Blackfoot River Outfitters
Blackfoot River Outfitters
5
7:00 AM - 6:00 PM
Monday
7:00 AM - 6:00 PM
Tuesday
7:00 AM - 6:00 PM
Wednesday
7:00 AM - 6:00 PM
Thursday
7:00 AM - 6:00 PM
Friday
7:00 AM - 6:00 PM
Saturday
7:00 AM - 6:00 PM
Sunday
7:00 AM - 6:00 PM
Full view
About
Our day trips usually start by meeting your guide at our Missoula shop or being picked up at your desired location around 8:30 a.m. We gear-up and head out to wherever's fishing. Typical drive times range from ten minutes to about an hour. With hundreds of miles of water, the options are virtually endless and you can choose between floating and wading for full or half day trips. We also offer whitewater/fishing combo trips through the Alberton Gorge on the lower Clark Fork (offered typically from August through mid-October). Day trips include your guide, lunch and shuttle (for float trips). Plus, you'll gain plenty of local knowledge about the water, hatches and techniques. You should also know that our are not of the "on the clock" variety, spending as much time on the water as their clients wish.
Missoula, Montana
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Blackfoot River Outfitters
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Most Recent: Reviews ordered by most recent publish date in descending order.
Detailed Reviews: Reviews ordered by recency and descriptiveness of user-identified themes such as wait time, length of visit, general tips, and location information.
Popular mentions
5.0
89 reviews
Excellent
88
Very good
0
Average
0
Poor
0
Terrible
1
Jay M
6 contributions
Sep 2024 • Friends
I've been fishing with John, Terri and Blackfoot River Outfitters for over 25 years. They are simply the best. They run a professional, well organized and enjoyable guiding service, not to mention the best fly shop in Missoula. The guides are all consistently knowledgeable, patient, adaptable and a pleasure to hang out with. In a place where the conditions are unpredictable and the weather can turn on a dime, you need experienced guides who are adaptable and creative. BRO guides know the rivers like the back of their hands, and consistently put you on good fish. On my last trip, I landed my personal best rainbow--on 4.5 x tippet, mind you. I'm already planning my next trip back to Missoula!
Written October 5, 2024
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
krawner
Chicago, IL1,990 contributions
Jun 2024 • Friends
Highlight of our Montana trip was the full day guided fly-fishing float trip ($695 + 3% credit card fee) down the Blackfoot River with Chad. He picked us up from our downtown Missoula hotel and drove us to Blackfoot River. We learned to cast, mend, set the hook, and reel in fish. He provided all the gear (rods, flies, lunch, etc. but you bring your own MT fishing license). Chad was patient and encouraging despite our many tangles. He was entertaining with lots of funny stories. The scenery was gorgeous with ponderosas, osprey, river otter, and the canyon. It’s the filming location of the movie “A River Runs Through It.” We caught plenty of fish but the big one got away. Very memorable experience and highly recommended.
Written June 11, 2024
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Erik P
1 contribution
Aug 2024 • Family
Great place with outstanding fishing a few steps from our cabin. Our family of four stayed in Cabin 5 for a few days as a stop over driving from Yellowstone to Glacier National Park to break up the long drive. It was a pleasant surprise as we booked Cabin 5 which was very nice and cozy. Missoula is a quick 10 minute drive and did I mention, the fishing.....outstanding. Hope to return in the future.
Written August 21, 2024
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
qrst444
2 contributions
Oct 2023 • Couples
Diane and I are from north Georgia where the trout fishing is pretty good, but perhaps not quite as spectacular as some of the great fishing we've enjoyed in Montana over the years. However, we still had a big bucket list item not fulfilled and that was to fish the storied waters in the Missoula area. We thank Blackfoot River Outfitters for helping us with a great time fishing some of these great streams. We couldn't have asked for three better guides.
Matt Ehrich guided us for a wade trip guide on Rock Creek. We caught lots of fish including a 20 incher that was among the thirty landed by Diane. I guess I can't fault Matt that I only landed half as many, since that's not unusual. We finished the day with Matt in Philipsburg enjoying time with the locals. Matt is an excellent guide and just a heck of a nice guy who was enjoyable to spend the day with.
We had read and heard much about the Blackfoot River and our float trip lived up to our expectations. Our excellent guide, Rich Wachs, put us on fish at a pace to both enjoy the fishing and the scenery. Rich was also excellent company who was kind enough to join us for a few hours after a full day on the river.
Our third day was a tough choice between the Bitterroot River and Clark Fork. I don't think you can go wrong with with either. Our excellent guide, Robert Quinlan, helped us choose Clark Fork. I can say that we've never had a guide that worked harder to put us on fish. Lots of heavy rowing round trips through eddy coves yielded results and a sudden Trico hatch with quick rig changeup gave me some non stop action for about an hour. Robert was also great company and generously joined us for a few hours when we came off the river.
