**  JUST ADDED 3 MORE SPOTS TO THIS TRIP AS THE LODGE IN THE USA HAVE JUST HAD A CANCELLATION AND OFFERED THEM TO US **

The Trip

This annually hosted trip of 13 night’s duration to Idaho (ID) and Montana (MT) in the USA is one of our most popular offerings. It is a trip suitable for fly fishers of all ages and levels of experience and if you can’t bring a friend; we find someone suitable to pair you with.

We stay in comfortable accommodation close to the fishing, a fishing lodge in Island Park- Idaho on the banks of the Henry’s Fork in week 1 and in premium holiday homes in Craig – Montana in week 2;  we place you right the middle of some of the best dry fly fishing to be found anywhere on the planet.

Most of those who attend this trip will arrive on the FRI-SAT-SUN prior to moving into the lodge on the afternoon (Sunday July 12) with the option to go for a quick wade fish on the Henry’s Fork (30 seconds walk away). Later that evening we all meet up for a group dinner to catch up and prepare for the week ahead.

The fishing then starts in earnest the following day, with 3-5 consecutive days of float trips Mon 13 – Tues 14 – Wed 15 – Thu 16 – Fri 17- Sat 18 (guided days in bold) on rivers like the Henry’s Fork, Madison, Teton and wade fishing on the waters of Yellowstone National Park.

On Sunday 19th we check out of the lodge and head for Craig, Montana; on the famed Missouri River. The drive takes us through some of the most beautiful countryside in the USA and along some of it’s best trout fishing rivers. This lay day can include some fishing along the way or on arrival to Craig but many choose to treat it as a day of sightseeing and a break after a solid week of fishing.

We arrive in Craig mid-late afternoon we move into our accommodation and prepare for five days of fishing. We have secured some wonderful properties along this fabled section of the Missouri River below Holter Dam with the option for 3-5 guided days with the base package including three days of guided drift boat fishing on Mon 20, Tue 21, Wed 22.

The accommodation in Craig is very comfortable as our group manage to book the best properties in the area more than a year in advance. Most accommodation is within 10 minutes drive of town and so the fishing store we book through provide us with courtesy buses into and out of town each night so that our guests can enjoy a few drinks with dinner and in the bar each night. Our stay in Craig was definitely one of the highlights on our most recent trip, with all of those that attended rating it as a 10/10. Great fishing, lodging and a terrific place to catch up for dinner at night.

Saturday morning it’s off to Bozeman for a flight back to Los Angeles and from there the overnight flight back to Australia. Some of you may choose to stay in Montana or even head up to Alaska or British Columbia. Many clients meet up with their partners at trip’s end and continue on traveling.

SOME FACTS

The majority of clients in 2014 chose to do a float trip on most of the week days starting by 9am and getting off the water by about 5pm. Doing a float trip means you get taken to the best fishing on any given day, you don’t have to waste time and money stocking up on flies that you may not use and your lunch is taken care of. We do as much guided fishing as we can when in the USA on what is a relatively short trip, the justification that splitting a guide each day ($275-320 p.p. including tip) is great value and gives us the best fishing experience possible without any fuss or planning necessary.

Dinner is usually a night out at a local restaurant/bar; socialising with fellow trip participants and other fly fishers. Meals are much cheaper in the USA than at home, making it inexpensive to eat out. In fact on our most recent trip we ate out for the entire two weeks and other than having a couple of extra pounds to lose when we got home, our costs topped out at about $50 a day (including tips and non-alcoholic drinks). We have traveled to this part of the USA many times and have sourced out some very good places to eat with many healthy options.

When not guided there are numerous places to fish by yourself or with one of the other people on the trip within a 5-60 minute drive. Spring creeks, tailwaters, meadow streams, pocket watered canyon walled rivers and alpine lakes. For those wanting to fish till they drop there are endless amounts of water to explore.

Conversely for those wanting to have a ‘holiday’ as well, there are many non-fishing activities to enjoy. Yellowstone National Park’s West Entrance is about 40 minutes away from our first location and provides a very interesting 1-2 day tour via the loop roads. Take binoculars and spot bison, deer, elk, grizzly bears, ospreys and bald eagles. The Winston factory and its official tour is about 70 minutes away in Twin bridges with the ghost town of Virginia City a short drive from there, providing an interesting loop out into south-western Montana and back.

