Montana’s Most Underrated Fly Fishing

By Doug Mcknight

Current fishing Report

For those of you who have fished in Montana before and not fished any of the lakes in southwest Montana, let me show you exactly what you are missing! As one of the guys here at the shop who sets up guided trips, I often suggest to people that they take a guided trip on some of the great Stillwater fishing in our area. The majority of people pass on the notion of coming out here to fish a lake. That’s fine of course - different strokes for different folks; but the ones who dip into this realm frequently come back to the shop from the day of fishing with ear to ear grins and a memory card filled with big fish photos! We even have a few clients who come out and exclusively fish lakes with our guides.

If the notion of catching 2-4 pound average trout sounds boring to you, you might want to rethink everything! A lot of the lakes we take guests to, the fish average 16-20” and are heavy to boot. For me personally, perhaps the least boring factor is the big fish potential.   Every year our clients and guides catch 5-8 pound trout and sometimes even larger. Nothing sucks about watching a 2-foot rainbow or Brown trout eat a hopper and then take you into your backing.

These fish are not pellet fed, lumpy fish! They are typically stocked as fingerlings in the 4-6 inch range, and in a relatively short time period, get huge on the bountiful food supply that these lakes produce. These wild fish are big, beautiful, and in spectacular physical condition. An 18” fish on a lot of these lakes will be between 3-4 pounds! There is also quite a bit of natural reproduction on a few of these lakes as well.

Good dry fly fishing happens just as much on stillwaters as it does on moving water, and when May and June roll around, Callibaetis Mayflies make for some of the best fishing of the year. On the really magical mornings, it is not uncommon to see gangs of really big trout cruising the edges, sometimes so shallow their backs are out of the water, feeding on Callibaetis nymphs, emergers, and dries. Sight fishing for these fish can be an amazing up close and personal experience.

The lakes that we guide on offer a unique and varied opportunity for the seasoned angler and the beginner alike. On most of the private lakes we can get people with little to no experience into a lot of action relatively easily, making it a great opportunity for someone who is learning to fly fish. For the expert angler, there are opportunities that will test your nerves, eyes and casting abilities, sight casting to big fish working a hatch in the skinniest of water.

These lakes are not affected at all by runoff, making them a great choice if you are up here early in the season when our rivers and streams are swollen with snow melt. May and June are prime months to fish lakes here in SW Montana. As soon as the ice comes off of the lakes in April the fishing is really good all through the summer. The weather can be a bear in April, but the fishing can be some of the best of the year, not only on the lakes but area rivers as well. The only times the lakes are not a good choice is if they get too hot, but from ice out trough July the area lakes typically fish extremely well.

Here is a rundown on a few of the Private Lakes we fish and what to expect if you go there:

Burn’s Lake, Big Timber MT

One of our all time favorites, Burns Lake just east of us near Big Timber.  The lake is loaded with big rainbows, large brook trout, and Yellowstone cutthroats. Once in a great while a massive natural brown trout will attack someone's fly. This rich lake produces numbers of heavy fish in the 2-4 pound range. The fish get big fast in here with a rich diet of crayfish, scuds, mayflies, leeches and chironomids. Arguably our most reliable and well-managed lake, Burn’s is nothing short of a slam dunk for beginners and experts alike. Fishing gets hot here in April when the ice comes off, and the Rainbows cruise the shallows. Callibaetis mayflies start in late May and last through the summer, making for some fast and furious action. Beginning here in early summer, these fish will often pound hopper patterns.  If you are fishing a few days with us, we'll often suggest you fish Burn's first to get your A game back in shape. Rod fee: $100

Sitz Ranch, Norris MT

There are 4 lakes to choose from on this sprawling Angus cattle ranch, all of which contain some very large, well-fed browns and rainbows. Most of the fish in these lakes average 18-22” but our clients hook the occasional 6-8 pounders too. These are some of the heaviest fish that we know of. The lakes at Sitz are loaded with food and these fish get downright huge grazing on the bountiful supply of scuds, snails, mayflies, leeches, dragonfly nymphs, and other  forms of insect life. Sitz does not always produce numbers of fish, but on a good day you might catch the biggest trout of your life. On the days that it does produce numbers, these lakes will wear you out with one pig after the other. The best times to fish Sitz are April until the end of June and then again in September and October.  Rod Fee: $75

Buckingham Lake, White Sulphur Springs MT

Buckingham Lake has definitely gone through it's cycles.  It was absolutely outstanding 5 years ago with rainbows close to the 30 inch mark with solid humpback 18" brookies.  Unfortunately due to poor management and poachers, most of the huge fish were cleaned out.  Now that the lake has returned to one of the original managers, it has drastically improved.  Last year they even stocked the lake with a few thousand robust brown trout.  In 2008 we did a few trips that were very worth while, although the browns were too small to catch.  2009 should be an excellent year for fishing this wonderful lake. Outside of the new manager, we are the only guide operation that has access to this lake. Needless to say these fish are well rested and unpressured compared to other popular lakes that all fly shops have access to.  Fair warning, White Sulphur Springs is a good hike from Livingston - it takes about an hour an a half to get up there.  The nice thing is that it is one of the most scenic drives in Montana.   Rod Fee: $100, guide required.

The Forbidden Palace

This spring fed reservoir is an absolute gem of a lake, and is arguably the best lake fishing in Montana, if not the entire west!   It's life cycle is absolutely red hot right now, with incredibly huge and intelligent fish.  This lake is crystal clear and has an abundant population of hard fighting rainbows, cutthroats, cutbows, and some shockingly large and cagey browns. This lake often produces numbers of fish in the 2-4 pound range, and some larger specimens in the 2 foot range and bigger.   It certainly doesn’t happen every day, but every year people hook enormous fish that stay deep and are difficult to land even with heavy tippet. There are a few fish in here that will approach and exceed double digits. A few years ago a lucky angler landed a 13 pound brown over there! The sight fishing opportunities are outstanding during the entire season, especially from late May and June when the Callibaetis hatches are at their heaviest. It is not uncommon to see 20”+ fish cruising the banks as soon as you get to the put in. These fish love dry flies and during hopper time, we have some spectacular angling with big dries. On a good day here expect to see you backing a few times! Rod Fee:  $150