Fishing
Fly fishing in Montana is as good as it gets for a fly fisherman. Ennis has more trophy trout streams, rivers, lakes and ponds — all within a couple hundred-mile radius — than any other fishing destination in the world. Rivers such as the Yellowstone, Gallatin, Big Hole, Beaverhead, Ruby, Jefferson, Smith and Missouri; streams and lakes like Odell Creek, Wade Lake, South Meadow Creek Lake, Hebgen and Quake Lakes, and countless other small, remote mountain lakes and streams within the National Forest Service lands — are all an easy day trip from Ennis.

Montana fisheries are filled with a wide variety of trout and char species, including rainbow, cutthroat, golden trout, brook trout, brown trout, lake trout and grayling, that vigorously respond to a creative variety of dry fly, nymph and streamer/bug fishing techniques. One can successfully use just about every bug in his or her box somewhere in Montana.

McKenzie River float-boat fishing reigns supreme in Montana because of the size and length of rivers here. There are many rivers that will provide an 8-10 hour float over new water for several consecutive days. But equally accessible are rivers and streams that provide the perfect places to wade-fish or fish from a float-tube or rubber raft.

At certain times of the year there are hatches that will boggle any fisherman's mind, like the famous Mother's Day caddis hatch in May or the salmon fly hatch in June or, likewise, hopper and crane fly fishing in late summer and early fall. And of course every river has its own special mayfly, midge, ant and stonefly hatches throughout the year.

Every river and stream in Montana has its own character and rewards for the diligent fly fisherman. Below, we have provided a brief description of a few of our favorite rivers. But there are literally hundreds more rivers, streams and mountain lakes waiting in Montana for you to discover:

Madison River
For Martha and I, the Madison represents the ultimate Montana fly fishing experience. It is a120 mile long river that begins where the Gibbon and Firehole Rivers meet in Yellowstone —two respectable fly fisheries in their own right. It then flows some 40 miles to form the famous Quake Lake, created in 1959 by a devastating earthquake. But it is the 80 miles of river flowing from Quake to the Missouri that offers the finest fishing and a wide variety of angling challenges and rewards. This river courses through some of the most beautiful country in Montana, and after 15 years of fishing it, I am still blown away by the vistas. The upper river, which flows consistently through mountains and cattle country until it meets Ennis Lake, provides days of exciting float fishing. Although it can be wade-fished, the 5-mile per hour flowing water is best fished from a boat or raft. The river just north and south of Ennis lake and below the challenging Bear Trap Ravine offers the best wade-fishing, and the Beaver Trap provides one of the most exhilarating fishing trips conceivable, by combining a series of wild rapids with fast action fishing for monster rainbows and browns. The slow moving section below the ravine provides great wade- and boat-fishing opportunities in the early spring and fall. I love the Madison River, and when I die, I’ve asked to have my ashes scattered as fish food on this, my favorite of places on earth.

Beaverhead River
The Beaverhead has some of the largest rainbow and brown trout I have ever caught: trout in the 20 plus inch, 3-5 pound category. Several times I have been, in a flash, taken to my backing and broken off in this trophy river. The Beaverhead is not a large or deep river, but it is one of the most fertile fisheries in Montana, holding some 3,800 lunkers per mile. The trout respond very well to nymph fishing as well as to dry fly fishing during the caddis and pmd hatches, but I most enjoy skating the large crane fly just off the bank at dusk in August.

Bighole River
The Bighole River is a finicky river to fish, due to the control of water flow. It fishes best in the early spring and late fall and is famous for its June salmon fly hatch. During the summer, fishing is best early and late with caddis and mayfly hatches, and later in the summer hoppers will be taken during the day. The largest fish are caught between September and October when the water cools and the fishing pressure lessens.

Gallatin River
The Gallatin is a free flowing river that runs 100 miles from Yellowstone Park to the Missouri along the eastern edge of the Gallatin Mountain Range. We cross this beautiful boulder-strewn river every time we travel to or from Bozeman. It is a small river with three distinct sections that hold trout. The upper part, which Martha and I have fished most, carves through gorgeous meadows on its way from the park to Big Sky. It is accessible from the road and easy to fish, but also heavily fished. The gorgeous middle section below Big Sky cuts through Gallatin Canyon; the fish here are many but smaller than elsewhere on the river. The two upper sections are wade-fished and hold rainbow, cutt-bow, browns and some brook trout. The lower valley-section runs warmer and can be floated, the fish are bigger and it fishes best in the winter, early spring and fall.

Jefferson River
The Jefferson, a less fished river, can at times be a very good river to wade fish, particularly in the early spring and late fall. It is primarily a brown trout fishery that is most successfully fished with streamers and various crayfish patterns. However, trout have been known to respond favorably to the dry fly in certain parts of the river. On the Jefferson, you’re apt to be the only one on your part of the river.

Rock Creek
Rock Creek is one of the most beautiful little rivers in the world. It is primarily a cold water fishery with rainbow, cutthroat and brown trout. In my experience, the trout have not been large – although I understand there are large trout in the river near the Clark Fork - but they are feisty little guys. I have done most of my fishing on private property up near the headwaters, and I have never yet had a problem getting permission to fish on a rancher’s land. One day, Martha and I, besides catching our fair share of trout, came upon a moose in the middle of the river and a small group of Big Horn Sheep in the bordering cliffs.

Ruby River
The Ruby River stands out as one of finest brown trout fisheries we have ever fished. It has limited public access so one needs to cough up a rod fee to fish the better water. This beautiful little river, filled with fat twelve to sixteen inch browns tucked up under its banks (2300 fish per mile in some sections), winds through cattle country and farmland, which lends a sense of quiet solitude to the angling experience. It is the perfect river for beginning fly fishers. I am convinced that it was Martha’s first trip there that converted her into the serious fly fisherman she has become. (She still denies my claim, saying that she was a fisherman long before she met me, but I know better.) Although there are exceptional mayfly and caddis hatches, nothing beats the late summer hopper fishing for explosive fun. The southern part of the river at the higher elevations offers one of the few opportunities left in the lower 48 to catch a grayling.

Slough Creek
One of our favorite day-fishing trips is to hike into Slough Creek. The creek, located in Yellowstone Park north of the Lamar River canyon, flows through the Absaroka Mountains. It's a lot of work to get into this lovely place, but well worth the effort. The trip into the first meadow, mostly uphill, takes a good hour, but the meadow is outrageously beautiful and the creek packed full of cutthroat in the 12-14 inch range. The second meadow fishes even better, due to less fishing pressure. On our trips we have never seen more than three or four other fisherman up there. The water is very clear, so care must be taken to sneak up on the little guys, but patience and good presentation bring surprising rewards.

Yellowstone
I have very little experience with the Yellowstone, but I expect that not to last. The couple of times we fished it, we did so in the park. We enjoyed our experience and saw many fish. It certainly is one of the most popular rivers in Montana and it is a big river. In some places it can be as wide as a football field and it runs from its headwaters in Wyoming 700 miles to where it meets the Missouri. The Yellowstone, mostly famous for its cutthroat, also has plenty of brown and rainbow trout; it can hold up to 5,000 trout per mile in some sections and offers many diverse fishing opportunities, as well as the chance to fish one of the most famous rivers in the world.