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Fly fishing in Southwestern Montana in the winter can be quite productive if you understand more about how to fish at this time of year. Many of the techniques used in the warmer summertime months do not apply and you must change your game to have success in the winter months.

HELENA – The rules regulating recreation use on the Madison River will be official on Dec. 24, even though nearly all of the rules, as adopted by the Montana Fish and Wildlife Commission, won’t be implemented until 2022.

If you are looking for less pressured waters and great fishing in Montana, May is a great month to fly fish Montana.

Our Montana fly fishing guide season really gets going in the month of May. Water temperatures are continuing to warm up, we start to see more consistent hatches in May, and the trout get much more active. The guides are hungry to get back out on the water daily and the air temperatures in May, start to climb. This time period is really the kick off to our Montana fly fishing season. Even though we start fly fishing here in Montana much early in the year, the fly fishing in May is a great month to visit Montana and treat yourself to some less pressured fly fishing. Remember, the trout haven’t seen much pressure the past six months and they tend to be a little less finicky than later in the year.

Located here in Southwestern Montana we have many blue ribbon rivers and streams to choose to fly fish. Bozeman, Montana is centrally located between the Yellowstone, Madison and Gallatin Rivers to name a few. These famous rivers are well known for their high trout population and world class fly fishing. When people ask whether they should get a guide for a Montana fly fishing float trip or wade trip we need to dig deeper to see what would work best for each individual or group.

Many people ask me many different questions about which type of fly lines should they be using, what is the best color for a fly line, which fly line should you choose and how do you clean your fly line? All these questions will be answered here.

Most of the trips we guide are using a drift boat to fish our large western rivers. For many of our inexperienced anglers this is a new experience. Many anglers want to cast directly out from the drift boat at 90 degrees, or towards the back of the boat.

A Call to action for everyone who fishes the Madison River or ever wanted to fish the Madison River. Public comment is open until October 30th, and your comments are very valuable. There are different proposals out there on how to manage the river and we need your comments to not allow rest and rotation.

Fishing grasshoppers in late summertime is a great way and a lot of fun to fish many of Montana's rivers and streams. Area fly shops carry huge selections of hoppers in many different sizes, tied with many different materials and in various color schemes.

We are all very concerned with this ongoing pandemic. We have received many inquiries about current fishing conditions and what is happening in Montana with C-19.

Great news from the Governor this afternoon.

At a news conference this afternoon on 5/19/20, the Governor spoke about entering phase two of re-opening Montana. He has moved up the 14 day quarantine to expire June 1st.

Spring is a great time to fish Montana. The valleys starts to turn green, the mountains are still covered in snow and the trees begin to bud. Spring weather in the Rockies can be unpredictable. You can be wet wading one day and bundled up in waders, fleece, and rain jackets the next. Here is a list of things you should bring with you, so you are prepared for any weather condition.

Our cancellation policy has been revised during the coronavirus situation. You have 14 days prior to your scheduled trip to receive a full refund and up to 7 days for a 50% refund.

Governor Bullock hosted a press conference where he announced moving to Phase II of Montana’s reopening plan on June 1st. Embarking on Phase II of the reopening plan includes lifting the 14-day out-of-state travel quarantine on June 1st as well.