We had a wonderful time fishing and visiting the Missoula area. We hope to return and fish with you again. We enthusiastically recommend BRO and all of our guides.
Matt Ehrich guided us for a wade trip guide on Rock Creek. We caught lots of fish including a 20 incher that was among the thirty landed by Diane. I guess I can't fault Matt that I only landed half as many, since that's not unusual. We finished the day with Matt in Philipsburg enjoying time with the locals. Matt is an excellent guide and just a heck of a nice guy who was enjoyable to spend the day with.
We had read and heard much about the Blackfoot River and our float trip lived up to our expectations. Our excellent guide, Rich Wachs, put us on fish at a pace to both enjoy the fishing and the scenery. Rich was also excellent company who was kind enough to join us for a few hours after a full day on the river.
Our third day was a tough choice between the Bitterroot River and Clark Fork. I don't think you can go wrong with with either. Our excellent guide, Robert Quinlan, helped us choose Clark Fork. I can say that we've never had a guide that worked harder to put us on fish. Lots of heavy rowing round trips through eddy coves yielded results and a sudden Trico hatch with quick rig changeup gave me some non stop action for about an hour. Robert was also great company and generously joined us for a few hours when we came off the river.
We had a wonderful time fishing and visiting the Missoula area. We hope to return and fish with you again. We enthusiastically recommend BRO and all of our guides.
Written October 17, 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Marc O
Sammamish, WA15 contributions
Aug 2022
We had 2 epic days with Hunter from Blackfoot River Outfitters on the Clark Fork and Blackfoot rivers. From my first inquiry through our float trips BRO created the perfect experience for my son and I to learn fly fishing and experience the beauty of the rivers around Missoula. Our guide advised us on which rivers would be best for when we were there and he worked incredibly hard to put us over the fish with the right flies, continuously adjusting flies and set up throughout the day to get us more fish. We caught more rainbows and cutthroats than we've never caught - by far! Many times we both had fish on at the same time. Our guide Hunter was super patient with our learning and his instruction throughout helped us achieve a huge improvement in our casting skills, presentation, and reading the river habitats. Whether you want to book a first trip to learn or you are a seasoned pro, book your trip with BRO. Everyone at BRO goes out of their way to make sure you have a great experience. They take the time to get know what you want out of your trip and line everything up to exceed your expectations. We can't wait to return for more fishing with BRO.
Written September 2, 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Kevin D
Southington, CT1 contribution
Aug 2020
With so many options to choose from for a first trip to Missoula, choosing a guide company seemed daunting at first. But BRO proved to be an excellent choice for our 3-day fly fishing float package for a father/adult son get-away. Prior to arrival, BRO was very helpful and responsive, and made all local arrangements for our trip. Our guide, Chad, used his vast experience of local rivers and hatch conditions to show us a wonderfully productive and relaxing long weekend of fly fishing. We will definitely use BRO for our next trip to Montana.
Written October 27, 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Bradley C
5 contributions
Sep 2021
I wanted to give a visiting friend an authentic Montana fly fishing experience and the Blackfoot River Outfitter guided float experience was top notch from reservation all the way to returning home. Online reservation was simple and led to several informative emailed reminders prior to the event. Our guide, James Bates, also contacted us the day before to make sure he understood our fishing and food needs. We met at the shop and had a great trip out to the launch on the Blackfoot River. James was a super nice and interesting guy that informed us about all sorts of wildlife biology and Montana stuff. Immediately after we launched, James anchored the boat and spent a few minutes teaching my noise buddy how to fly fish. We started catching fish immediately and that lasted throughout the float. I estimate we caught about 40 fish that day, nothing bigger than 16” that day but lots of good fights. James served us some great locally made sandwiches and pasta salads for lunch where we could take in the unique beauty of the Blackfoot River and surrounding area. Both my buddy and I learned quite a bit from James before Day’s end. I can’t recommend BRO or James any higher - they were both awesome!
Written September 11, 2021
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Dave
2 contributions
Sep 2021
Blackfoot River Outfitters (BRO) organized four fantastic days fishing western Montana’s Clark Fork, the Little Blackfoot, the West Fork of the Bitterroot and Rock Creek. My two sons and I spent four full days - two days floating with two days wading along some of the best trout waters. Our daily catch and releases included browns, rainbows and cutthroats along with plenty of Mountain Whitefish and a couple of Northern Pikeminnows.
