A Fly Fishing Dream

The Dream

Imagine This

It's a hot July afternoon, and you're in the front seat of a drift boat on the renowned Beaverhead River. Your guide has expertly positioned the boat 40 feet upstream from a trophy brown trout, which is steadily feeding on Pale Morning Duns (PMD’s). 

The fish is consistently rising along the edge of an overhanging willow, sipping each bug that floats by. All day, you've worked with your fishing guide to refine your casting and presentation, and you know this is the moment to bring it all together! Your guide calmly reviews the cast, emphasizing how to present the fly perfectly without spooking the fish you've been dreaming about. After observing the fish eat several naturals, you feel confident about what needs to be done.

Take a Deep Breath

Taking a deep breath, you cast the fly your guide meticulously tied the night before for just this opportunity. After a couple of false casts, you deliver a perfect cast three feet upstream of the fish’s feeding zone, precisely where you intended!

You mend the line and watch as the tiny fly drifts down the river toward the fish. The fish slowly emerges from its hiding spot and gently inhales the fly. Knowing the challenges of hooking a fish on a small dry fly, you whisper, as your guide instructed, “one thousand one, one thousand two” and set the hook. BOOM!

And You've Got Him!

Aware of the delicate 5X leader, you tighten up on this trophy brown trout, bracing for its first powerful run. The fish erupts out of the water, and you find yourself in an unforgettable experience that will last a lifetime!

Does this sound like heaven? Many fly anglers dream of such moments, and the sense of accomplishment when it all comes together is indescribable. Or, did it sound like fly fishing gibberish? If so, keep reading to learn key terms and begin understanding the steps to make it happen!

Rack and Reel - Endless Possibilities

Beautiful Fishing in Montana’s Prime Rivers

Southwest Montana offers spectacular and diverse dry fly fishing throughout the year, from the subtle sip of a Pale Morning Dun (PMD) in July to the aggressive take of the largest stonefly, the Salmon Fly, in June.

With five rivers and hundreds of miles of floating and walk wading opportunities easily accessible from our lodge at Rack and Reel, our experienced guides constantly seek that perfect rising trout.

Our Most Popular Hatches

Our most popular hatches include the Blue Wing Olives (BWO’s) each May, the famed Salmon Fly hatch on the Big Hole and Madison Rivers in June, the PMD hatches on the Beaverhead in July, and terrestrial fishing on all our rivers from late July through early September. 

Numerous smaller hatches, like Squalla Stoneflies, March Browns, Brown Drakes, and Caddis, fill in the gaps and often coincide with these major events. 

Predicting each hatch precisely is challenging, as weather, river levels, and water temperatures vary yearly. If you want to target a specific hatch, contact Rack and Reel to consult with our experienced staff, who have spent thousands of days on the water and can help you choose the best dates for your trip!

Casting Under Pressure

The distance you can cast is often considered crucial for successful angling. While it's undoubtedly a valuable skill, most of our trips use a drift boat or raft, allowing you to approach within closer range. 

This setup provides even novice anglers ample opportunity to present the fly in the 20 - 40 foot range. However, even seasoned anglers can experience "Brown Trout Fever" when watching a large fish steadily rising to dry flies. When this happens, it’s important to revert to the fundamentals of your cast: keep your rod tip high on your backcast, visualize your cast on a clock (ensuring your rod never drops below the 2 o’clock position), pause to allow the line to fully extend on your backcast, and using only your elbow joint to move the rod. Avoid breaking your wrist or using your shoulder in your dry fly cast.

There is no substitute for accuracy when it comes to dry fly fishing. Many fish feed in one specific location, and getting your fly into their feeding lane will test the skill of any angler. 

We address this by offering casting instruction on the front lawn of our lodge each night. We work on hitting targets as large as a hula-hoop down to trying to land your fly in a coffee mug! 

The Art of the Presentation

Learning to dry fly fish is among the most challenging yet rewarding angling pursuits. A rising fish is far spookier and more selective than a fish feeding subsurface. Success often hinges on perfectly matching the hatch, using a long, light leader, and, most critically, presenting the fly flawlessly to deceive a large, wild trout feeding on dry flies.

What is Presentation?

Presentation refers to how the fly behaves once it lands on the water. For small mayflies, the goal is the perfect "dead drift." This means presenting the fly so that it moves at the same speed as the current, without any drag or interference from the angler. 

Sounds simple, right? Not quite. Mastering the dead drift presentation takes time, but with expert instruction from a patient guide, you'll quickly begin piecing the puzzle together.

Terrestrials (like grasshoppers, beetles, and ants) and the various stonefly species often produce better results when the fly is given small twitches or other actions to mimic them struggling on the water's surface.

Grasshoppers (commonly called "hoppers" in the fishing world) tend to panic when they accidentally fall into the water, so using continuous but subtle twitches of the rod tip can significantly improve your catch rate and transform an average afternoon into a fantastic day on the water.

Putting It All Together

Regardless of whether you're a seasoned veteran or new to the term "dry fly," a trip to Southwest Montana should be high on your list. Our guides and operation at Rack and Reel offer a wealth of resources to help you catch the trout of a lifetime. With a network of private ponds and small streams right outside the lodge, we can start with the basics without venturing far. Our guides have years of experience on our local watersheds and pride themselves on tailoring their approach to each client’s individual needs and abilities. 

Come experience the lasting memories of dry fly fishing the best rivers in Montana!

Rack and Reel

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