Summer Adventures
Luxury Fly-Fishing For The Experienced Angler
In Montana, fly-fishing is much more than a sport, it is a religion. If you are one of the chosen few who appreciate those immortal words of Norman Maclean then The Resort at Paws Up is for you. There's almost nothing in life that rivals the feeling of a hefty trout striking your fly, and the ensuing fight, headshakes and all. With that in mind, we'd like to welcome you to a slice of fly-fishing heaven. The Resort at Paws Up is an angler's retreat that's located within the golden triangle of western trout fishing. It boasts a creel-full of legendary rivers on property or nearbyÑincluding the Blackfoot, Bitterroot, Missouri, Rock Creek, Clark Fork and Tomahawk Creek. So whether you're checking off a few more Montana rivers, or are ready to pioneer into some true trout wilderness, this is the place for you.
The beauty and scenery of the Blackfoot River are unmatched by any river in Montana, with deep emerald pools followed by fast boulder strewn pocket water, which flows into bubbling choppy riffles and waist deep clear runs. Trout inhabit practically every inch of this river Ð primarily cutthroat and rainbow with a good population of monster brown trout Ð as well. The Blackfoot is considered our Ôhome waterÕ and our guides know every rock, run, and riffle. And best of all, Paws Up has seven glorious miles of it.
Like the weather in the Rockies the fishing changes drastically by the season, seasoned anglers know to choose spring and fall for the smorgasbord of flies, fish, and Montana sky.
The spring fishing in Western Montana is a little known and highly guarded secret. Fishing starts in mid-March and runs through mid May with the emergence of the much-anticipated skwala stone fly. These large (size 10) bugs make fish pay attention. Mixing with the skwalas are march browns and the, old stand-by, blue wing olives. Early spring fishing is a chance for both angler and fish alike to get the kinks worked out after a long lethargic winter.
Late spring fishing reveals the king-of-spring or the Salmon fly. If the skwala was a T-Bone than the salmon fly is the entire steer. These huge (size 4) floating orange monsters resemble more prehistoric beast than delicate trout fare. Local anglers wildly chase this hatch up the drainage and right past our doorstep; out-of-state anglers lucky enough to hit this hatch once, frequently make a spring pilgrimage to Montana in hopes of another chance.
If the spring fishing represents wild abandon, the fall is a classical symphony set to the immortal percussive beat of a Montana river and sky. By mid September, the high water temperatures return to bone chilling normal and the intense insect activity resumes. This is the time of the year trout, bugs and anglers alike realize the band is on its last set and we must get out and dance. Fish feed on Mahogany duns, blue winged olives and the prince-of-fall - the October caddis, with reckless abandon as they look ahead to shorter days and a long winter.
Again Norman Maclean had it right "all existence fades to a being with my soul and memories and the sounds of the Big Blackfoot River and a four-count rhythm and the hope that a fish will rise." Fish Montana in the spring and fall and you will then realize why locals and seasoned anglers celebrate this as their "Montana time."
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