Streamer Fishing Clinic • Willy's Lake Clinic • Beginner Clinics In May
Women's Fishing Classes • 2010 Summer BBQ • Spey Clinics • MSU Classes
Fly Tying Classes • Weekends With the Legends • Suds Bugs & BS

Streamer Fishing Clinic - Dates Set for May 1st and May 2nd

For those of you who want to learn to toss around the big flies a little better and read the holding water for the big fish that you want to eat that streamer, this is the class for you. We've been running these classes now for 3 years and they've grown with popularity and are always sold out. Come find out what you've been missing in those deep holes with nymph rigs... Classes will be held from 9:30AM to 6PM and will meet at the shop at 9:15AM and then depart for the river after the classroom portion of the classes. Cost is $100 for the class and includes lunch and beverages and a short float trip. Streamer Clinics will be held on Saturday May 1st and again on Sunday May 2nd!

Willy's Lake Clinic - Dates Set for May 15th and May 16th

Willy managed to fill both of his lake clinics and all attendees were well educated and inducted into Willy's world of lakes. This year’s class will commence at Montana Troutfitters at 9am and run till roughly 6pm both Saturday and Sunday. Plenty of time will be spent on the water at one of the local ponds discussing and practicing lake techniques. Cost of class includes lunch and beverages, instruction, and rental equipment if needed. Willy went over effective techniques for fishing Stillwater as well as reading water on lakes and breaking down the insect substrate of your local lakes. Clinic is limited to 6 anglers and judging by the popularity of the first session, Willy will be filling both classes for 2010, the cost will be $100 and we will have both a Saturday and Sunday session available. Clinic Dates Set for May 15th and 16th - call to reserve a spot today, we've nearly got a day full already!

*FREE* Beginner Clinics on Saturdays in May

We've had a lot of people asking how they get into fishing, they want to know the basics but may not want to drop the $ on a day of guided service as they're not sure how much they'll like fishing. Our first suggestion is to look at our Troutfitters University but if that's not for you, pop in on Saturdays from 2pm to 4pm and we'll take you through your bug life, knots, some basics on reading water, and a little casting demonstration.  Clinics are free and open to the public on May 8th, 22nd & 29th from 2pm to 4pm.

Womens Fly Fishing Classes - Now Signing Up for Summer Session

After the success of our first women's clinic, we will be running another one in the Summer of 2010 - Dates to be set! We hear from female anglers quite often that they would like to learn to fish, but don't want to be yelled at or grouped with a bunch of testosterone driven males ... So we decided to offer our first WOMEN'S ONLY CLASS since Dave Kumlien was running the store and it was a big success. The class will consist of two days of instruction, with the first day focusing on knots, learning about the equipment, bug identification, and finally working on a basic cast. The second day will be on the water with instruction that focuses on reading water, putting the cast together on the water, and doing a little bit of fishing. Classes are held at Montana Troutfitters with both days lasting from 9am to 3pm. Lunch and beverages are included for both days, the cost of the class is $150 and $40 of the class fee is applicable towards a rod and reel purchase. The instructors will be Dave Kumlien, Gayle Whittenberg, and our newest female guide on staff Jessi Kolar and the class size is limited to 10 participants.

Here's what some of the ladies had to say about the classes:

"Loved learning to cast, practicing it and getting to try it on water. Liked learning a few knots too! I wanted to keep playing on the water…but maybe that would make it a 3 day class!"

"it was great and over too quickly, just like fishing I couldn't get enough!"

"I've felt intimidated by the "Man" atmosphere of some fishing related activities I've been to, this was much different, Gayle and Dave made me feel comfortable and it was an excellent class!"

"I wanted to share my first fish photo...since Montana Troutfitters was my introduction to fly fishing...I took your Ladies fly fishing class this spring! I went to Alaska-took a float plane trip with 3 other women to Limestone Creek near Juneau. We caught a lot of Dolly Varden Gar and fished with 3 Alaskan brown bears! I'm hooked!

My best - Kris Carpenter"

Troutfitters 4th Annual BBQ - Thursday June 17th

For the past 3 years we've grilled, drank, and talked fishing with a lot of friends and a lot of new faces and it's been a lot of fun. Giveaways, new gear, raffle prizes and lots of good food, that's what the BBQ is all about and we're looking forward to another BBQ in 2010!

For those of you who have helped make this a great event over the past few years, thank you!

For those of you who weren't able to make it, put this on your CALENDAR for 2010 - Thursday June 17th @ 5:30PM, that will be the date for this years BBQ with the MOOSE!!!

Spring Spey Clinic Dates TBA - So Get Your Switch or Spey and Get Ready!

Unfortunately we couldn't get dates to match up this spring, but we'll be running one in the fall - make sure and get on the list as these fill out quickly. Every Spey class that we've ran since we started into the two hand market back in 2006 has been a great success and we've been building on that success which has allowed us to have Larry Aiuppy teach our classes every fall and spring sharing his wealth of knowledge. This fall we'll be running a one day spey class with Larry again. If you've been thinking of getting into or fine tuning your spey casting, then this is your class. NOBODY, and we mean NOBODY, does the classes better than Larry.

What Some Past Partipants Had to Say About Our Classes With Larry:

"All the basics to get started, and the casts to get started fishing - and useful practice techniques like the broom handle!"

" . . . your workshop not only taught me tremendous new techniques, but also served to inspire, enlighten and challenge me . . ."

"The critique sessions are excellent. Your one-on-one help was extremely valuable."

"The class was extremely helpful. I was at a point in my spey casting where I didn't feel I was making any progress. After taking your class you provided me with ideas and instruction that enabled me to move on to a whole new level of casting."

"I thoroughly enjoyed the class. It was great to see everything come together on the different types of casts."

