Fly Fishing the Shields River.gif)
 The
Shields River in Montana begins in the Crazy
Mountains and flows for 62 miles to the confluence
with the Yellowstone
River just east of Livingston. Once the river leaves
the mountains, it flows through a very broad and somewhat
arid
valley. The countryside the Shields River flows through is
quite scenic, with the towering Crazy Mountains to the
east
and the equally tall Bridger Range to the west.
For all of its
length, the Shields River is generally very narrow, twists
and turns extensively, has lots of downfall in the river and
can be very shallow later in the summer. The banks of the
Shields River are frequently choked in thick brush, making
walking and casting a challenge. Irrigation use on the river
is also heavy and pulls a lot of the water out of the river
during the summer, although the lower water levels do make
access easier.
Access to the Shields
River is not the best. It flows through private property for
almost its entire length, even in its upper mountainous section.
As a result, access to the river can only be had at the various
bridge crossings. Thankfully, highway and country road bridges
cross the Shields River quite frequently, allowing for decent
if not great access.
Fishing pressure
on the Shields River is extremely low. As the Shields River
is so close to many other better-known rivers, such as the
Yellowstone
River, the Boulder
River and the Missouri
River,
few anglers ever bother to go out of their way to fly fish
this small river.
 The
upper section of the Shields River is home mainly to Yellowstone
cutthroat trout and brook trout, which are small but quite
numerous. Downstream from the town of Wilsall, the Shields
River becomes brown trout water, with some smaller rainbows
also being found. While fish populations are not exceptionally
high, the combination of light fishing pressure, excellent
habitat in some areas, and nutrient heavy water allows the
trout to become quite large.
Fly fishing the
Shields River requires some patience, some effort and good
casting technique. Large brown trout can be found on the Shields
River downstream from Wilsall. However, fish populations are
scattered. Some sections of the river may be devoid entirely
of fish due to lack of cover, low water, man-made ditches
and riverbank erosion. Thus, when fishing the Shields River,
a person will need to walk up or down the river away from
the various bridge crossings, looking for the best habitat
that will hold these larger brown trout.
As always with
brown trout, their preferred habitat is in holes, undercut
banks and around the thickest cover that can be found - such
as downfalls. The Shields River has all of these in abundance,
particularly the downfall. Streamers are the flies of choice
when fly fishing the Shields River. Fish the streamers right
around the prime habitat, using either weights or a sink tip
line to take them down to depth. Since the lower half of the
river is not as clear as many other Montana rivers of similar
size, due to erosion and siltation, darker color streamers
patterns generally work best.
Fall presents the
best time to fish the Shields River. During the fall, many
very large brown trout begin to migrate up from the Yellowstone
River to spawn. This gives an angler who is using a streamer
and can make the necessary and accurate casts an excellent
chance to land a very large brown trout on a very small river.
The best fishing during the fall for these large brown trout
will be found downstream from Clydes Park.
 The
Shields River is a river for wade fishing. Most of the river
is unfloatable, even during high water, due to extensive downfalls,
fences, and irrigation jettys. The only section of the Shields
River that is suitable to floating is downstream from Clydes
Park (the lower 20 miles of the river). However, this section
of the river is generally very narrow and twists and turns
extensively, making float fishing very difficult. For the
recreational floater, this section of the Shields River can
be floated during normal flows, but by late summer floating
on this section will often be impossible due to low water.
Overall, the Shields
River has the potential to be a good fishery, but a combination
of land use practices and heavy irrigation use all take its
toll on the river. And for better or worse, the Montana Fish,
Wildlife and Parks have more or less ignored this river. No
fishing access sites exist on the Shields River and nothing
has been done to reduce siltation and erosion into the river,
which turns what would otherwise be a clear river into a somewhat
cloudy one. Despite this neglect heaped on the Shields River,
it still can offer a diverting trip away from the major rivers,
particularly in the fall.
Stillwater River
: River Miles
- Origin: 61
- Shields River
Campground: 57
- Road Bridge:
52
- Shields River
Road Bridge: 49
- Anderson Road
Bridge: 45
- Coal Camp Road
Bridge: 42
- Shields River
Road Bridge: 37
- Elk Creek Road
Bridge: 35
- Daisy Dean Road
Bridge: 34
- Horse Creek
Road Bridge (Wilsall): 32
- Road Bridge:
29
- Highway 89 Road
Bridge: 23
- Brackett Creek
Road Bridge: 20
- Highway 89 Road
Bridge: 14
- Bangtail Creek
Road Bridge: 10
- Crazyhead Creek
Road Bridge: 4
- Old Stage Road
Bridge: .5
- Confluence with
Yellowstone
River: 0
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