Our Rivers
Gallatin River
The Gallatin River is one of the most accessible and picturesque streams in all of Montana. Beginning in Yellowstone National Park and winding southward past Big Sky into the Gallatin Valley near Bozeman, eventually arriving in Three Forks to join the Madison and Jefferson Rivers to form the Missouri River River, the Gallatin makes a great run through southwest Montana, and it fishes well from top to bottom.
Description
The locals call her ‘The Gally’, and this river may be one of the most accessible streams in all of Montana. From a meandering stream in YNP to a hard-charging mid-sized river in the canyon section to a larger floatable river in the lower portion, the Gallatin has excellent public access all along the way.
Fish Species
The Gallatin River is home to rainbow trout and brown trout, with some reaching impressive sizes.
Fishing Seasons and Techniques
The Gallatin is a year-round wade fishery for both local and traveling anglers. You’ll find folks out working the water most days in winter, especially in March, as temperatures warm a bit and Big Sky skiers look for a break from the slopes and head out to catch some trout.
April and May offer some decent mayfly and midge hatches, but the Gallatin shows its true colors after run-off has subsided in mid to late June. The salmonfly, golden stone, and yellow sally hatches in June and July can be phenomenal, and there’s just nothing like having a fly as long as your ring finger devoured by a trout to get your blood pumping.
Green drakes and pale morning duns will fill out the mayfly hatches for the summer months, along with early morning trico emergences and afternoon caddis flights. After that, it’s hoppers, ants, and beetles to get the trout to look skyward, with a nice baetis hatch in Sept and October to round out the season. Tugging streamers in the fall can be very effective, especially below the canyon, where some big brown trout lurk and get feisty as they prepare to spawn.
Best Areas of the River to Fish
The closer you get to the headwaters of the Missouri river, the larger the fish tend to be and the more open country you’ll get to see along the way as you are on the Gallatin Valley floor. In the Gallatin Canyon near Big Sky, you may have to contend with whitewater rafters and kayakers as much as trout, but above and below are generally quiet and allow ample room to find a few nice rainbow and brown trout.
Best Times of Day to Fish
Early mornings and evenings tend to be the best times to fish the Gallatin River.
Types of Equipment and Flies to Use
A well-presented generic pattern (stimulators, parachute adams, humpys, royal wulffs) will get you plenty of attention on most days. Matching the hatch can be important during specific hatches, but as a general rule of thumb, it is not as important on a river like the Gallatin.
The Gallatin River is another Montana bucket list water that deserves your attention and serves very well as a leg of a Trout Tour through the greater Yellowstone area and beyond.
Madison River
The Madison River is one of the most iconic rivers in Montana, known for its stunning scenery and excellent fishing. This river gets its start deep in Yellowstone National Park and flows generally north toward Three Forks where it joins the Jefferson and Gallatin Rivers to form the Missouri River. Along the way, it cruises by West Yellowstone, Ennis, and in the lower section enters the Gallatin Valley close to Bozeman. It is slowed along the way by two dams creating Hebgen and Ennis Reservoirs, and also by Quake Lake which was formed by an earthquake in 1959. The Madison Mountain Range, home to Big Sky, flanks the river to the east as it flows through the Madison Valley and provides one of the more picturesque backdrops you’ll ever have while you’re busy catching trout.
Description
The Madison River is a tailwater river that has made an amazing rebound from the whirling disease impact of the early ’90s and is fishing better than ever. The ‘50 mile riffle’ section above Ennis is one of the most heavily fished waters in the state for good reason – it’s chock full of hungry brown and rainbow trout that love to eat stoneflies, spruce moths, and grasshoppers all day long. The lower Madison below Ennis Reservoir and Beartrap Canyon is a fantastic early and late-season fishery during the baetis and caddis hatches, but during the summer months the water’s too hot and the tuber crowd from Bozeman takes over the river. Now if you’re looking for a bikini hatch, this is the place to be!
Fish Species
The Madison River is home to brown trout, rainbow trout, cutthroat trout, and whitefish.