Our guides (Francisco, Chad and Kurt) organized each day and took us to the best fishing pools, riffles and runs on each stream. BRO’s guides are knowledgeable, professional and patient. Francisco who was with us for three of the four days was exceptional. He coached and taught us along the way to ensure we had the best results and an exceptional fishing experience. Chad and Kurt each offered advice and guidance without being over bearing. Both Chad and Kurt worked with the three of us to make sure we met our goals.
BRO is my go-to-place and I would highly recommend it to anyone planning on fishing the Clark Fork, Blackfoot an/or Bitterroot.
Our guides (Francisco, Chad and Kurt) organized each day and took us to the best fishing pools, riffles and runs on each stream. BRO’s guides are knowledgeable, professional and patient. Francisco who was with us for three of the four days was exceptional. He coached and taught us along the way to ensure we had the best results and an exceptional fishing experience. Chad and Kurt each offered advice and guidance without being over bearing. Both Chad and Kurt worked with the three of us to make sure we met our goals.
BRO is my go-to-place and I would highly recommend it to anyone planning on fishing the Clark Fork, Blackfoot an/or Bitterroot.
Written September 28, 2021
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Lyle T
3 contributions
Jun 2021
Fantastic!- My son and I went on our first fly fishing trip ever. We had no experience and not really big fishing people. We had hoped to have 2 night camping, but for safety reasons we moved to 3 day trips. Our guide was unbelievable! He did a great job of coaching, guiding, rowing, and placing us in on the fish despite not the best of fishing conditions. We wanted to see Montana and have a great father son experience and he could not have done a better job! He went out of his way to take us to 3 different location (Even going different ways so we could see more) and if we did what he said, we either got the bites or hooked the fish. Just a thrilling experience for my son and I, we will always have a great memory because of his efforts. Blackfoot did a great job keeping us informed and getting us the information we needed. They really gave us the right information and help set our expectations. I just found them online and was impressed with how they handled my call so I went with them. If you are an experience angler and book Ryan, I think he knows where every trout hides in each river. I cannot see how you would not learn something from him if you listen. Just a great experience all around and fantastic from booking to coming home! Thank you Ryan! (Note: If you book with these guys, you need to anticipate a good tip for them. This is hard work and I was happy to over tip!)
Written June 8, 2021
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Kristin R
Chicago, IL5 contributions
Apr 2021
Blackfoot River Outfitters is simply the BEST. We've fished with the same guides the past few years and have nothing but positive things to say. I'm hesitant to name them for fear that they may be booked in the future, but I'll accept the risk and HIGHLY recommend that you fish with either Kurt or Ricky. They are both incredibly knowledgeable about the rivers, they know where every big brown and rainbow trout is lurking, and are phenomenal teachers. In fact, this last trip, I told Kurt I wanted to learn how to read the water and he took the time and care to teach me what he looks for. He even quizzed me at the end! He's also the hardest working guide I know. He will row backwards time and time again to catch the big brownie he knows is there or to give us more opportunities to catch hungry fish. Kurt and Ricky love being out on the water and have a clear passion for what they do, and ensuring their anglers have the best time while out on some of the most beautiful rivers in the world. Don't even think twice about it. Book your trip today, and while I believe all guides with Blackfoot are excellent, our personal experiences is with Ricky and Kurt, who we absolutely love and will continue to fish with for years to come.
Written April 30, 2021
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Hi:
I am trying to plan a few day fishing trip for me and my boyfriend in late August/early September. Your company has Great reviews but I am also looking for a fishing lodge to stay out. We want the full Montana experience. I looked at Paws Up which seems amazing but out of our price range. Are there any low key lodges you could recommend. ?
THanks. I appreciate your help.
Jen
Written January 29, 2017
krutar homestead! words can't describe! 7 miles from ovando mt. we stayed there twice it's so wonderful & met blackfoot outfitters guide on the river 10 minutes away...
Written March 16, 2017
Does Blackfoot River Outfitters accommodate walk-ins that would like a guided trip?
Written December 9, 2015
We try to accommodate everyone who would like to try fly fishing or is maybe in town for a quick business meeting. If our guide schedule allows we will do our best to get you on the water the same day.
Written December 9, 2015
Does Blackfoot River Outfitters pick up and drop off at my hotel?
Yes....our guides will pick you up and bring you back to your hotel each day. Many of our clients will do this to not have to rent a car during their stay here in Missoula. We cater to your schedule as well - just let us know what time you would like to be picked up and if you would like to be back in time for cocktails....happy to oblige!
Written December 9, 2015
Yes....our guides will pick you up and bring you back to your hotel each day. Many of our clients will do this to not have to rent a car during their stay here in Missoula. We cater to your schedule as well - just let us know what time you would like to be picked up and if you would like to be back in time for cocktails....happy to oblige!
Written December 9, 2015
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