Montanna Best Kept Fishing Secrets
I have fished Montana for over four decades and even have had conversations with legend Bud Lilly. I have fished with the author who completed George Brook's final book, Rand Oslund. I've fished the Gallatin, Madison, Jefferson, Missouri, Big Horn, Smith River, Yellowstone, spring creeks, creeks in Yellowstone National Park and pretty much everywhere in the State, including several high mountain lakes.
Of course, these are all very good secrets, but some of these secrets I'm just going to have to keep to myself. Consider this a test taste of some of the fine trout fishing locations in central Montana and north central Wyoming. There are many more, but that would require a book, stories and more detail.
There is a beautiful Red Lodge, Montana real estate development called the Spires at Red Lodge. We came here because it is some of the last, best priced resort real estate in the Rocky Mountain region.
Right through the middle of downtown Red Lodge there is great fishing in the Main fork of Rock Creek early spring, late summer and in the fall (it is a bit high in early summer). Strip black streamers or use stone nymphs like a bitch creek. Bead head nymphs do pretty well, too. There are lot's of small to medium sized rainbows and browns in Rock Creek and the further toward Roberts you go, the bigger the fish get.
Just a 20 minute drive to the west from The Spires at Red Lodge development along U.S. Highway 78 in Red Lodge is Roscoe, Montana home to the Grizzly Bar. Stop there on the way back from fishing, not on the way up. Go about 4 miles out of Roscoe towards East Rosebud Lake until you cross a wooden bridge. You can park there and walk down, or walk up. Dry flies if they are rising and nymphs and streamers if they aren't. Streamers will be more successful on cloudy days.
There is a lake called Arch Lake that is a boulder-strewn 2,500 foot plus hot foot (not trail) hike straight up out of the East Rosebud Valley. There are some monstrous cutthroat in this lake many of them don't see an artificial fly or lure more than once every few years.
Further down the road to the northwest is also some great fishing. If you've got a raft or a kick boat you are going to love the Stillwater River. It is a great April/May and then mid July through October, fishing river and has much less pressure than Montana's western rivers.
In the spring time head 60 miles south to Cody and Newton Reservoir for some great big fish stories. Little flies on top and leeches down below, whatever they are hitting on. The surface activity can be a ball. Try the far side in waders all the way away from the parking lot and wade out in the weeds.
The legendary Bighorn is only about 90 minutes from downtown Red Lodge which makes some of the best tailwater fishing in all of Montana really accessible as a day trip, which is pretty cool.
The Bighorn River is only about 90 minutes away from Red Lodge across the Crow Indian reservation from Pryor, Montana and is probably one of the best tail water damn fisheries in the State, but it is usually quite crowded (I say this tongue in cheek because it is crowded by Westerners standards but not by many others).
South central Montana has some of the best fishing and Red Lodge real estate is some of the most reasonale mountain real estate anywhere in the west. Authentic Victorian mining town in the middle of a recreational Mecca.
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Tagged with: bead head • Dry Flies • fishing • Fly Fishing • trout fishing
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