Fishing around Big Sky & Bozeman

[TCB]

Taking the family up to Big Sky in a couple of weeks for vacation and drop our oldest off at Montana St. for orientation. I have quite of bit of experience trout fishing from mountains of NC and Colorado. The question I have is access to the creeks and rivers. If we see a good looking spot, can we simply pull off the road and fish for a while?

Not sure how well the "Off limits" areas are posted.

[Burnadell]

The Gallatin River runs alongside Hwy 191, and you can find some pullovers to fish there. On down just before you get to West Yellowstone, Hwy 191 crosses the Madison River before it runs into Hebgen Lake. There is a pullout there, and we have fished that section. Also Hwy 287 runs along the north part of Hebgen Lake, and there is at least one pullout to fish along the shore of the lake. A little further along 287, there is a pace to fish the Madison next to Kelly Galloup's Slide Inn fly shop. There are numerous fly shops in West Yellowstone that you can ask for the best fishing spots and what flys are good...I recommend Blue Ribbon Flies, Big Sky Anglers and Kelly Galloup's. If you have time, go several miles past Kelly Galloup's to the Three Dollar Bridge across the Madison...some excellent fishing there as well as the Madison at Raynold's Pass where it passes under Hwy 87, just south of Hwy 287.

That should keep you busy!

[El General]

Taking the family up to Big Sky in a couple of weeks for vacation and drop our oldest off at Montana St. for orientation. I have quite of bit of experience trout fishing from mountains of NC and Colorado. The question I have is access to the creeks and rivers. If we see a good looking spot, can we simply pull off the road and fish for a while?

Not sure how well the "Off limits" areas are posted.

OnX maps app will show you all the public and private, but all the public access points on the Madison and Gallatin are well marked in my experience.

[TCB]

Good stuff Burnadell and El General, appreciate the tips.

[El General]

Good stuff Burnadell and El General, appreciate the tips.

Also, Montana has a very good stream access law, and unlike other places, landowners can not own the river bed. For the most part in Montana, if you can park and walk and there aren't any signs or houses, you are good.

Madison River Fishing Company in Ennis is the shop I have used most often and they usually have pretty good fishing reports.

https://www.mrfc.com/pages/madison-river-fishing-report

Also, this is run off season for the Madison and it might be unfishable. I'd talk to local shops and see what streams are fishing well this time of year.

[jay07ag]

The Gallatin River runs alongside Hwy 191, and you can find some pullovers to fish there. On down just before you get to West Yellowstone, Hwy 191 crosses the Madison River before it runs into Hebgen Lake. There is a pullout there, and we have fished that section. Also Hwy 287 runs along the north part of Hebgen Lake, and there is at least one pullout to fish along the shore of the lake. A little further along 287, there is a pace to fish the Madison next to Kelly Galloup's Slide Inn fly shop. There are numerous fly shops in West Yellowstone that you can ask for the best fishing spots and what flys are good...I recommend Blue Ribbon Flies, Big Sky Anglers and Kelly Galloup's. If you have time, go several miles past Kelly Galloup's to the Three Dollar Bridge across the Madison...some excellent fishing there as well as the Madison at Raynold's Pass where it passes under Hwy 87, just south of Hwy 287.

That should keep you busy!

This is all solid info. We go to Big Sky every summer for our vacation, and I love fishing this area - its almost a religious experience for me every year! The Gallatin (from the Yellowstone boundary down to the edge of the canyon near Bozeman) is known for its great numbers of fish, but you will likely not catch any fish over 16" or so. But I enjoy fishing the Gallatin because you will likely not find a more beautiful setting to cast a fly, and the bite is usually good enough where any fly fisherman with some experience can catch fish on nymphs and dry flies throughout the day. In my experience, in the middle of summer on the Gallatin the dry fly bite gets good around 8:30-9 AM and lasts for a few hours. If you have a spruce moth hatch going on you will see them flying around everywhere and you should be able to catch lots of fish on an elk hair caddis or spruce moth. Get several sizes though, as the fish can be picky about the size of the fly sometimes (#14-#20). A Hopper/Dropper can work well too during middle of summer and give you the chance to fish subsurface and up top. Focus on turn out areas in "the Canyon" (this is the area between the town of Big Sky and the entrance to the valley up near Bozeman. "The Canyon" has the most fish per mile on this river. I usually just fish in a pair of felt boots and shorts, but you can wear waders if you dont like your legs being cold while fishing. Rarely do you need to wade out far enough to get over knee/thigh deep, as this river is not very wide through the the canyon, and you can cast all the way across in lots of places. If you want to go catch big fish I would recommend doing a half day float trip on the Madison. Feel free to PM me if you would like more info...good luck!

[IDFWU]

You might wanna check out the Yellowstone Closed thread and video.


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[Burnadell]

I highly recommend stopping at the Quake Lake visitor's center at the west end of Quake Lake (west of Hebgen Lake) and watch the video of the earthquake that caused the mountain slide that created Quake Lake. Lots of campers were in the are at the time, and sadly some got crushed by huge boulders.

[jay07ag]

Yeah it looks like the rivers will be trashed for a couple weeks with this flooding. May be a while before the fishing can get back to normal up there. Could be really poor timing for your trip.


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[TCB]

That’s the risk this time of year but his orientation is locked. We’re staying at Big Sky Resort and there’s a little lake there….lake levinsky. Anyone know anything about it? I’m sure it gets pounded by tourists.

Really appreciate the tips. Can’t wait to do some trout fishing!!

[IDFWU]

We stayed in Big Sky in April. An Air Bb up in the mountains above the ski resort. Absolutely beautiful. I didn’t fish in big sky but did a float fishing trip on the Gallatin.

There are tons of turn outs between Bozeman and Big Sky where you can access the river for a quick wade trip. Also, buy bear spray in Bozeman….in case y’all do any hikes.

I can give you some non fishing advice….buy groceries in Bozeman before you head out. The grocery store in big sky is nice but SUPER EXPENSIVE. If I remember correctly a frozen pizza was $30 and a bell pepper was $7.

Also, there is a nice little pot shop in big sky for some “after the kids go to bed” fun.


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[Bill]

With the flooding going on, all your rivers and streams are fast flowing mud right now. Call any local fly shop for an update.

If there’s no fishing on the Madison, there’s always Willies Distillery in Ennis.

I’m in the next valley west of the Madison/Ennis, the Ruby Valley. We have a really nice 3d archery range in Sheridan.


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[TCB]

Thanks for the update Bill. We'll be in Big Sky for next weekend and then have to take our son back to Bozeman for orientation at Montana St. Fingers crossed it settles down in the next week so I can get some fishing in.

[Bill]

Fishing around Big Sky & Bozeman

If your son is into technology, the American Computer & Robotics Museum in Bozeman is worth visiting.

As you’re driving south from Bzn to Big Sky on 191, Staceys Bar in Gallatin Gateway has some of the best burgers I’ve eaten, it’s a favorite with my wife and I.

If the water level cooperates , I’d fish the Madison where it comes out of Beartrap Canyon, if only for the scenery. Breathtaking area and I usually see bald eagles flying there.


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[El General]

Thanks for the update Bill. We'll be in Big Sky for next weekend and then have to take our son back to Bozeman for orientation at Montana St. Fingers crossed it settles down in the next week so I can get some fishing in.

All the rivers will be in runoff, but the Paradise Valley Spring Creeks will probably be clear and most are accessible with a small rod fee. It is generally very technical fishing and you want to treat it like making a stalk in game.