Five River Lodge

Southwest Montana is becoming known by many people as "the Mecca of flyfishing in the lower US." Our area has some of the most famous rivers in the West. Rivers that our Lodge name was derived from, the Beaverhead, Big Hole, Jefferson, Ruby, and Madison rivers are known as high-quality blue ribbon natural trout streams. A place considered to have the last un-crowded blue ribbon fisheries in the U.S. These rivers in Southwest Montana is probably the most diverse geographically and possess very big benefits for anglers. First, all of the rivers are located close to each other, allowing many different options for each day's fishing. Second, this diversity allows anglers to experience different conditions, water structure, and scenery for each day of fishing. An angler can fish different water View more... for 30 days straight without ever fishing the same water twice. The weather and river conditions may differ markedly among the various rivers. While one river may be running high-and-mighty due to run off, an angler can usually venture to another river nearby which is running clear. Most of our guided trips are what we consider to be float/ wade trips. On float/wade trips, the anglers fish from the drift boat while going between riffles/runs and then get out of the boat to fish as much as they want and river conditions allow. Flyfishers, beginners and experienced alike, find challenges while fly fishing the many rivers in this part of Southwest Montana, plus the many spring creeks and ponds which receive little fishing pressure.

These rivers run through scenery as diverse as the waters themselves. The rivers wind their way with high mountains on one side and grasslands where cattle and wildlife graze on the other side. They slip through deep beautiful canyons; take you into broad prairies green with native grasses; and, lead you to ponder the past where the river banks are lined with aged Cottonwood and stately Birch trees.

Brown trout are the predominant fish in the rivers of our area. These Brown trout act more like Rainbows. They tend to get acrobatic and go airborne 40 to 50% of the time. Some have even found a way to escape the net by jumping directly into the boat. The area also hosts a good population of Rainbow, Cutthroat, and Brook trout. The Big Hole River is home to the last of the native Grayling in the lower United States.

The lodge opens for the season, depending on conditions, for the start of the fabulous Mother's Day Caddis fly hatch in the first part of May on the Big Hole River. The Lodge remains open through the middle of October. The fishing in the earlier part of the season is great for casting to fish that haven't seen a fly for six months. The fishing season gets started in earnest, the third Saturday of May when all of the sections of the Beaverhead and Big Hole rivers open to fishing. Fall fishing can be great using a combination of dry flies, nymphs, and streamers during a time where the weather may be our beautiful "Indian Summer".