So what in the world is a fly shop guy in Bozeman, Montana talking about fishing for bass, Sauger, Walleye and other “non-game species” for? That is a legitimate question. After all, we are in the heart of trout country — is there nothing else to talk about? Certainly, there are thousands of fly fishing topics on which to touch on, the thing is, they are always being beaten to death in every magazine or book and if you’ve read one, then you’ve read them all — “Improve Your Fish Catching With This One Simple Nymphing Trick,” or “The Top 10 Flies to Catch More Trout On” and on and on ad nauseam. As a reader of fishing magazines and articles I personally get bored of people talking about the same things all of the time. There are only so many ways to catch fish, there are really only so many techniques, so many flies, so many presentation styles that eventually it makes you wonder what will they come up with next to keep the reader engaged?

So I figured that if a fly shop guy in the middle of Trout Mecca can talk about something other than trout, it might be worth a read. Plus, when you’ve grown up and spent most of your adult life pursuing trout on a fly rod, it’s a ton of fun to go chase around warm water species with unconventional fly tackle and see all the strange looks you get. If for nothing else when you pull up to a fishing access in Eastern Montana with a fly rod and a box of flies, you will get the proverbial “what are you fishing for?” look from all the locals. It’s also one of the best ways to find out more about that area’s fisheries as they don’t perceive you as a threat, but rather as a peculiarity worth talking to. They are likely thinking that certainly, this weirdo out here with this high falutin’ fly rod contraption isn’t going to catch all of our fish. Without their help, they would probably be right, but some of the kindest and friendliest people are found on and along the warm water fisheries of Montana so always ask for help and advice, always.

Now, if you’re going to get into some species other than trout around Montana you’re probably going to need to head North and East of Bozeman — the best areas for good warm water fishing are East of Billings. Past that you’re on your own to grab a gazetteer and a guide book and start exploring, you’re certainly not going to get me to give up my “Eastern Montana Hot Spots” without a lot of coaxing and prying. But a good place to start is talking to the local Fish Wildlife and Park offices in an area you’re thinking of visiting and seeing what species are available. Or you can simply go online to FWP’s website and look up a geographic area and it will list fisheries in the area and species present in those fisheries. Unlike trout fisheries in Montana, you won’t find detailed guide books for where to fish for Smallmouth Bass or Sauger or pike or drum. But an adventurous angler can certainly do a little bit of research and narrow it down.

Setting out for a warm water adventure should not be taken lightly, after all, you’re likely going to be more out of your element with a fly rod on a bass pond than you are trying to find a fly to match the hatch on a local stream. But that’s half the fun, exploring the unknowns of new waters for new species that you haven’t pursued on a fly rod yet. Certainly, Carp aren’t new to the fly fishing arena, neither are Smallmouth Bass or Largemouth Bass or even Walleye. But when you start talking about pursuing these “rough fish” in Montana and you’ll certainly raise a few eyebrows at a fly shop in the more refined parts of trout country. So where do you turn for your fishing information on that body of water you’re interested in checking out? Well, the local hardware stores and bait and tackle shops are the best place to start looking for info. Stroll down the aisles of dusty spin rods, plastic swim baits, bell sinkers and half-empty lure selections and you might run into a shop hand or local that if you ask the right questions might help you out with what is working. More often than not you’ll get answers like “they like blue and silver Rapalas” or “the big gold spinners work well over on Flanders’ property over by the bridge” and it’s these little nuggets that will give you the information you need to formulate your plan of attack. Obviously fly selection matters, so keep in mind those color hints they give you at the local tackle stores, it will come in handy, trust me.

Now when switching gears from cold to warm water pursuits, be prepared to bring along mostly subsurface patterns, this isn’t the best place to pursue finned creatures on surface flies. Think meaty stuff to fool your warm water game species — stuff like crayfish, minnows, sculpins, a wide variety of baitfish and flies that mimic all of those general creatures. Whether you decide to dead drift the aforementioned patterns underneath an indicator or give them some action by stripping or bumping them along, you’ll definitely want to make sure and have some weight to get the flies down. I would recommend sinking lines for streamers and plenty of split shot for nymphing. It’s not to say you can’t catch fish occasionally on a dry fly, but once you see the water clarity you face in many of the warm water fisheries, you’ll know why dry flies aren’t going to catch you lots of fish.

Finally don’t forget everything you know about trout behavior and holding spots. Many of the same places you find trout — seam lines, below riffles, in deeper holes — are going to be the same places you find the warm water fish. Just because they aren’t trout doesn’t mean that they don’t feed in the same types of places. So as you set out on your warm water adventure, just picture that river or pond like it had trout in it, and then wait to see what you pull out, the mixed bag is worth all the trouble — even for a trout fanatic like me.

Kris Kumlien is the General Manager at Montana Troutfitters and can be found rambling about anything to do with fishing at www.troutfitters.com