The first of March is the official start of fly fishing season for us in Montana. Our Montana fly fishing guides are back on the water, fishing licenses have to be renewed, ski racks are put away, and drift boats are hitched and ready to go to the river. It’s still normal to get snow through March but sunny days and warmer temperatures start to signal the end of Winter.

You are thinking about booking a day of guided fly fishing in Montana but don’t know what to expect. You’ve looked through our trip offerings, FAQs, gear list, and river descriptions. You get the specifics but want to know how it all comes together, what the full experience of fly fishing in Montana with the Montana Angling Company entails. Here is our rundown:

It is late August in Montana. The early summer hatches of stoneflies, mayflies, and caddis are in the rearview mirror. While things seem to be quiet on the river, the fly fishing is as good as it gets on our Bozeman, MT home waters of the Yellowstone River, Madison River, Missouri River, and Yellowstone National Park. Some of our best days of the year happen in late August when flows are low, rivers are clear, and the hatches are thin. How do our Montana fly fishing guides keep the bite alive when the dog days of summer set in?

Montana Spring Creek Fly Fishing offers technical fly fishing to challenge even the most accomplished of anglers. DePuy’s Spring Creek, Armstrong’s Spring Creek, and Nelson’s Spring Creek are all world famous fisheries in Paradise Valley, a short drive from our home base of Bozeman, Montana. We’ve learned a lot during our time on the water guiding anglers and fishing for the spooky and selective trout in these creeks and have compiled a basic guide to Montana Spring Creek success. While this guide is catered to fly fishing the Paradise Valley Spring Creeks, consider applying these tactics and lessons to any technical water you find yourself on.

The Salmonfly hatch is the biggest event of the year for many fly fishing anglers in Montana. There is no better time to target big and aggressive trout with dry flies than during the hatch. The sheer size of the bugs is enough to coax even the biggest and baddest of Montana brown trout to the surface, year after year. Ask any of our Montana fly fishing guides what their favorite hatch to fish is and you will find salmonflies at or near the top of every list.

A day on the water with our Montana fly fishing guides has something to offer for every angler visiting Montana, even if they don’t think they are an angler yet. Simply put hiring a guide is the best way to maximize your time and fly fishing success in Montana. The more elaborate version follows.

Fall fly fishing in Montana is a favorite of both our anglers and fly fishing guides. The rivers are quiet, the air is cool, hatches are solid, and the fishing on our blue ribbon rivers is good. Fall also brings changes in river dynamics and by late-September anglers in Bozeman, Montana need to adapt their fly fishing tactics in order to have continued success through October and into November.