Fishing
Chances are you’ve noticed the copious streams, rivers, and lakes on a map of the Bozeman area. It's no secret that the Bozeman area is a fisherman's dreamland. With five major rivers, innumerable streams, and abundant alpine lakes, you could dedicate a lifetime to exploring the area - and many people do. Find more info at the Montana Fish, Wildife & Parks web page.
Featured video
Trout are surprisingly sensitive fish. Oftentimes, trout are released by anglers who believe the fish is fine—when in fact it will die within a day or two due to the stress and exhaustion of the catch. Read more >>
In a rapidly growing western landscape, the ability to assimilate into the local culture is a skill and even a gift. Read more >>
Wrapping a trout in tin foil might be nice when you’re out camping, but when you bring your catch home, try something a little more exciting. Read more >>
Wherein an experienced and erudite fisherman shares his wisdom from over 60 years on the water, which is essentially this: lose the attitude, pal, and eat a damn fish once in a while. Read more >>
Need a two-day getaway, but don’t want to blow wads of dough or spend hours on the road? Then pack a few things, shut off the cell phone, and head south to Ennis, where a laid-back and fun-filled weekend awaits—all within an hour’s drive of Bozeman. Read more >>
Over the years, many attempts have been made to keep rods fishin’-ready, while still safe from common catastrophes. PVC, rubber-snubbers, magnets, and all other manner of safe-keeping have been contrived to protect these pricey pieces of equipment. Read more >>
Greed, selfishness, and a plain-ol’ “I got mine, screw you” mentality is making itself more and more apparent in Montana when it comes to fishing. Read more >>
Catch this! Over a quarter of the state’s angling occurs here in Region 3 with seven premier wild trout streams, more than 90 fishing access sites (FAS), and some splendid high-mountain lakes. As the peak of fishing season draws near, here are some things to keep in mind. Read more >>
There’s no shortage of recreational guides out there, but how often do they help anyone but novices? When was the last time you, self-respecting Bozemaniac and expert outdoorsman that you are, found anything original or useful in one? Read more >>
Every adventure, even a spring “staycation,” needs a good base camp—and Ennis fits that bill quite nicely. Traditionally a rest stop for travelers between the Gallatin Valley and the gold fields of Alder and Last Chance gulches, Ennis was a place to rest, refuel, and resupply. Read more >>
Eastern Montana has long been famous for its abundance of paleontological discoveries; numerous whole skeletons from various species of dinosaurs have been found in the bluffs and badlands along the Missouri River. Read more >>
One of my earliest fishing memories has a mountain whitefish at its heart. I don’t know how old I was, but I do know that I was infected by the fishing fever. Read more >>
Streamers in the spring? You bet! As the water warms up, the bigger fish will be looking for a substantial meal. This is a great sculpin imitation for both pre- and post-runoff fishing on the Yellowstone or Madison. It can be dead-drifted, swung, or stripped. Read more >>
Pioneering athletes such as Pat Callis, Alex Lowe, Ed Anacker, and Tom Jungst established Bozeman’s reputation as a premier outdoor-sports community. Read more >>
The rain put the mosquitoes down. It came slowly at first, pushing up in the pines, spattering against the tarp. It always sounds as if it is raining harder than it really is when you are lying under a tarp or a tent. Read more >>
There are a few places on earth where fishermen’s dreams are forged within a framework of grandeur and natural beauty—an elegant overlay in which fish are a single element among many. Read more >>
No Montana summer would be complete without a few days (or a few dozen) spent fishing, and nothing will inspire you to gear up and head for the water quite like Blue Lines: A Fishing Life (Riverbend Publishing, $13) by Tom Reed. Read more >>
88%: trout’s chance of survival if exhaustively exercised62%: trout’s chance of survival if exhaustively exercised and held out of the water for 30 seconds Read more >>
A hero is someone who has given his or her life to something bigger than oneself. —Joseph Campbell Read more >>
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Fly
Every angler with a conscience should keep in mind that fishing is a brutal sport. Imagine, sitting down to enjoy a nice cheeseburger, you learn your meal is not only made of yarn, but loaded with a hook and line that proceeds to drag you into a foreign environment where suffocation awaits. Read more >>
It seems pretty strange that in a beautiful state like Montana—replete with pristine lakes, rivers, and streams chock full of beautiful brown, rainbow, and cutthroat trout—groups of fly-fishing bums would be excitedly searching muddy ponds and murky waters for a lowly trash fish that Midwesterner Read more >>
“Dad, there’s a rock at the bottom of the ‘V,’” said Jesse, age seven. She knew that we would follow the deeper, glassier water into the steeper gradient. She made sure that we avoided the boulder as well as a likely corresponding hydraulic. Read more >>
A little thumbing your nose at convention is good for the soul. Especially at times like this, when a nine-foot Heddon #35 bamboo fly rod made 85 years ago is used to fling a large weighted Woolly Bugger soaked in chicken-liver blood into the Musselshell River around Moseby. Read more >>Spin
I am not a disciple of Norman Maclean. To say it another way: I’m not a fly fisherman. Fly fishing is fine and dandy, but I’m more of an eater than a fisher. Fishing is something I do to provide myself with juicy, succulent meat, and that’s pretty much where the romance ends. Read more >>88%: trout’s chance of survival if exhaustively exercised62%: trout’s chance of survival if exhaustively exercised and held out of the water for 30 seconds Read more >>On a high bank above the East Gallatin River, my father and I sat on the hood of my beat-up ’64 Catalina, sharing a beer. The early-afternoon sunlight filtered through the trees, warming our upturned faces. After the last swig we hopped down and got our fishing gear together. Read more >>I lost a lifelong friend recently. We grew up together in a small town in central Illinois. It’s one of those places that you can’t wait to leave when you’re old enough, but continually find yourself gravitating toward over the course of a lifetime. Read more >>Ice
Think fishing competitions are only for the summer? Think again—here are three ice-fishing derbies around southwest Montana this winter. January 26-27 Lions Club Perch Ice Fishing Derby, Canyon Ferry Reservoir, Townsend January 26 Read more >>
The true force behind ice fishing is that it is better than no fishing at all. –Jim Harrison, “Ice Fishing, the Moronic Sport” Read more >>
Typically, the term ice fishing conjures images of crotchety geezers hunched around a hole in the ice, slapping back macro-brews, and jawing about the good ol’ days. But you don’t have to be a geezer to get a rise out of ice-fishing. Read more >>“The true force behind ice fishing is that it is better than no fishing at all,” states renowned American author Jim Harrison in his essay “Ice Fishing, the Moronic Sport.” And while many may agree with the sentiments of this literary genius, it is worth considering that ice fishing, whether by m Read more >>
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