight options as they are not exactly "wilderness trips".  Most of them have plenty of access and you typically would float from access point to access point.  Most have good camping nearby but I don't think most guides will camp on the river. 

I know some folks who have floated the middle fork of the salmon and it is a several day kind of float, not just one night. 

Another river that guides do fish as an overnight trip is the Deschutes in Oregon.  If you are interested in steelhead fishing September is prime time. 

[James Charles]

Man, you try to knock one thing off your bucket list and realize you have to just add another one. Landing a steelhead definitely makes that list. 

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[Cameron Abbott]

I have had my eye on a trip to the middle fork of the Salmon river in Idaho. I saw it through Orvis travel and took a deeper look into it, which i say looks fantastic. I do not know if you are looking for a single night or multiple but this on is a week. Its through Solitude River Trip. Take a look at their site for pics but i am trying to do this trip soon!!! You can fish or white water raft if you have a non fisher with you, which is part of the reason i my get to do this trip as i will bring my wife.

http://www.rivertrips.com/ 

On Friday, July 8, 2016 at 11:39:19 AM UTC-4, jamie.charles1 wrote:

[jamie.charles1]

I have decided on doing the Big Hole for two days guided. I will be in the Bozeman and Butte area though for about 1.5 days before that and will be looking to get into some fishing on my own. I'm sure it is easy to find a good shop to point me in the right direction when I am out there but I am beginning to look into where I can explore on my own during these first couple of days that I land out there. Is the area pretty accessible or should I plan on bushwhacking my way to some good water? Thanks again for all the input.

This group really makes planning for these trips so much easier and helps me gain confidence in my choices.

[Yambag Nelson]

The big hole is easily accessible from the road.

[Andrew LaVigne]

The Madison, Gallatin, and Ruby all have fairly easy state access sites off the roads that parallel them. the East Gallatin has one or two accesses just north of the interstate in Bozeman as well. it'll be very easy to fill up a day and a half of wade fishing around there. Wouldn't bother making the drive to the Big Hole from Bozeman for wading if you've got 2 days of guided floating. 

From Butte, the Big Hole makes a little more sense, and you're also not terribly far from the upper end of Rock Creek near Phillipsburg, the upper Clark Fork, Little Blackfoot, or Flint Creek, but again, drive time is no joke out there - if somebody says 2 hours, it means 2 hours at 90mph. Georgetown Lake is another option, but better from a boat. 

Check out this website http://fwp.mt.gov/fishing/whereToFish/fishingGuide.html  for access ideas

[Carl Z.]

If you don't already have one of these,

get one.

Then look for the blue lines.  Dotted lines might require some high clearance.

Carl

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[Mark McKinney]

I named my daughter after the Madison, its a beautiful place. If i was going to do an overnight, I'd pick either the Gunnison (my sons name) or the Snake.

[TurbineBlade]

Ah, "Snake" -- That sounds like a good son's name, and I have one coming in late October!  

[Miles]

On Friday, August 5, 2016 at 11:52:42 PM UTC-4, Mark McKinney wrote:

I named my daughter after the Madison, its a beautiful place.

That's cool, but it would be cooler if a hundred million moms hadn't named their girls 'Madison' after Daryl Hannah's character in 'Splash'. https://www.yahoo.com/movies/bp/splash-joke-lead-madison-baby-name-boom-190720175.html

-Miles