BY MAX SALZBURG

Trout Skills With Simon Gawesworth & Matt Heron - Missouri River

April 30 - May 5, 2024

Missouri River, Montana

Join Far Bank Enterprises' Education and Engagement Manager Simon Gawesworth for a highly educational, in-depth Trout School on the Missouri River in Montana.

Whether you are a seasoned fly angler or new to the sport, this trip to Montana with Simon Gawesworth is sure to be an exciting and educational adventure. Simon will be traveling with the latest Sage fly rods and RIO fly lines perfectly matched for the Missouri River. Students will learn in the classroom on select mornings and evenings and spend the first day learning to cast with Simon and Matt. The second day of the course is designed to teach anglers how to fish with dry flies, nymphs and indicators, streamers and soft hackles. The remaining two days concentrate on putting into practice the skills learned with two days of guided fishing with top Montana guides.

Far Bank Fly Fishing Schools are designed so that students leave the course with all the knowledge and skills needed for a lifetime of enjoyment in fly fishing. We do this by keeping the instructor to student ratio to an absolute minimum. On group lesson days there will be a maximum of 4 students per instructor, and on the putting-into-practice fishing days, only two guests per professional guide.

Group Size: 8 students  (a minimum of 6 students is needed to run the school.)

Itinerary: 

  • April 30: Arrive Wolf Creek Lodge, Montana
  • May 1: Classroom and casting sessions with Simon and Matt 
  • May 2: Morning classroom session, full day of casting lessons with Simon and Matt
  • May 3: Full day of guided fishing with Get The Drift Outfitters
  • May 4: Full day of guided fishing with Get The Drift Outfitters
  • May 5: Depart lodge

Rate: $3,400 per person based on double occupancy for this 5 night/ 4 day school - $4,400 per person based on single occupancy (only 2 single rooms available)

Included:

  • Use of Sage and RIO demo gear
  • Accommodations
  • All meals and non-alcoholic beverages at the lodge
  • Fishing instruction
  • Guided fishing with Get The Drift Outfitters
  • Tax

Not Included:

  • Airfare
  • Transportation to/from the lodge
  • Alcohol
  • Fishing license
  • Guide and staff gratuities

Note: Guided Fishing services provided by Get the Drift Outfitters LLC, Mark Raisler; Montana Board of Outfitters MBO Lic. #9031 

Learn more about your Host and Chief Instructor

Meet Matt Heron

Matt grew up catching trout and bass in the historic Adirondack Mountains of upstate NY. Not long after he became obsessed with chasing migratory steelhead, brown trout, and salmon in the Great Lakes' tributaries. When Matt got his first rod and reel from Sage in 1991, he had no idea it would set the course for his long and productive career within the fly fishing industry.



Today Matt runs his fly fishing school and outfitter, Matt Heron Fly Fishing in Truckee, CA near Lake Tahoe. His school at Everline Resort is widely recognized as one of the premier fly fishing education programs in the country. His team of guides focuses primarily on daily classes in the summer and the year-round guiding on the Truckee and Little Truckee Rivers, and surrounding fisheries.

Matt is a featured presenter and caster for the International Sports Expos and the Fly Fishing Show every year on the west coast. He’s a past winner of the Best of the West casting competition and a Fly Fishers International Certified Casting Instructor.

Matt also serves as the Regional Director for the Reno/Tahoe chapter of Cast Hope.

His professional affiliations include Sage, RIO, Simms and Costa.

Suggested Montana Trout Gear

In addition to finding the right water, having the right gear can help make any day that much better.  For over 20 years Fly Water Travel has been fly fishing's most trusted and respected source for finding the right water.  Now, along with Sage, RIO Products, and Redington, Fly Water Travel is a proud member of the Far Bank Enterprise Family.  As part of this larger team, we are able to access decades worth of manufacturing passion and knowledge enabling us to expand our role to include in-depth advice on the world's best rods, reels, lines, and flies. 

MULTI-APPLICATION SETUP