Yippee! Friend drew a tag to float the Smith River, first week in June. We are planning a four night float. He lives in Bozeman and has been after me to do this trip with him for a long time.

It sounds like the fishing is very good, but also the entire experience of scenery, river, camping is incredible.

Anyone ever float the Smith and have any suggestions or tips, please pass them along.

JG

As a former Montana[never got to the Smith] my only advice would be listen to your friends advice,re clothing and tackle.
Sounds like fun,never heard any bad stories of those floats.

Why do you need to draw a tag in order to fish the river?

Congrats Jersey. We tried, but no luck drawing a permit this year. Should be a great trip. Enjoy.

Too many -at one time it was getting as bad as the Madison during the Salmon fly hatch.lol
This way those that win can have a pleasurable experience.

TYOUNG-

This is a cut and paste from Wikipedia. Once on the Smith, you can't get off for 50ish miles. So it has to be a multiple day float. Due to a limited season (runoff) and limited camping, and to avoid over congestion on the river permits are necessary. The Smith apparently offers opportunities at very fine fishing, but the Canyon is beautiful. My friend calls it the Grand Canyon of Montana. There are many guide sites that offer floats on the Smith. They have lots of pictures and information.

JG

Noted for its spectacular scenery and blue-ribbon trout fishery, the Smith River is unique in that it has only one public put-in and one public take-out for the entire 59-mile (95 km) segment of river. Boat camps located along the remote river canyon help preserve the unique quality of this area. The Smith River between Camp Baker and Eden Bridge is the only river corridor managed by Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks as a permitted river. Permits for private floats on the Smith River are allocated to the public via a lottery system prior to the spring season. Permit applications are typically available the first week of January each year, with an application deadline of mid-February.[3]

congrats jersey , i had an invite from a guide about ten yrs ago to float the smith, what an idiot i was to turn it down !!

Awesome!

JG,

You're one lucky guy! Floating the Smith is supposed to be AWESOME! There is a guy who frequents my local fly shop and he and his buddies float the Smith every summer with one of the outfitters. This guy raves about that trip. It's on my FF bucket list! Enjoy and please post some pics when you return.

-B