first western fly fishing trip

On Tue, 11 Jul 2006 08:17:21 -0500, Conan The Librarian wrote:

noshellswill wrote:

Gents:

My 1st post to this n.g.

Early this fall ( Sept/Oct ) I intend a week of 'getaway' ... half
scenic- half fly fishing. Some lodge in western USA/Canada. I don't mind
freezing, but hate to be hot.

Yep I've been all-over the Web. What I've seen (promised) ranges from
the obscure to the silly. From $50/day to $10 K/week. But I certainly want
a "package" with all the loose-ends tied. This n.g. seems to know more
than most.

I think the Yellowstone area might be worth a look. The weather can
be unpredictable, but the area is perfect for a combination
scenic/fishing trip. A few years back SWMBO and I rented a cabin on the
Madison right at the Raynolds Pass Bridge, and we were within walking
distance of fine fishing on the Madison, and within easy driving
distance of the Gallatin, Henry's Fork, the Madison and Firehole in
Yellowstone Park, etc.

We did more sightseeing than fishing, with Yellowstone Park, the
Grand Tetons, the drive to Upper and Lower Mesa Falls, etc., but next
time I go I plan to focus on the fishing.

You might want to contact Blue Ribbon Flies
(http://www.blueribbonflies.com/index.shtml) for general advice on the
park and Madison. Craig Matthews pretty much wrote the book on fishing
that area. And it looks like they are now working with a lodge to
provide a package (looks pretty steep to me, but YMMV).

I've heard good things about the Madison Valley Ranch as well:
http://www.madisonvalleyranch.com/ It's further northwest near Ennis.
(It's also an Orvis-endorsed lodge, FWIW.)

If you're interested in concentrating your efforts on Henry's Fork,
Island Park would be a good bet. It's got operations run by another
couple of guys who "wrote the book" on that area, Mike Lawson and Rene
Harrop. (Harrop offers packages at his lodge there.)

I don't know if any of these are in your price range, but if you
want packages, these are some folks who I expect you could trust to do
things right.



CV:

Thanks for the clues. I took a quick gander thru several sites
....Blueribbonflys had an exceptional week-long ( Sept 3-9 ) back country
trip that sounded really good. Too bad I will be grading summer_term final
exams that week.

Will keep poking around. Thanks again.

ray
********
Chuck Vance