Montana Angler Fly Fishing Blog

Catching a truly massive brown trout is a lifelong pursuit for many anglers. While browns are common in many of Montana’s best fly fishing rivers , catching and landing big browns over 20” is a challenge. Rainy days can be a blessing for anglers in pursuit of the largest brown trout in the river...

I’ll never forget my first fly-fishing trip to Patagonia. There was a palpable sense of anticipation – the sort that goes on for months, creeps into every discussion, has you exploring far-flung rivers on Google Earth at work. The moment I booked tickets I was consumed. And there’s a solid chance...

There are myriad ways people discover fly fishing. Learning how to catch a fish with a fly rod is another matter entirely. Some aspiring anglers are fortunate enough to have a family member, spouse or friend who is an avid flyfisher. Others explore the sport on their own, learning knots and casting...

Montana’s rich and varied wild trout fisheries offer anglers year round fishing opportunities. While it is difficult to elevate any one time of the year as the “best” time to fish the Big Sky state’s blue ribbon rivers, there is no doubt that the most anticipated time of year coincides with the...

Catching a great fish in a beautiful location is one of the joys of fly fishing. Looking back over a lifetime and remembering those moments spent with friends and family can enhance the experience. And there is no better way to jog the memory than a great photograph. But too often that photo of a...

If there was a time of year that strikes despair and fear into any anglers heart it would fishing rivers at their high water stage. There is a perception that nothing but doom and gloom can occur in such a time. Montana river flows peak during "run-off" in late May and early June when snow melt is...

For many fly anglers, late winter and early spring is a time of dreaming about fly fishing during warm summer days. For those who might want to get an earlier start on their fishing season, midges provide a great fly-fishing opportunity. Midge fishing can be productive as early as January on the...

“Oh, I'll never leave Montana, brother.” This is a line from Norman Maclean’s “A River Runs Through It” that I have rehearsed and have assumed to be true since I moved here over 20 years ago. This February, I was lucky enough to get to spend two weeks fishing in the Aysen region of Chilean Patagonia...

As winter had tightened its grasp on Montana, I dreamed of warmer weather and hungry trout eating bushy dry flies in the Southern Hemisphere. I hung up my snowboard and put the cover over my snowmobile, and then geared up for warmer weather on my hosted trip to El Encuentro Lodge and Brook Trout...

April is one of the more exciting months of the year for Montana anglers. Although winter fishing is great...things really begin to get exciting when water temperatures begin rising in the spring. More and more water becomes accessible as ice shelves recede and snow banks melt off. One of the great...