"I have received instruction at spey clave(s), however I have learned more from you, Larry, in a shorter period of time. Your ability to instruct makes it fun & also learn at the same time. Keep up the good work!!"

"Absolutely would recommend your class to anyone regardless of their casting abilities. You seem to have a balance of information/instruction that is easy to understand."

This Fall's class will be nearly identical to the previous classes, except that we're running it as a Beginner/Intermediate Class - The cost of the class will be $150, the focus will be on the basics, consisting of some classroom work and then a lot of time on the water. We will meet @ Montana Troutfitters @ 9am and will last till roughly 6pm or so. On the water will be held on a location TBD. Equipment is available for those who don't have their own. Lunch and beverages are included, call today to reserve your spot as the clinic will be limited to 6 anglers. 

MSU Classes and Clinics

We are strong supporters of the MSU Community at Montana Troutfitters and from time to time we offer free clinics and casting lessons and fishing demonstrations for students, including at Catapalooza every year as well as in the spring and fall with Resedential Services on campus. We also offer student discounts on our classes, so if you're an MSU Student and are interested in one of our tying classes or something else let us know that you'd like the student discount!

There's a new campus organization Gallatin Flycasters and they are offering some great fishing information and free classes for students. For more information on whats available on campus or to request for a student group lesson call Kris @ 587-4707.

Fly Tying Classes Will Start Again Fall of 2010

Beginner Tying Classes: Classes are held here at Montana Troutfitters from 6:30pm to 8:30pm every Tuesday or Wednesday for 5 weeks. The cost of the class is $75 or $65 for MSU Students and Faculty. Our beginner classes are the most well attended in the valley and are based off of the timeless teachings of Al Troth. Classes are limited to 6 students to ensure a hands on experience. Instruction will focus on all of the foundations of tying. These are the best classes in the valley as is evidenced by the fact they are full every go around. So if you're interested make sure you get signed up early - we filled every class this past year, so really you can call to sign up for spots now!

Advanced Tying Classes: Classes are held here at Montana Troutfitters from 6:30pm to 8:30pm every Wednesday for 4 weeks. The cost of the class is $75 or $65 for MSU Students and Faculty. Advanced classes will focus on working with difficult materials, tying extended body flies, jointed streamers, and other advanced tying techniques. Prior tying experience is recommended as the class will not be going over basics. Advanced tying classes will be held after the first 2 rounds of beginner classes.

Weekends With the Legends Will Be Back for Winter of 2011

This past winter we saw some great tiers come through once again, some familiar faces, some new ones, and always great patterns and better insight. Weekends With the Legends is FREE and open to the public and is offered on Saturdays from 12pm to 3pm and features some of the most talented tiers in the area and country! Seating is not a problem as our tiers are featured on our 37" HI DEF TV. When we get the list of tiers for 2011, we'll post em!

Full List of 2010 WWTL Tiers Below:

January 16th - Fred Nelson - "Steelhead Fred" as we affectionately know him, Fred's a friend and a great tier with extensive local area knowledge as well as some great stories about fishing for Steelhead... Fred will share some of his favorite patterns to kick of the Weekends for 2010.

January 23rd - Mike Lawson - A true legend to anyone who's been around the business, Mike is the founder of Henry's Fork Angler in Island Park and will no doubt have some valuable insight for anyone looking to learn more about the Henry's Fork or Spring Creek fishing, a don't miss.

January 30th - Kory Kober - Kory is a homegrown tier and fly shop owner from Columbus, MT and has some truly great and innovative patterns, last year he introduced us to Kory's Kray, we'll see what he has in store for us this year!

February 6th - Sandy Pittendrigh - Sandy is perhaps the least known and most innovative fly tier that I know around Southwestern Montana, from building boats to procuring unique materials for tying, Sandy is sure to have a few things you have never seen, we promise.

February 13th - Bob Jacklin - What can we say, Bob has been headlining events around the world for decades and still draws a crowd every year - a great tier, a better friend, and only surpassed by his showmanship, don't miss Bob's visit to Montana Troutfitters on Valentines Day Weekend

February 20th - Walter Wiese - Head guide and shop manager for Park's Fly Shop in Gardiner, Walter is a contract tier for Montana Fly Company and has some unique takes on some time tested patterns and is intimately familiar with Yellowstone Park and it's many waters.

February 27th - Chris Smith - Chris is a friend of ours who cut his teeth on the waters of Northern California including his favorite Hat Creek where he fine tuned his tying skills to match the hatch on some of the tougher waters in CA, a tier for Solitude Flies, Chris' technique is impeccable.

March 6th - Dan Delekta - Dan is one of my personal favorite tiers, and his tying skills are only surpassed by his warm personality and knack for coming up with patterns and takes on patterns that no one else seems to be able to replicate, we love having Dan down every year!

March 13th - Willy Self - For those of you who know Willy you don't need an intro, for those of you who don't, this is your lake guy and an incredible tier. 

Suds Bugs & BS - Get Ready Again for Fall of 2010!

If you like to tie flies with friends and enjoy a night out of the house, this is for you! It will start the first Thursday of November 4th and runn all winter long. A great way to enjoy the hospitality of some good tiers, get some tips on your tying and relax and listen to tunes and watch some fishing movies. Bring your own materials and vise and we'll supply the BS and tying space. It will be going strong into it's 4th winter now, so get here early (like around 6-6:30pm) so you can get a place at the table! Every Thursday night is Suds Bugs & BS at Montana Troutfitters. It's a BYO Stuff affair, so make sure and have your own tying stuff and some refreshments. Suds Bugs & BS will be concluding on the last Thursday of March 2011 - after all we need our evenings for fishing once it gets nice out!