The Madison
The Madison River offers
a premier opportunity for fly-fishing at its best.
The water flows are consistent and are managed
with the fishery in mind-there is no agricultural
demand on this water. Consequently, insect emergances
are consistent and prolific. It is primarily a
Stone Fly and Caddis Fly river; however, in certain
locations and times the Baetis, PMD, and Epeorus
emergances are excellant. We fish to wild, self-sustaining
populations of Browns and Rainbows with a population
density of 3000 per mile. To quote
my longtime friend and client Burt Weissbourd
"fish wherever you want, but all roads lead
back to the Madison."
The Yellowstone
The Yellowstone River is the longest free flowing river in the United States. It is an excellent fishery, but the flows can be erratic. It usually settles down from its runoff about the 1st of July. We fish to wild, self-sustaining populations of browns, rainbows, cutthroats, and hybrids with an average population density of 4000 per mile. This river offers great dry fly fishing with regular emergences of PMD's, Golden Stones, Salmon Flies, Caddis, and Baetis. But my favorite time is the latter part of July and into August because this is, you guessed it "hopper time." This is probably the best chance to catch a very nice trout on a dry fly. I suggest long floats and beating the banks with terrestrials. Access is good and the view through Paradise Valley is even better. (There is a $25.00 trip charge above the daily guide fee for Yellowstone River trips.)
Other Options
We also do walk wade trips on the Gallatin outside of Yellowstone Park, the Ruby River near Alder Montana, the Madison River between Quake and Hebgen Lakes, and also the Madison from the boundary of Yellowstone Park to Hebgen Lake. If you want an early spring diversion (mid March) let's go to the Missouri near Helena-great midge fishing for some nice browns and rainbows.