Western Drift Boat Voyage Dreams
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Did you ever have a crazy idea of doing a mega trip, I do now. Live in PA and frequently fish Michigan, Ohio, NY, Kentucky and PA of course. Next year I was thinking of taking a 10-14 day trip out West hauling my drift boat with me and have a starting destination of the Big Horn and working my way back east. This is not set in stone starting on the Horn though and am open for any sugestions.
Our group likes tripping streamers for trout the best and I really miss dry fly fishing as I don’t seem to time things correctly now with 3 kids.
South Fork of the Snake River, Madison, Henry’s Fork of the Snake River, Snake River (Jackson),The Green River, Big Horn River, Wind River, Big Hole, Beaverhead, Jefferson for starters……..
Hey Jaison,
Sounds like a great trip in the making. I have pulled our drift boat out west on several occassions and they are some of the best memories I have. I think the Missouri, Madison, and Bighorn are a must.Or start out a little further west and add the South Fork.
After doing these trips several times, I felt like the best trips were the ones were I would spend alot of time on one river and not be stretched thin trying to hit several rivers during a trip. The best trip I ever had was when me and my wife drove to Livingston and got married and then drove over to the Bighorn for the month of September. No crowds, low water, and epic fishing.
Good luck
DustinIf you just want to hit a ton of rivers just to fish a ton of rivers, you’ll have no shortage.
We usually pick a handful of must dos, and spend some time at each one.
Jaison,
I did a similar trip last summer, except I didn’t have a boat and spent a long time out there. Like some have mentioned, based on your time frame, I would try to focus your trip on 3-4 rivers. If you take 14 days, that gives you 2 days driving each way and 2-4 days fishing each river (assuming you drive between rivers in the evenings/night and don’t burn days driving around).
What were you thinking of fishing east of the Big Horn? There’s really not much east of that. If it were me, I would fish the South Fork of the Snake, Madison, Yellowstone, and Big Horn. You could do it in that order and effectively start west and work back east. All of those rivers hold big fish and a lot of fish. They are great streamer-fishing rivers, and you should get into some good dry fly action on some, if not all, of them as well. If it were me, I’d go in October, which is a perfect time to rip streamers and should also give you consistent baetis and midge hatches with very minimal crowds to deal with. If you’d prefer warmer weather, move it up to August/Sept., which would provide great hopper fishing. If you do that, it might be worth spending a day or two in Yellowstone Park. There are a couple of spots that are must hits for me when I’m out there, and it would give you some time to switch things up with some hike-in/wade fishing. PM me if that interests you.
There’s no shortage of rivers to fish in that area, it just depends what interests you.
Hope some of that helps,
TimPlease, Please, make sure you inspect and clean your boat thoroughly after fishing each of these rivers.
Thanks to all who have replied, the information is exactly what I was looking for. The trip duration is not set yet and the planning is just starting.
From all I have talked to the bighorn is a must and 2 days minimum, fishing back east if there were any rivers would have been more convenient than anything, but if I am that far west, what’s a little further at that point.
No worries there, I hit the local carwash on the way back from the river every trip
Please, Please, make sure you inspect and clean your boat thoroughly after fishing each of these rivers. Fishing this many rivers, I would hit up the local car wash and power wash your boat after fishing. Montana has hired people this year to inspect boats and pass out information about invasive species. Be responsible, and have fun.
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