This trip is an amazing adventure to some of the best trout rivers you will find. The dry fly fishing is without equal and the value we are able to offer by ensuring that you have someone to fish with and also by the power that a large group booking gives us in leveraging the best accommodation, means that this trip is hard to replicate on your own without spending at least twice as much.

The Main Rivers 

The Henry’s Fork (<1 min walk)

Meadow stream nirvana. Fish ‘The Ranch’ for the most selective of rainbows that require perfect presentation and ‘match the hatch’ specific fly choice. Float the Box Canyon and nymph fish all day or hit the lower river below the falls for the more adventurous. This river has everything.

The Upper Madison (25 min drive)

Riffles and stoneflies are what make this section tick in early summer. World famous river with amazing fishing both from a drift boat and wading. A stunningly beautiful river with amazing vistas all around.

Yellowstone National Park (40 min drive)

Simply too many options to even outline here. Everything from meadows to pocket water, canyons to alpine lakes. Wildlife abounds and fishing opportunities are limitless.

The Teton (45 min drive)

The most underrated river in the region and my favourite. For all intents and purposes this is a large spring creek with cutts, brookies and rainbows. Great hatches from first until last light. The water is clear with a sandy/weedy bottom and you can fish all day in sandals. Equally great for floating and wading. There must be about 15 miles of meadow section before the river drops into a massive gorge and some pretty big whitewater. This can be floated by the fit and adventurous. Google ‘Teton Canyon Float Trip’ and select videos. Below this canyon lies the failed Teton Dam and some great hopper water. An amazing river with so many personalities.

Tributaries

Bitch Creek, Fall River, Warm River, Robinson River and others all provide day options for at times when you are not being guided. We can point you in the right direction as can the guides and staff at Three Rivers Ranch.

The Main Rivers

Missouri River below Holter Dam (<1 min drive)

The best of the best. Simply one of the richest trout streams on the planet and often described as the world’s biggest spring creek. Fish average 18″ and there are huge numbers of them. Hatches start at first light with tricos and go all day with multiple species of mayfly and caddis emerging throughout the day and evening. Terrestrial falls from late morning add to the soup and the fish gorge. Great fun.

GETTING THERE

Flying from the east coast of Australia is a relatively simple affair. The most common route is Melbourne or Sydney – Los Angeles – Salt Lake City/Denver – Idaho Falls/Bozeman and then Bozeman – Los Angeles – Melbourne or Sydney on the way home.

Airfares are on special right now with QANTAS offering fares as low as $1300 return on the international leg. Domestic flights in the USA should typically be purchased ASAP b ut given the route we are taking this year  MEL-LAX-SLC on the way in and BZN-SLC-LAX-MEL on the way out; we have lots of options.

Overall you are looking at around $1300-1800 Mel-LAX return flying QANTAS or Air NZ economy. Slightly cheaper for DELTA/UNITED. Internal flights in the USA will cost approximately $300-800 USD return.

We choose to fly into Salt Lake City Utah (airport code SLC) and drive four hours up to Idaho and fly out from Bozeman Montana (airport code BZN) as this saves a bit in dollars and allows you to arrive earlier at our first destination on the day we arrive.

HOW MUCH WILL THE WHOLE TRIP COST ME?

All told this trip will cost you around $7500-$9000 (varies depending on number of guided days). This includes airfares, accommodation (13 nights), 6 float trips, car hire, fuel, food, all tips and fishing licenses.

I WANT TO GO? WHAT DO I DO NEXT?

1. Phone us to discuss your needs and determine whether this trip is a good fit.
2. Visit the ESTA website and get a Visa waiver for travel to the USA.
3. Book by paying us $2500 USD deposit to secure your spot and $800.00 USD as 50% of your guided fishing fee with the balance of $800.00 USD due July 1 2015.

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If you have any questions or just wish to talk through the options please phone me (Antony) on FreeCall 1800 458 111 or 0418 995 611. I run these trips and can answer any questions that you may have or make suggestions as to proposed itineraries.

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BASE PACKAGE ITINERARY

Click here for USA 2013 reports on Antony’s Blog