The LFFE Blog

Filter By Program

Montana Road Trip Expedition - Update 2

Hey everyone! The Montana Road trip is flying by! It's hard to believe we're about halfway through the trip; fortunately, we still have some great fishing to look forward to. The group is getting along great, having gotten to know each other a little bit and settled into the flow of the trip, we feel like we're firing on all cylinders. We had a couple great days on the Madison - the guys all got...

Rocky Mountain Adventure Update I

Greetings from Rocky Mountain National Park here in colorful Colorado! After scooping up everyone from the airport today, we began our drive through the Front Range of the Rockies toward the Park, enjoying the views along the way. We got to camp and got some of the basics out of the way – knot tying, casting practice, and some of the other basics of fly fishing – before some yummy burgers and what...

Ascension Bay Expedition 23 Recap

Hola from Punta Allen! We have been impressed with the kids skill and determination through the trip. Over the past few days the kids have had dozens of shots casting to the elusive permit and have not given up targeting them. In the mean time the group has landed many more bonefish and some even landed more massive migratory tarpon. Some boats opted for catching large snappers and barracuda from...

Maine to Mass Expedition Update

Dear Parents, Greetings from Nickerson State Park! Today we wrapped up the portion of our trip in the Berkshires floating the Housatonic River for Northern Pike and several different species of bass. The crew had a blast floating two different sections of the river while learning the basics of fly fishing from a canoe (a new experience for most). After our drive from the Berkshires to Cape Cod, we...

Mass Bass Adventure 23 Update 1

Dear Parents, Greetings from the Mass Bass Adventure. The crew arrived in Boston earlier today and made it to the campsite in time for some for some delicious burgers. Hopes are high with thoughts of angry smallmouth and hungry trout. Tomorrow, we kick off the fishing on the Housatonic River right by camp. The river has been low for the past few weeks, but recent rains have brought opportunities...

Thorofare Expedition Arrival Update

Dear parents, Arrival day went by without a hitch, with some spare time to take a short drive to the picturesque mountain town of Jackson, Wyoming. After settling in at the Gros Ventre campsite, the group enjoyed pizza and a few games of ultimate frisbee. Today we drove back into Jackson to get any last-minute flies, snacks, or clothes we might need for the week ahead. In the afternoon, we...

Montana Road Trip Expedition I Update 23

Dear Parents, Greetings from the Montana Road Trip Expedition. After a smooth arrival day at the airport, we made our way to the LFFE base camp just outside the fly fishing Mecca, Ennis. After getting settled in, we took turns cooking up some personal pizzas in our pizza oven. Dinner wrapped up just in time for a quick walk to the top of the property to take in the first of many Montana big sky...

Maine to Mass Expedition - update 2

Hello from Housatonic Meadows State Park in the beautiful Berkshires! This morning we gathered our things and departed from the historic Lakewood Camps before beginning our longest drive of the trip, one filled with music, conversation, and anticipation for the fun that lies ahead. We now sit around a fire, enjoying some pasta and meat sauce while enjoying the exceedingly rare comfort of having...

Ascension Bay - update 2

The Ascension Bay Expedition has been very successful in the first half of our trip. We have fished hard the last three days, and we will be back out there tomorrow, followed by our service project day on Thursday. To this point, everyone has caught lots of fish, a few of us landing very large tarpon (60-100lbs)! We still have two more days of fishing with the guides, so hopefully we're able to...

Maine to Mass Expedition - update 1

Greetings and welcome to the blog for the 2023 Maine to Massachusetts trip! We're writing from Aziscoos Valley Campground on the border of Maine and New Hampshire, just a few miles from Canada, and on the banks of the mighty Magalloway river. The Magalloway is famous among Mainers for its population of Brook trout, landlocked salmon, and scenery and the boys are excited to take advantage. Despite...

Ascension Bay - update 1

The new Ascension Bay Lillard group touched down in Mexico around midday to a bright sun and a crowd of eager smiling faces. Our private shuttles arranged travel from Cancun to our destination of the small town of Punta Allen. The journey from Cancun to Punta Allen is not easy, but well worth it. Along the way, we passed through palm tree groves and sandy coastlines covered in bright, white sand...

