Land of the Giants

Location, Scenery History and Access

Fly Fishing the “Land of the Giant’s,” section on the Missouri River is a destination place. It is known for hard fighting trophy trout and the special big sky type country you will be surrounded in. This short but spectacular 3-mile section of river is located just 30 Minutes north of Helena, MT on the Missouri River. It is a tailwater type river that runs through a mountainous limestone canyon, within the Gates of the Mountains Wilderness, out of Hauser Dam and pours into Upper Holter Reservoir. The history, scenery, and wonderful experience alone make the entire trip worthwhile for some. The other side of Upper Holter Reservoir is where Lewis and Clark rowed through on their canoes to explore the west and named this scenic stretch of area, “The Gates of the Mountains,” on July 19th in 1805. Learn more about the history here!

There are two ways to access the “Land of the Giants,” fishing section on the Missouri River. one can either hike in after a long drive around and through Helena National Forest or by Jet Boat across Upper Holter Reservoir into the canyon itself. There are not many places in the lower 48 where good trout fishing is required by Jet boat. Although, this section of river is necessary because of the limited access, and the Jet boat provides great fishing opportunities as well. As a result, many individuals don’t even blink an eye when deciding to use a Jet boat guide or not for fishing this location, the Jet boat is necessary. Daily Fly-fishing guide rates in the Gates of the Mountains area are typically more expensive than other guide days elsewhere in the state but there are extra costs involved with this location. These include the annual permit fees, boat gas, and the price of the specialty Jet boat itself.

There are a limited number of Fly-Fishing guides for this section of river, 50 within the entire state, because of the required grandfathered L1 commercial land access permit and the commitment itself it takes to be a guide at the “Land of the Giants.” Fly-Fishing guides within this stretch of river are required to have a seaworthy USCG (United States Coast Guard) Captain’s license, in order to operate the caliber of boats being used for access into the canyon itself. Renewing a captain’s license and upkeeping the complex Jet boat impeller system for this section of river, to say the least, is a lot of work. As a result, there is a lot of discipline and experience needed to guide this section of river. One that books a fishing trip with a certified, “Land of the Giants,” Fly-Fishing guide can almost always be certain that they are knowledgeable, dependable, rugged, and top-notch. This small elite group of guides specialize in this specific section of river and have most likely seen it all. Remember, they had to have fished it the longest to have been grandfathered into the commercial fishing access permit itself.

Fly-Fishing the “Land of the Giants,” and Upper Holter Reservoir

The name of this fishing section, “Land of the Giants,” is named after the mere size of the trout that exists in this portion of the river and Upper Holter Reservoir. An expected and typical guided day of Fly-Fishing the Gates of the Mountains area in either the reservoir or river both start off first by meeting your guide in the early morning at the Gates of the Mountains Marina (3131 Gates of the Mountains Rd. Helena, MT 59601).

Many guides will split up the day by fishing in the reservoir in addition to the notorious, “Land of the Giants,” river section, either at the beginning or end of the day. The river section is phenomenal but don’t miss out on the fun that the reservoir has installed as well. Fishing techniques for the river and reservoir consist of either nymphing or streamer fishing because the watershed is so big and deep. Although, occasional dry fly opportunities do present themselves on both. Upper Holter Reservoir has a tremendous amount of weed beds and structural shelves that create a lot of different prolific aquatic fly hatches. As a result, these eagle lake species trout have a variety of food sources, and it makes for good fly-fishing fishing.

These trout in both the river and reservoir are on average 20” with an insane amount of mass and it is not uncommon to find rainbows or browns in the 24-30” range as well. The trout that are found in the “Land of the Giants,” river section is great in size because they come from the reservoir. They primarily reside in Upper Holter Reservoir where their food source is more sustainable in the weed beds, and the water temperature is most consistent. The trout then also become more catchable and concentrated in the shallows when they head upriver for spawn or are looking for colder water. Over the last few years, the river section in the “Land of the Giants,” has provided enough of a stable environment for the trout because of the substantial food source and water flows, that many trout are simply living in the river section full time and keeping their size, instead of the reservoir. As a result, there are more opportunities to catch trout in that section of river and their season to find them is longer, pushing well into late fall.

Fishing from the Jet Boat

One can fish from the Jet Boat itself in the river or reservoir and have an Alaskan type of experience, and it presents a lot of fishing tactic advantages.  “Land of the Giants,” Fly-Fishing designed Jet boats are designed to be maneuvered easily with the use of oars, and a controllable anchor. They are similarly designed and laid out like a drift boat, but they also have a big jet outboard motor on it. The Jet Outboard is usually raised higher than the bottom of the boat so it can’t hit rocks and makes the boat overall shallow drafting. These Jet Boat have many advantages, in addition to access. This includes being able to lap runs where one finds feeding trout and not needing to row against the strong rapids or current and have quick mobility. One can simply start the motor and lap the trout’s location, be out on the water for a half day instead of a full day without any set timing commitments and get off the water early if the weather turns.

The fishing seasons vary in this area because the flows fluctuate, and the reservoir freezes over. The boat ramp typically opens early march, the beginning of the season, and goes to November. I recommend planning early and anticipate a year long wait at minimum. Fishing this section of the river is only growing in popularity and there is a limited selection of guides. Last minute openings DO occur often though, so don’t be afraid to reach out or call for last minute openings, especially if you are in the area!