If you had one trip out west…

[Anonymous]

I have decided to stop saving $ for gear and instead start squirreling it away for my first trip out west.

So, if you could take one trip out west what/where would it be?

[Mike Anderson]

hands down Key West.

[Anonymous]

There is a wise A$$ in every crowd.

[John Bennett]

Was going to say Turneffe in Belize untill I saw the rest of your tittle :).

Next on my lifetime want to do is a pack horse 3 to 4 day trip through Montanna. Dont much care about specifics, but really want to do 3 to 4 days into the back country via horse, saddle sores and all.

So thats out to 🙂

Ever caught a Golden?
Why not formulate plans based on a species you’ve never caught? That can help narrow it down some.

[Mark Landerman]

Dillon, MT.

[Joel Thompson]

Tim I would vote for Missoula and here is why. You could home base in Missoula and fish the Bitterroot, Clark Fork, Blackfoot, and Rock Creek and be to all those places within a half hour to forty five minutes. All of those rivers fish very well in the Spring and Fall and can be really good in the summer if they have good flows.

Missoula has a lot of nice places to stay and many good places too eat and drink.

Joel

[Jim Lampros]

While you really can’t go wrong with western trout, I think Yellowstone National Park is the most unbelievebale combination of quality fishing and scenery you could ever hope to experience. The firehole in the spring is worth the trip in and of itself, in my humble opinion. The list goes on and on. PLenty of opportunities to get off the beaten path as well. I think Zach did an essay on this subject a while back??

-JL

JL

[Bob Riggins]

Yellowstone without a doubt.

[george_cox]

Tim:
I’ll add my two cents, I live in CA, own a mountain home in Swan Valley, Idaho along the South Fork of the Snake.

[Mike Cline]

Tim,

I will second the Yellowstone as the DESTINATION if you have never been there.  100 years ago fisherman were visiting Yellowstone because everyone said “There IS NOT ANOTHER PLACE LIKE IT ANYWHERE”. Still isn’t.  There are few rivers where you can catch lots of browns and rainbows with these beasties as a backdrop-most if not all are in the park.

I first fished the park in the 1970s and its better today than it was then.  The fishing is excellent in late September and October, even better if you want to work for it.  If you camp as I did in the 1970s, its really reasonable.  If you want to do motels and such (like I do now), both West Yellowstone and Gardiner offer very affordable stuff.  Above all, anytime you are fishing the major Yellowstone waters, you know you are fishing with ghosts–All the greats fished these same streams and wrote alot about them.  You could spend a month on the Madison and Firehole and not begin to unlock all their secrets.

A plus for the Park is that if you are staying at West Y. then you’ve got the Upper Madison in Montana as well.  If you stay in Gardiner, you’ve got the Yellowstone in Montana, and if by chance you get to Jackson, you’ve got the Snake–all great streams.

I will admit my bias–since the 70s I’ve fished YNP alot, and thus am retiring this year in Bozeman, MT.

Keep us up the speed on what your thinking is!

[Rick Marcum]

I would say Bozeman, MT or Missoula, MT.

[Tim Pommer]

Use Bozeman as your base and branch from there.

[Tim Angeli]

There are some great suggestions on here.

[Steve K.]

I’ve backpacked YNP for years and can’t wait to get back! When you are in the backcountry, you’re away from the crowds of tourons and best of all it’s free! With recent drought and hot weather, I’ve added the nearby Beartooths to my itinerary.

[Zach Matthews]

Tim –

If you are anything like me, price will be a major consideration.

[John Bennett]

Zach, you may have just bumped a Montanna pack horse/camp trip from 2nd on my “lifetime want to do trips” to 1st over Belize.

[Mark Landerman]

Tim:
I’ll add my two cents, I live in CA, own a mountain home in Swan Valley, Idaho along the South Fork of the Snake.  The SF is one of the best dry fly fisheries in the West.  It is an hour from Henry’s Fork, about 35 minutes from the Teton River, about 45 minutes from the south entrance to the Teton/Yellowstone National Park and Jackson Hole, and about two hours from the Firehole and Jackson Lake.

If you’re going to sight see, Yellowstone is the destination, but if you’re going to fish, South Fork can’t be beat.  Estimates of fish per mile vary from 7,000 to 11,000 over a range of 40 + miles and they are natural Cutthroats, Rainbows, Browns and some hybrid Cutbows. You can float the river for over 40 miles and there are lodges and camping sites all along the river.

George

George………………I think your numbers of fish is very high.

[jason minnich]

Canadian Rockies to Vancouver Island.

[John Bennett]

There are certainly some phenomonal waters in the Western part of Cda as well scenery. Bull Trout anyone? About as close to taimen as we NAs will ever come 🙂 Haven’t been out there in years but I remember parts of it like it was yesterday.

That said as good as the fishing is in parts, and as beautifull as it is ( its the most beautiful country Ive ever seen)

[Mike L.]

That said as good as the fishing is in parts, and as beautifull as it is ( its the most beautiful country Ive ever seen)  I don’t know that its significantly different than what can be found in and around Yellowstone. Six of one, half dozen of anotherand if you havent already “been there, done that” why leave the home country? Id want to see all of what my country had to offer first.

Comparing the Canadian Rockies to Yellowstone is like comparing night and day.

[Author]

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