More Pics Accomodations: River side cabins available - please see website for addtional info. Cost: $395 full day - 2 anglers,$75 for 3rd angler; $295 half day - 2 anglers,$75 for 3rd angler Dates: Year round Duration: Open Location: Libby, Montana Not Included: Fishing license Phone Number: 800-322-9339 or 406-293-7578 Provided: All gear, including flies, lunch on all day float, sodas Species: Rainbow, Cutthroat, Bull trout Website: www.montana-flyfishing.com

Dave Blackburn's Kootenai Angler Guide Service- Montana

Located in Northwest Montana , and originating on the western slope of the Canadian Rockies, born of crystal clear glacier fed streams, the Kootenai River is Montana 's newest and largest tailwater fishery. It is one of the west's premier dry fly trout rivers.

Our guides are long-time local residents with over a hundred years combined fly fishing experience on the Kootenai. They fish the river twelve months of the year, under every weather and water condition. Our guide team has an extensive wealth of knowledge that they freely share with each other. They collaborate on what has been working best or the most effective technique to raise fish. This is one of the major advantages of fishing with us. You don't just get one guide; you get a whole team that is working together. They live, work, and raise their families in Libby, year-round. They are here because there's no place else on earth they'd rather row a drift boat, cook a streamside gourmet meal, or share the stories and satisfaction that dozens of seasons on this river have birthed. These things, along with a deep respect for the area's natural resources and the wildlife that call the Kootenai home, enable us to provide our fishing friends with our most valued commodity, "The Real Montana Experience."

The Fishing:

Isolated in the northwest corner of Montana the Kootenai lies off the beaten path of the more traveled, popular "big name" rivers of Montana . Providing a truly uncrowded setting the Kootenai maintains a high quality trout fishery. Rainbow trout up to 31 pounds have been taken on the river. Native Cutthroat and Bull Trout also abound. The Kootenai River is a big, classic western river. It was harnessed for power generation in 1973. The Kootenai River emerging from Libby Dam is Montana 's newest tailwater fishery. Cradled between the Cabinet Mountain Wilderness and the Purcell Mountains , it contains a wide array of insect life to support prolific hatches throughout the season.

The Kootenai and its tributaries are the only waters in Montana to contain a native strain of rainbow trout, called Columbia Redbands. These trout are indigenous to the headwaters of the Columbia River . They are known for their excellent acrobatic fighting ability and their characteristic "football" shape. Fish are active year round with the controlled consistently cool flows from the Dam. Weed beds, riffles and long deep runs contain an array of aquatic insect life to support from 1500-2500 catchable trout per mile. The Kootenai fishery remains one of the western rivers that is virtually unaffected by drought and forest fires due to the deep, large reservoir which insures an endless cool water supply.

Rates:

2009 Montana Fly fishing Stimulus Package!

We are offering incentives to stimulate the trout of Northwest Montana this year. For every booked 3-day full service package for two persons, we would like to offer the 4th nights lodging free.

We are pleased to tell you that we will continue our policy to include all of your equipment, including flies, in our 2009 rates to help make your day outstanding on the Kootenai River . It is important that when fishing our river to use the proper flies, and we will make them available on every guided trip at no additional charge. (If you are interested in purchasing any gear for your trip, keep in mind we are an Orvis Authorized Dealer and other product lines and can drop ship any item out of the Orvis catalog to you and save you the shipping charges.) We will always be including our excellent whole-grain deli sandwiches on full day floats. We will do everything we can to accommodate you on any specialties you may require. In addition, if you would like to try a certain rod you've been interested in, we will have top-of-the-line demo fly rods available by Sage, Winston and Orvis.

2009 Full Service Rates

This season we are pleased to announce a full service package combining meals with our lodging and fishing packages. (Fishing license fees and bar tab excluded; based on double occupancy.)