Just home from Montana!!!

[Jammin' Salmon]

Just returned from two weeks of fishing in Montana and may I say that it was tough to leave!! I floated the Smith River for 6 days having drawn one of the coveted permits. The river was relatively high and silty but we still managed browns and bows up to 20 inches. Spent a night at the Anderson Ranch at the 28 mile mark, great food and drinks and a much needed shower. Plenty of wildlife in camp each night including bears! Once off the Smith we headed to the Bitterroot where we caught cutts and bows until we were tired, well over a 150 fish each day! That's per person!
I'll recap it all in the next issue (August) of Hawkeye.

Back to guiding on NH waters on Monday.

Happy to be back in NH---I think?

Rick

[Blake P]

Wow.. What a great trip. MY buddy leaves Wends for Libby. It is true then.

[bmik]

I'm very jealous! I was looking into possibly going to Montana this year or next and discovered the Smith River floats. All the info I've seen points to a great experience. 60 miles of pristine wilderness...few other people...sounds like heaven! Did you float with an outfitter, or do-it-yourself?

[Jammin' Salmon]

I did it unguided. I do a fair share of writing and TV work and my niche has always been to find affordable trips. This was my third time in the past 10 years on the Smith although I have only been drawn once. The other 2 times I picked up cancellation permits whivh are tough to come by but if you are persistent enough you can get one. As for the lottery draw for a permit, it is tough, but well worth it! You also save big $$ as the outfitters will charge anywhere from $3500 to $6000 to float this river.
Fishing wise it wasn't at its best as the water was high and a bit discolored but if you fished hard you could take fish on stones and buggers. The other 2 times I floated were both at low water and the fishing was unbelievable with 150-200 fish per day!!
Montana is such a great fishing destination as I said earlier in a post, you can always find a place that is producing. The Bitterroot was the place this year--just unbelievable! And we caught a lot of it on film.
If you do get a float on the Smith let me know and I can suggest raft rentals, etc. for you.

Rick