Fishing Seasons and Techniques
The Madison River is a year-round fishery and can often produce well in the late winter and early spring, especially the lower end closer to Bozeman, Montana, with midges and baetis. The post-run-off summer and fall seasons are the highlights here, as the stonefly hatches above Ennis are what dreams are made of.
Salmonflies and golden stoneflies will come off in amazing numbers for a couple of weeks beginning in late June or early July to kick things off, and it only gets better from there. The caddis and mayfly hatches will carry things through the summer, along with the spruce moth hatch, until the trout start keying in on terrestrials.
Best Areas of the River to Fish
The “50 mile riffle” section above Ennis is a highly productive area, but also highly crowded during peak season. The lower Madison below Ennis Reservoir and Beartrap Canyon is a great area for early and late-season fishing during the baetis and caddis hatches.
Best Times of Day to Fish
Early mornings and evenings tend to be the best times to fish the Madison River.
Types of Equipment and Flies to Use
A well-presented stonefly or terrestrial pattern (stimulators, Chernobyl ants, hoppers) can be highly effective on the Madison River. Matching the hatch is also important during specific hatches, such as the salmonfly hatch.
Access and Regulations
The Madison River is heavily fished, so it’s important to be aware of access points and regulations. It is primarily a drift boat river, but wade fishing is also an option in certain areas.
The Madison River is a must-fish destination for any angler visiting Montana, and it serves as a great leg of a Trout Tour through the greater Yellowstone area and beyond.
Missouri River
The Missouri River near Craig, Montana is a broad tailwater river and is considered by many to be a true Montana trout fly fishing mecca. The Mo, as the locals call her, is our home water and arguably the most consistent fishery in the Rocky Mountain West and productive wild trout fishery in the lower 48. This river is best described as a gigantic spring creek where the rainbow trout grow fast and strong, the brown trout become husky and cunning, and the backdrops are just as gorgeous as the fish.
Description
The Missouri River is a large, tailwater river that is known for its excellent fishing opportunities. It is a year-round fishery, but the best fishing typically occurs between March and November, with May through October being the prime time season.
Fish Species
The Missouri River is home to rainbow trout, brown trout, cutthroat trout, and mountain whitefish.
Fishing Seasons and Techniques
We cover all the bases in terms of technique on the Missouri, regularly fishing nymphs, streamers, and dry flies. Deep nymphing is definitely the way to keep the action lively and catch more fish, which is especially handy for newer anglers. We also enjoy tugging streamers to trigger the predator response from our larger trout (And sometimes walleye!), but the dry fly fishing is why people travel from around the world to come to the Missouri River.
Insect Hatches
The Missouri River will amaze you with its aquatic insect hatches, average fish size, and an overall population of big rainbow trout and brown trout. Arguably, the Missouri River has no equal when it comes to consistently sight fishing dry flies for rising trout. The Missouri River is an insect factory, pumping out hatch after hatch throughout the seasons.
Midges and Blue-winged Olives will hatch from late March through May. Caddis will arrive in early May, leave in June and then come back in July and usually stay through the fall. There is rarely a day on the Missouri where we can’t get any trout to eat a caddis, even into late October.
The Pale Morning duns arrive in June and this hatch usually corresponds with the end of run-off. Tricos will appear sometime in mid-July to mid-August, and this hatch is stunning in the millions and millions of bugs it produces – every day.
The terrestrial is usually in full swing by August 1st, with grasshoppers, ants, and beetles getting gobbled up by big-eyed trout up and down the river. The fall Blue-winged Olive and October Caddis hatches round out the season, and usually send us into winter with a last blast. It is a true insect smorgasbord.
Access and Regulations
The 35-mile section of blue-ribbon Missouri River has lots of public access and excellent wade fishing opportunities, but it is primarily a drift boat river. A boat gives you two very important things on the Missouri: access to water and fish you otherwise wouldn’t be able to reach, and the ability to be put in the best position to catch those trout.
You could spend a lifetime or two learning the secrets and nuances of the Missouri River, and there are lots who’ve tried. It’s that good.