This Fish Camp adventure takes you through the Missouri River Canyon, one of the most beautiful sections of water in Montana. Notably, this blue-ribbon river offers an insane trout population, with numbers of mature fish sometimes hitting 5,000 to 7,000 trout per mile, including some studs in the 18 to 23-inch range. During fall, the Missouri River isn't as busy as you'd think. Many anglers clear off the water for hunting season, and fewer people on the water means less pressured trout, all eager to take a swung fly. This is prime time for trout spey, and these trips are run by passionate, dialed-in guides who live and breathe this style of fishing. You'll learn gear selection, casting, presentation, and how to identify some killer swing water. And you’ll fish. A lot. You may use a boat to access certain runs or drive to specific spots where the swing game shines. In either case, be prepared to wade; no standing in the boat and roll-casting. This Camp will build you into a proficient caster so you can light up some fish on the MO, then take your knowledge and skills to your homewaters, and throw darts there, too.  

Rainbows: On any given day you can expect multiple eats on the swung fly and if conditions are perfect, you could land a dozen fish in a day. But it’s fishing . . . it all depends. For sure, rainbow trout will be in the mix, having gone through spring spawning, followed by recovery during summer and early fall. During those times these rainbows put on weight and now will be in their best condition of the year. A 20-inch fish could weigh three or four pounds, depending on how gluttonously it fed on the Missouri’s summer and fall mega-hatches.  If you want a fight, these fall rainbows will give it to you.  

Browns: Brown trout are in the mix, too, and you can’t really say fall fishing without thinking about brown trout. Sure, there are other times to target large brown trout, but late fall is THE time to give yourself the best shot at a 20-plus inch fish. During fall the Missouri’s brown trout are very active as they hunt for mates and seek suitable spawning habitat. Basically, they are in a pissy mood and are more prone to bite than run from anything. Think of these big, aggressive hook-jawed browns as the star college quarterback protecting his girlfriend at a Friday night frat party. Nobody gets near! While fishing the MO, you’ll visit specific spots where big browns are commonly found during fall, and you’ll swing that water hoping to add your name to a list of anglers who’ve stuck 20-inchers in the past. There are no guarantees in fishing, but people have landed browns stretching past 25 inches on the MO and any given swing could be the one. 

GEAR

Click here for a recommended gear list. 

There are plenty of tricks that turn an average trout spey angler into a guru. Our guides will share these during your stay at Fish Camp, on the water and after hours over drinks and dinner. They’ll also instruct on proper line and leader setups, plus best practices when knotting flies to the leader for maximum fishiness/effectiveness. You’ll be offered fully dialed in trout spey setups to use during your stay, along with the flies our resident small-batch tyers and guides have identified as true killers on the Missouri. We’ll go through presentation tactics and describe the merits of Skagit versus Scandi, sink-tips, shooting lines—all the little things that make big differences in trout spey.

Ultimately, we want you to be a confident, well-trained trout-spey sniper who can wade into any stream, anywhere, and deploy these tactics to great success. That’s the goal and after five days at Fish Camp, we believe you’ll be on your way.