Montana's Best Flyfishing

Early Season: April 1st - June 15th

Early season water conditions vary tremendously due to spring runoff, which usually occurs from May 1st through June 20th. For this reason, we concentrate our efforts on the dam-released waters of the Madison and Missouri Rivers, where nymph patterns and streamers produce exceptional catches of browns and rainbows.

Warm spring days are an invitation to the challenge of fishing our area's abundant midge hatches. Casting 6x and 7x tippets, along with size 18 and 20 dry patterns, and landing these surface-feeding trout is a fly fisherman's dream.

Mid Season: June 15th - July 31st

The waters have cleared and warmed, and major hatches of aquatic insects characterize this period. The amazing salmonfly hatch occurs on most of the rivers in our area between June 20th and July 10th. A large and colorful insect, this hatch works its way upstream, providing great opportunities for the dry fly fisherman to catch large and numerous trout. During this hatch, a nymph fisherman will experience success using stonefly nymphs and Montana nymphs sizes 4, 6 and 8. Book a trip early, as this is a very popular time on all the local rivers.

This period's next major hatch is the caddis. Though lesser stoneflies are still productive, the caddis is the major aquatic insect. Hatches occur daily until late August, with Elk Hair Caddis, Goddard Caddis and Poly Caddis in sizes 14, 16 and 18 being very productive.

Late Season: August 1st - October 31st

The water conditions in the greater Yellowstone area are low and clear, and hopper season is upon us. This time of year trout are eager for terrestrials - beetles, ants and hopper patterns drifted along the banks bring out their predatory instincts, and the action can be fierce.

Backcountry fishing is now very good, and improves as the weather cools. By late september, frosty mornings and the possibility of snow have thinned crowds considerably. The fishing is still great, and the possibility of trophy browns on streamer patterns along with autumn colors make this our favorite time of the year. Float fishing any of the local rivers well into October is truly taking advantage of the best we have to offer.

Winter: February - April

Yes, we fish during the winter. Experience the solitude and beauty of a mountain stream in winter. Temperatures will reach 40 degrees and above starting in February. With the warmer days, the fish become active. We fish a variety of nymph and streamer patterns for rainbows, browns and whitefish. Midge fishing has begun, and this is an excellent time to sample the famous spring creeks of the Paradise Valley. These trips are booked on short notice, with a watchful eye on the weather.