Bud Lilly's Trout Shop Guide Service

“We booked for early morning fly fishing Oct 15th. Mom and daughter fishing. No experience. Use caution on how you purchase your fishing license. I was not told to make sure I booked for a Yellowstone park specific fishing. Instead, I selected a one day Montana fishing license thinking that covers everything in the state. Wrong. What was most frustrating was that I was at the front desk in the store, physically showed the man behind the counter my license application on my phone, it was a license to fish in Montana and he said yep, looks good! A minute later he says, if you do Montana, you cannot fish in Yellowstone. That requires a park specific license. Holy cow! We JUST drove two hours from south Fork in the early AM to fish in the park, and he says, well…. I didn’t know you wanted to fish in the park. Holy Passive aggressive. I was not spending $25 to fly fish, this was an expensive investment of our time. We should have been in the park, and it was raining and cold, PERFECT day, not a lot of people out, government shut down etc. He should have asked me that question or looked at my reservation notes before saying Yep! Looks good and I hit send…guy did not care at all, and that man was older than our guide. This man wasn’t busy, there were no other customers distracting him, and the dude just left it at that…he knew he’d just seriously disappointed a customer. His problem solving skills were negative ZERO ….good luck with that, byyyeeee kind of attitude, and left our younger guide in an awkward situation to take care of his lousy customer service. Our guide, River was a nice young man, basically thrown under a bus by the desk guy. Which also was a reflection of how that man treats his coworkers and has the potential to ruin their tips (we still tipped, but some people would say screw that over such a disappointment) Obviously, I was not thrilled with the location nor did we catch a single fish, but that wasn’t River’s fault. We still had a nice time. River made for a fun trip and he was a very good teacher. My daughter had a lot of fun. River had to problem solve, and find a location quickly which also took us down a road of pot holes and puddles to Madison River, but thankfully I had a rental car that could accommodate that, so be aware of that potential as well. I’m a mom, just wanted to take my teenage daughter fly fishing in Yellowstone which is like a stones throw from their store. It’s not rocket science for someone who does this for a living. Dude should have paid attention to my question about the fishing license - he negatively affected our trip. I am responsible for choosing the wrong license, but he was no help at all. Just MAKE SURE you have a clear understanding and conversation about where you’d be going to fish and which license that requires when you’re dropping $500-600 for three hours of fishing. I hope the owner(s) recognize that River is a very good guide and he’s more like management material bc he’s a good problem solver and communicates well. That young man loves his job. His passion for fishing is contagious and he was a very friendly helpful person.”

“If you are considering stopping in this shop, do it. Book a fly fishing trip. This spot has the most knowledgeable and kind people. We were privileged to have their best guide, Andy Vincent. Truly the kindest person we’ve ever had the pleasure of meeting. We booked back to back trips with him because one wasn’t enough. He knows amazing spots and is a great teacher! He is very patient and knowledgeable. He could tell you every bug nearby that the fish may be eating. He is a wealth of knowledge. You will leave knowing 100x more about fly fishing. We’ve learned so much and can’t wait to continue on the sport. There are a lot of fly fishing spots around here and while the gear and locations may be the same, the guides and people make all the difference. Stop in here and while you’re at it, ask for Andy, you won’t regret it.”

“Our family stopped in late one afternoon after dinner to inquire about trout fishing locally with a guide or on a boat. We were soon booked for a fishing clinic the very next day. Tristan, at the counter, was very kind and patient and extremely helpful to our entire family. Our guide, Patrick, was extremely informative and gave great instructions for two kids and my husband. He brought us to three separate spots within the park and was beyond kind. He helped my oldest son, catch his first brown trout and made his day. Even though, he lost his phone (first time in five years of doing these trips), he was still as patient and friendly as the moment we arrived. I can’t say enough about how above and beyond he went to make this such a great memory for our family.”