parks' fly shop

Our fishing family had a great three-boat, half-day float on the Yellowstone River with Richard and two of his guides.The fly shop is well stocked with appropriate tackle.

The morning is crazy busy at the shop as guides and customers do paperwork, gear up, and make arrangements for their day of fishing. The weather is always front and center in every conversation because it impacts the creeks and rivers which are the life blood of this town. Richard has his finger on the pulse of what’s happening to the Yellowstone River and all of the other drainages in the Park so he can put you in the right spot at the right time. His guides are enthusiastic, especially Ben “Statue of Liberty, baby!!!” illustrating the proper hook setting technique for brookies. Richard delighted us with story after story about the people, the river, the geology, the changes, and of course, the fishing while rowing a drift boat down the river in less than ideal weather. I truly believe that Park’s Fly Shop delivers the most awesome experience you could possibly have in Yellowstone.

I have made 3 trips to YNP over the past 5 years. I have never been disappointed by Parks Fly Shop. Many years of experience and some great guides. I would never dream of using anyone else. Mr. Parks has directed me to some of the finest streams and rivers that I have ever fished. He can tell you exactly what fly to use and what time of day to fish.

Arranged three boats to float the Yellowstone. Got confused and thought I had to decide if the river was fishable. Stooped in had a talk with Mr. Parks and he explained they would tell us if the river was not fishable and assured me they would know. We ended up with a very fishable river. My son and his girlfriend had Ben as a guide. Ben is a highly energetic guide and was happy to take the two on their first float. They had a very good time with Ben and caught lots of cutthroat. My father and one of my old high school teacher had Richard Parks. Richard was great with them. Of course with decades of time guiding he had them entertained with stories and lore when they were changing flies or rigging up. They had a fantastic time with Richard. My wife are I had Walter as a guide. I wanted to fish with Walter since I have been following his you tube video on the many patterns the shop uses to great success. I also have his book on the flies as well as Richard's book on fishing the greater Yellowstone area. Walter worked well helping my wife catch her first float trip cutthroat trout in the boat. He was very good to fish with and knows the river extremely well. I have to say I have been coming out to fish this area for decades and have always found the shop and it's people very good to deal with. Great shop, book a trip and have a great time.

Thank you for your review.Phil will not be taking any more trips for us due to this error.I want to clarify for readers that the reviewer demanded a discount. We would certainly have run the trip for the normal amount of time (4-6 hours from door to door) if we had been able to start an hour later due to our guide problem. I simply needed the hour to get my gear together. I am sorry the reviewer was under the impression that we were simply going to take an hour away from their trip and still charge the regular rate. This was not the case.

Richard Parks has a reputation for knowing the local fisheries, and has great selection of flies and gear. We liked the shop a lot. Drift boat trip on the Yellowstone was great-fishing was superb with many opportunities to catch fish and we did. The only downside to this day long adventure was our guide although technically very good at running the drift boat, assisting with fly selection and coaching us on how to fish this river which is very different from the other multiple drift boat trips we had been on, he was not especially personable and it appeared that he would have preferred to be elsewhere. At one point he called the shop and requested a day off stating he was "burnt". This is not something we had ever experienced before with a guide-this was a trip of a lifetime for us, and the guides attitude was not very professional at times. he was very quick to return fish to the river with such statements as "it's not a trophy no need for pictures". We certainly want the fist to survive as we always practice catch and release but we did feel very rushed to try and snap a quick picture. It was unfortunate as this was the last day of our trip and we had been looking forward to enjoying this day together. Overall this was a great day of fishing that could have been better with a few more smiles from the guide and a reminder to him that although he may do this everyday-many of us will never return to fish the Yellowstone so every fish is a trophy to us.

Parks fly shop offers expert advice and the equipment you will need for good fishing in the Yellowstone area. I have fished with them for years and find them to be extremely knowledgeable on this region. All the guides are good. Ben is particularly "gung ho" and will work his butt off for you.

I've done 3 guided trips with Park's, shopped there many many times, and am consistently impressed with the shop and guides. It's clear these guys know what the hell they are doing and love doing it. My most recent trip was with Ben, who is truly a fisherman's fisherman. This guy is NUTS about fishing and has as much fun putting clients on fish than if he were catching them himself. I've been fly fishing in Montana most of my life, but my friend on this particular trip was on his second day ever. Ben knew exactly what to do so that we both had a GREAT time. The big rivers were muddy that day, so we headed out to the upper Gardiner river in the morning, a drop-dead gorgeous hike, and we netted loads of beautiful brookies in 2-3 hours, and the day just got better from there. We then headed to another smaller stream that had much more technical fishing and absolutely nailed the prettiest cuttbows and rainbows I've ever seen. What a day. All in all, I've probably done 30-40 guided trips in the past, and this trip was THE BEST I'VE EVER HAD. I am definitely coming back next summer for more, and more, and more...Aside from the guide trips, the shop is fantastic. Nobody knows as much about fishing in Yellowstone than Richard Parks, in fact he literally "wrote the book" on it. He has imparted his abundance of knowledge on the shop staff, and they will steer you in the right direction. Yellowstone is a dynamic place and the rivers and streams are constantly changing, these guys know all the places to hit and when to hit them.

Took a hike to the Black Canyon of the Yellowstone with Ben in July 2013. After an hour and a half hike we came to a deserted stretch of the river. This half mile stretch of river was teeming with eager Yellowstone Cutthroat trout. The fishing was fairly easy and with Bens encouragement and knowledge my son and I caught many trout. It was the type of trip you dream of taking. If walking isn't your thing they also offer float trips on the Yellowstone. Give them a try. Call early.