2022 Louisiana Redfish Expedition

Planning saltwater trips months in advance is always a gamble. You can pick dates during historically better fishing months, but mother nature always has the final say. Sometimes the wind blows for days. Sometimes the rain comes down in sheets. Sometimes it's too hot, others it's too cold. If you go on enough fly fishing trips, it is inevitable. Eventually, a guide will tell you, "you should have...

2023 Returning Student Discount

We value our returning families more than we can express. Therefore, we are happy to provide them with a returning student discount. The returning student discount will be applied to the final invoice as follows: Any participants who are returning for their second summer adventure/expedition receive a $100 discount. Participants joining us for their third summer adventure/expedition will receive a...

Yellowstone Expedition Update

Hello from Ennis! Our group has just exited our final round of backcountries and the final days of the trip approach us. Before our round of backcountries, we fished some new water, including rivers and lakes containing Arctic Grayling and Westslope Cutthroat on the western edge of the park. In the evening, we huddled around cozy fires for evening feats and smores after lingering thunderstorms...

Yellowstone Expedition Update

Hello from the Madison River campground, Our group has been to some of the most famous places the past week to wet a line in Yellowstone National Park! Including the upper Yellowstone River, Gibbon River, Slough Creek, and the Yellowstone River in the spectacular Grand Canyon. Upon the arrival at the LFFE headquarters in Ennis, MT, we traveled to the Gibbon River to target native Arctic Grayling...

Yellowstone Adventure Update

Greetings again from Canyon Campground on the rim of the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone! Today we wrapped up our last portion of the trip in the Yellowstone front country after a few days of fishing the Snake River, the Upper Yellowstone, Slough Creek, and several smaller creeks around the park. The boys have been having a blast, catching fish, and getting along well. Over the next few days, we...

Colorado Adventure Final Update

Hello all, The Colorado Rocky Mountain adventure has had a fantastic last few days and is coming to a bittersweet end. The last time you heard from us, we had just exited the backcountry of Rocky Mountain National park. The following day we slept in before eating a big breakfast and packing gear. By late morning we had the van loaded up and were on our way to the Colorado river. As you might...

Montana Road Trip Adventure Update

Hello again from the Montana Roadtrip Adventure! We Have been having a ball running around Montana. Last you heard from us we were on the Bighorn River and planning to head back west the next day. But with the fishing as good as it was, leaving was a tough sell for the kids. As the saying goes, never leave fish to find fish. So after a group vote, we extended our stay on the Bighonr one more day...

Colorado Adventure Update

Hello all, The 2022 Colorado Rocky Mountain adventure just exited a successful backcountry! The last time you heard from us, we had just arrived at our front country campsite outside the park and were preparing to enter the backcountry after a bit of fly fishing instruction. The following day we got to fishing the headwaters of the Colorado river. Nearly every kid caught fish that first day and...

Yellowstone Adventure II Update

Hello from Bridge Bay campground in the heart of Yellowstone National Park! This morning we exited our three-day, two-night backcountry trip between Grebe Lake and Cascade Lake, both of which held massive native cutthroat and arctic grayling. We hiked our four miles out, hopped back in the van, and drove to West Yellowstone just outside the park to grab some much-needed showers and do some laundry...

Montana Road Trip Adventure Update II

Greetings from the Montana Road Trip Adventure! We have had a great start to the trip. After gathering everybody at the airport, we headed down to HQ in Ennis, where we started the trip off strong with some pizza, rigging, and knot tying lessons in preparation for the next week. The following day we woke up bright and early to fish the famous upper Madison River. While the fishing was a bit slower...

Colorado Rocky Mountain Expedition Update

Hello all, The 2022 Colorado Rocky Mountain expedition just finished off a strong trip! The last time you heard from us, we had just exited our second backcountry and were getting cleaned up in preparation for our final segment fishing the Colorado river. That night we received some news that water temperatures were getting dangerously high on the Colorado and an all-day fishing closure had been...

