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Dearborn
River
May
19th - June 15th 2007
Every
Spring, I get to take a handful of lucky anglers down
the incredible Dearborn River. The season is
short, but the fishing and scenery are almost unrivaled
in Montana. "A wilderness experience done in a
day", is the best way to describe this memorable float
trip. Those who have done it rebook year after
year.
The Dearborn starts high in the mountains of the Front
Range.
After briefly running across the high ranch country of
Central Montana, the Dearborn falls 20 miles through an
incredible canyon to it's confluence with the Missouri.
This Canyon section provides excellent habitat for fish
and game, and spectacular scenery for the angler.
Sheer cliffs tower hundreds of feet above as you float
the river, making it difficult to keep your eye on your
fly. For much of the float, there are no houses,
roads or people. The river flows entirely through
private land with no public access.
While fishing the Dearborn, you will encounter numerous
small rainbows that are eager to strike any fly
presented properly. You will also encounter larger
Rainbows that run up from the Missouri to spawn during
the spring. It's the large Brown Trout, however,
that can provide spectacular fishing. These Browns
run from 18 to 24 inches (sometimes larger), and are
extremely strong and aggressive. Not easy to fool,
they often are found lurking in the many deep cliff
pools in the canyon.
Anglers planning on fishing the Dearborn need to keep
one thing in
mind; to catch fish on this river, you need to
use the methods that will work on that particular day.
One day may involve streamer fishing, the next dry
flies. While
great dry fly fishing does occur, it is not very
dependable. You may not like throwing streamers,
but that is often exactly what works. Once you've
launched the boat you're there for the day. If you
try to turn it into something it's not, you'll likely
end up disappointed.
Floating the Dearborn requires 10 to 13 hours, so it
does make for a long day. Typically we leave for
the river at 6:00 am, and do not pull off until 8:00 or
later. You will spend the day in a raft which is
not nearly as comfortable as a driftboat. We will
try to stop periodically to stretch our legs and make a
few casts if conditions and flows permit.
Obviously we take a break for lunch.
Booking a Dearborn Trip
Booking a Dearborn trip itself is very tricky. The
river opens for fishing on Montana's general stream
opener (May 19, 2007), and the float season usually
lasts until June 15th at the latest. The Dearborn
is prone to quick floods, but it subsides quickly as
well. Most customers book 3-4 days, and hope to do
the Dearborn once or twice. If we feel that
conditions on the Dearborn aren't conducive to good
fishing, we will fish the Missouri instead . Not a
bad backup plan if you think about it! Late-May
and early-June is one of the best times to hit the 'Mo.
Give us a call if you think you might want to give this
beautiful river a try. We will be more than happy
to answer any questions you have about it. |