Thanks for the review and we'll see you this summer!Walter put the photo of your brown on our website. Go to the Guided Trips Page, then to the River Float Trips Page.

We are sorry you found our attitude problematic. We do, however, stand by our suggestions as to where to take clients. Yellowstone Park is a great place to learn how to fly fish, but the area's larger and/or spookier fish are unkind to beginners, so for a first fly fishing trip we always suggest going for small, aggressive fish instead of the big ones that see lots of pressure from experienced anglers. This gives you a lot of chances to learn how to recognize strikes, play fish, etc., and gives you a much better foundation for when you go for bigger fish next time. Other outfitters in the area offer similar advice.You certainly don't need to have a perfect cast to go for larger fish and we apologize if this is the impression we gave, but some experience is necessary. Information on what to expect and what kind of experience is recommended for each type of trip we offer can be found in the Guided Trip FAQ section of our website.Incidentally, around 25% of our guiding business comes from beginners, around 90% of whom we take to smaller streams for lots of smaller fish.

i have not taken one of their trip, but as a local, Parks is a very good company when it comes to flyfishing. They know the Yellowstone River and the greater Yellowstone NP are like the back of their hand: they have been in business for decades, in fact 2013 marks their 60th anniversary. That type of expertise is hard to beat. And for great lodging, check our the Gardiner Guest House, which is a Montana B&B where you are going to get a very warm welcome. Highly recommended.

My wife and I had a wonderful time. The guys at the shop were able to squeeze us in with short notice. Our guide Wilson gave us some quick instructions and we were both catching fish in 5 minutes. We hiked in a mile, it felt like we had the whole park to ourselves. We even got to see a bear on our way out.

This is the first time we have responded to a review in quite some time, but this one is so problematic and in our opinion misleading that we feel we must. Before responding in detail to some of the issues raised in the review, we want to make readers aware of one thing in particular: the reviewer WAS NOT charged for his trip. Our guide charged only the single-person rate since the reviewer's wife was the only person who fished.Now, to address the other issues:---First, it is important to state categorically that I was not informed of any knee problems that would impact the reviewer's mobility when I took the booking. The first our guide learned of these issues was when the group began hiking and the reviewer's wife told our guide. We specifically ask about mobility issues and have a space to discuss them in our booking documentation, but I was told only that the reviewer was in his 60s and okay shape; we take numerous people in their 60s in okay shape to this area. Moreover, our guide described in detail where the group would be fishing, the hike to get there, and what the water would be like both before the group left the shop and when they started walking, and the reviewer never suggested this would be a problem. I should note to any readers that the hike involved is less than 1.5 miles, half of which is on a heavily traveled trail, and that we take 30-40 anglers per year to this area, almost all beginners, ranging in age from 8-75. In the week this reviewer and his wife fished with us, we took five other beginner parties to the same location. In addition to Walter, both another guide on our staff (age 67) and I (age 70) guide at this location multiple times per season.---Second, both Walter and our shop staff suggested the reviewer rent wading shoes because the fishing plans changed. I did indeed initially tell the reviewer he wouldn't need wading shoes. Most people do not need them when fishing the location I had in mind when taking the booking. Unfortunately, and as our staff explained, this location fished very poorly the day before the reviewer's trip, making a change of venue necessary. The spot where the group wound up going has slicker rocks and faster water but is a shorter distance off the road, making wading boots more important than walking shoes. Our staff explained this when the reviewer was trying on wading shoes. The reviewer saw the logic in this and agreed both to rent shoes and to changing fishing locations. In regards to the fit of the boots, compromises are indeed made in regards to fit since the boots are not available in half-sizes and are optimized for walking in the water rather than hiking, and as such they don't fit as well as we would like. I should note that over 75% of our beginner walk-trip clients choose to rent wading shoes. ---Third, when our guide saw the reviewer was having trouble (approximately 200 yards and less than five minutes from the parking lot) and again described the walk ahead, including the fact that the footing got rougher, he offered to take the reviewer elsewhere. The reviewer SPECIFICALLY stated he did not wish to do so, and that the only issue was that the group would need to go slowly. It does not seem reasonable to us for the reviewer to complain about the difficulty of the walk beyond this point, since he made the decision for the group to continue.---Fourth, we wish to make clear that if we had been made aware of the extent to which the reviewer's knees make walking problematic, we would have either refused the booking or booked his party for a float trip. As various members of our staff stated at various times during the booking process and our guide stated during the trip, the water suitable for beginners that sits next to the road gets fished very hard all season and no longer produces fish with any regularity by early fall. This means walking is required. The spot I had in mind when I took the booking actually requires a longer walk (almost twice as long) than the spot where the reviewer's party wound up going. In addition, it has footing that is just as questionable on the streambanks, including rocks, logs, marshy areas, etc. There are no walk-in fisheries in the Yellowstone area that do not at times require anglers to climb over logs, negotiate uneven ground, climb down steep undercut streambanks, wade calf-deep water that can be swift at times, negotiate marshy terrain, bypass boulders, etc. ---Finally, if the reviewer and his wife were so upset with the trip, we wish this had brought it to our attention directly. In fact, this negative review came as quite a surprise, since Walter was tipped quite well by the reviewer's wife, who stated at the time that she had enjoyed fishing. ---If anyone reading this review or our response to it would like more information, I encourage you to contact me directly at the fly shop.Richard Parks, Owner

Did a full day with Phil as my guide. It was slow because of silt form the rain. But we caught plenty and some nice large cutthroat trout. Phil is an easy going guide that knows his stuff well and knows every part of the river!The shop itself carries some attitude, but has great flies and the staff is knowledgeable and will offer information to help you catch some decent fish.