Posted: 5/31/2026 3:54:32 PM EDT
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I will be in MT from July 7-16th. Nephew is getting married so I am taking the opportunity to introduce my wife and kids to my homeland. Unfortunately, I haven’t been back to MT since 1985. I will be between Whitefish, Emmigrant and Billings. I will have 2-5 weights with me. I prefer fishing small stream with less pressure than big crowded streams. I’ll probably get two good days and some partials in. Any recommendations for patterns or places are welcome. If you would like to pm me vs broadcast stream names feel free. Thanks! |
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Google Montana hatch charts, there’s a ton of them for most of the streams in the state. If nothing else, once you get there visit any fly shop and buy some flies and anything else and they will tell you the 411 for the area. I’ve never been disappointed by doing this there. July being about the driest month and the melt being over will affect which streams/areas you go to. Generally low water means higher temps, so be prepared for Hoot Owl restrictions. Again, fly shops will point you in a good direction, PROVIDED, you spend some money with them. They ain’t doing it for free. |
| I will definitely be hitting local shops. Buying flies is a tradition. I also pulled out my tying gear and started working on some caddis. It’s been a while since I tied and had forgotten my dogs got my Hoffman and Hebert necks and saddles. That still hurts to this day. |
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I wish I could be a wealth of information. But I dont know anything about Whitfish or billings fishing at all. I cant say I have fished Emigrant but I do know of some things in the area. July might actually be fishing well down there. I was just on the Yellowstone upstream of Gardiner in the park. Lots of cutties on big salmon fly patterns. But they were holding only in specific areas of water. Fishing up high in the park is actually improving this time of year and should be better mid July. I think down lower in Emigrant it might also be even better mid July. Parks Fly shop in Gardiner is a good resource and know the valley well. I would call them tomorrow and start planning. Obviously you could go into the park, that where I usually fish but its just what I know. Also the Yellowstone is a obvious choice if you like big water. There are a few smaller rivers that feed into the Yellowstone that i have had fun on near Emigrant. But I will need to check my maps to be sure of the names. |