Yellowstone Expedition Update

Hello again from the Yellowstone Expedition! We've had an action-packed week in the park filled with incredible fishing and great scenery. Our journey back into Yellowstone started once we left HQ in Ennis. We headed directly to Bridge Bay on Yellowstone Lake, where the group quickly set up camp, ate an early dinner, and prepared for the next day of fishing. The next morning, we woke up bright and...

Yellowstone Expedition Update

Hello to all, It didn’t take us long to want to head back into the park after our laundry and shower day. We camped right on the outside boundary of the park along the Madison River. We got the opportunity to fish some smaller pocket water for hungry brown and cutthroat trout on the Gallatin and smaller creeks nearby. With larger rivers making up the majority of our fishing time on the trip thus...

Yellowstone Adventure Update

Hello from the Bozeman Hot Springs! Tonight we wrap up our wonderful trip with some great BBQ, showers, and some time in the natural hot spring pools here in Bozeman. The past few days have offered a great conclusion to what has been a truly unforgettable trip, as we left Yellowstone about 36 hours ago and have enjoyed fishing around Ennis, MT on some of its world-famous rivers, including the...

Colorado Rocky Mountain Expedition Update

Hello All, The 2022 Colorado Rocky Mountain expedition just finished up an awesome second backcountry trip into the wilderness of Rocky Mountain National Park! The last time you heard from us we had just finished up our first backcountry and were getting cleaned up and resupplied in preparation for our second backcountry. The following day we woke up early, packed up camp, and drove to our...

Yellowstone Adventure Update

Greetings again from Bridge Bay! Today we wrapped up our last portion of the trip in the Yellowstone front country after a few days of fishing the Snake River, the Upper Yellowstone, and several smaller creeks around the park. The boys have been having a blast, catching fish, and getting along really well. We are all extremely excited about our upcoming backcountry trip tomorrow into Slough Creek...

Montana Road Trip Expedition Update

Hello again from the Montana Road Trip. It is hard to believe how fast this trip has gone by. After a great few days of fishing on the Madison River, we packed up camp and headed to a smaller and less pressured stream outside of Ennis. Our first day on the Ruby involved us splitting into two groups to fish in two different sections of the river. The group that chose to go upstream ended up doing...

Yellowstone Expedition Update

Hello to all, Last time you heard from us we were heading into the Snake River backcountry with hopes of seeing some beautiful scenery and catching big fish and did we ever fulfill those goals. After a solid hike on the trail with some snow-capped peaks to keep us company, the boys didn’t take long to land some beautiful snake river cutthroat trout. Our campsite overlooking the river made fishing...

Yellowstone Expedition Update

Hello again from the Yellowstone Expedition! We are currently writing you from the scenic Lillard base camp in Ennis, Montana. This past week has been packed with adventure and there is a lot to report. When we last checked in, the group was gearing up for our first backcountry into the Idaho portion of Yellowstone. We spent the night before our hike near our trailhead on the Falls River. We...

Ready to Enroll?

Click "Enroll Now" or give us a call to get started. You can also send us an email at [email protected].

If you have any questions you can Request Information and we will contact you soon with answers.

Lillard Fly Fishing Expeditions was started in 2010 as a graduate thesis for my Master's Degree in Environmental Conservation Education at NYU. The operating premise was simple - by coupling amazing wilderness fly fishing camps for teens with environmental education and service learning we can help inspire future generations of fly fishing conservationists. We have been growing our unique list of trips and experiences ever since.

When it comes to choosing a summer program for your teen the options are endless. For the teen who loves to fish, be outside, and has a strong sense of adventure we have made the choice easy. We are the leader in teen fly fishing adventures and are dedicated to providing the best backcountry fly fishing experience with opportunities for teens to engage in leadership training, community service, and backcountry camping.

Sincerely,

Will Lillard signature

Will Lillard, Founder/Director/Guide

Contact Us

[email protected]

Lillard Fly Fishing Expeditions
2540 King Road
Pisgah Forest, NC 28768

(828) 577-8204