Copyright 2009 James Marsh
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Fly Fishing The Gallatin River Montana -
Outside Yellowstone National Park
The Gallatin River, which begins in Yellowstone National
Park, is over one-hundred miles long. Most of the river is
outside of the park. It eventually helps form the Missouri
River along with the Jefferson and Madison.
Highway 191 follows the Gallatin River for most of its
entire length. Much of the stream flows through canyons
and where it doesn't, it's still freestone pocket water at
its best. This is one river that you can almost always find
a place to fish without seeing another angler. If the drive
up highway 191 doesn't give you a heart attack, the
river may. I am kidding, of course, but there's some truth
in the statement. It's a dangerous highway. Fly fishing
the Gallatin River is one exciting experience.
Shortly after the river leaves the park boundaries, it
enters a canyon section that is about three miles long.
We have never been able to tell much difference in the
size of the fish in this section of the river from those in
the park. They probably average twelve inches with a
larger one showing up every once in a while.
From the canyon it flows into Lower Basin, a valley, and
reaches the town of Big Sky. The West Fork of the
Gallatin River joins it before it leaves the valley and
drops into a very long canyon that is over twenty miles
long. This river flowing through the canyon is great
looking trout water, but again, we have not been able to
tell much difference in the size of the fish than what you
catch in the park. Others may disagree with us,
contending the fish are larger and they may well be
right, but from our own personal experience, they seem
to run about the same size. I think one reason for this is
the fact that we have taken some good size trout from
the section of the stream in the park. Although the trout
probably average only ten to twelve inches, we have
taken several over fourteen and some over sixteen
inches inside the park.
The Gallatin River ends its flow through the twenty-plus
mile long canyon section and flows more like a typical,
larger western river. The section of the stream south of
Gallatin Gateway to the canyon is great looking trout
water. We have taken a few larger fish in this section but
not anything to boast about.
If we stood by our experience, we would get a lot of
argument from the locals regarding the size of the fish in
this section of runs, riffles and pools. It is considered to
be the best fishing the Gallatin has to offer and I am
certain those that make that claim are correct in that
assessment. Although this section has its fair share of
brown trout, we have only taken rainbows and cuttbows.
The trout do seem to average slightly larger than the
ones we have caught upstream of Gallatin Gateway.
The river looks quite different from Gallatin Gateway to
where it leaves sight of highway 191 downstream. That
part of the river flows through farming country, the
majority of which is private property, although there are
still a few access points. We have not taken anything
worth noting from this section of the river. That's
probably because we have only fished it for a very short
time at a couple of places.
We are told that the best way to fish this section is from
a drift boat and we can very well understand why. Most
of the water would be difficult to access otherwise. I also
feel certain that there are longer sections of
unproductive water than there are upstream of this
section. We have nothing to offer with regards to fishing
this section because we have not fished it from a drift
boat. We are told by the locals that this section has
some very fine brown trout fishing and we feel confident
they are not bragging when they make that claim.
Anglers from Montana don't have to brag about their
trout fishing.
Seasons:
Seasons follow the general Montana fishing season.
Winter:
Fly fishing the Gallatin River during winter would be
tough.
Spring:
Spring would be okay, before and after the runoff.
Summer:
The Summer would be best for fishing the Gallatin River.
Fall:
Early Fall would present some good opportunities.
Fly Fishing Guide to the Gallatin River:
Outside Yellowstone National Park
The Gallatin River, which begins in Yellowstone National
Park, is over one-hundred miles long. Most of the river is
outside of the park. It eventually helps form the Missouri
River along with the Jefferson and Madison.
Highway 191 follows the Gallatin River for most of its
entire length. Much of the stream flows through canyons
and where it doesn't, it's still freestone pocket water at
its best. This is one river that you can almost always find
a place to fish without seeing another angler. If the drive
up highway 191 doesn't give you a heart attack, the
river may. I am kidding, of course, but there's some truth
in the statement. It's a dangerous highway. Fly fishing
the Gallatin River is one exciting experience.
Shortly after the river leaves the park boundaries, it
enters a canyon section that is about three miles long.
We have never been able to tell much difference in the
size of the fish in this section of the river from those in
the park. They probably average twelve inches with a
larger one showing up every once in a while.
From the canyon it flows into Lower Basin, a valley, and
reaches the town of Big Sky. The West Fork of the
Gallatin River joins it before it leaves the valley and
drops into a very long canyon that is over twenty miles
long. This river flowing through the canyon is great
looking trout water, but again, we have not been able to
tell much difference in the size of the fish than what you
catch in the park. Others may disagree with us,
contending the fish are larger and they may well be
right, but from our own personal experience, they seem
to run about the same size. I think one reason for this is
the fact that we have taken some good size trout from
the section of the stream in the park. Although the trout
probably average only ten to twelve inches, we have
taken several over fourteen and some over sixteen
inches inside the park.
The Gallatin River ends its flow through the twenty-plus
mile long canyon section and flows more like a typical,
larger western river. The section of the stream south of
Gallatin Gateway to the canyon is great looking trout
water. We have taken a few larger fish in this section but
not anything to boast about.
If we stood by our experience, we would get a lot of
argument from the locals regarding the size of the fish in
this section of runs, riffles and pools. It is considered to
be the best fishing the Gallatin has to offer and I am
certain those that make that claim are correct in that
assessment. Although this section has its fair share of
brown trout, we have only taken rainbows and cuttbows.
The trout do seem to average slightly larger than the
ones we have caught upstream of Gallatin Gateway.
The river looks quite different from Gallatin Gateway to
where it leaves sight of highway 191 downstream. That
part of the river flows through farming country, the
majority of which is private property, although there are
still a few access points. We have not taken anything
worth noting from this section of the river. That's
probably because we have only fished it for a very short
time at a couple of places.
We are told that the best way to fish this section is from
a drift boat and we can very well understand why. Most
of the water would be difficult to access otherwise. I also
feel certain that there are longer sections of
unproductive water than there are upstream of this
section. We have nothing to offer with regards to fishing
this section because we have not fished it from a drift
boat. We are told by the locals that this section has
some very fine brown trout fishing and we feel confident
they are not bragging when they make that claim.
Anglers from Montana don't have to brag about their
trout fishing.
Seasons:
Seasons follow the general Montana fishing season.
Winter:
Fly fishing the Gallatin River during winter would be
tough.
Spring:
Spring would be okay, before and after the runoff.
Summer:
The Summer would be best for fishing the Gallatin River.
Fall:
Early Fall would present some good opportunities.
Fly Fishing Guide to the Gallatin River:
| Type of Stream Freestone Species Rainbow Trout Cutthroat Trout Brown Trout Cuttbows Rocky Mountain Whitefish Location Southwestern Montana Size: Medium Nearest Towns Big Sky Season 3rd Sat of May through Nov 30th. Access: Mostly Good - some private waters Non-Resident License State of Montana Weather National Weather Service Link Hatch Chart Gallatin River Hatch Chart Fly Fishing Gear, Tackle & Flies |
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Gallatin River Montana
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Photo Courtesy Steven Lamb
Photo Courtesy Steven Lamb
| Options For Selecting Flies: 1. Email us with the dates you will be fishing this stream and we will send you a list of our fly suggestions. Please allow up to 24 hours for a response. 2. Call us 800-594-4726 and we will help you decide which flies you need. 3. Call or email us with a budget for flies and we will select them and get them to you in time for your trip. Shipping is free in the U. S. Orders over $50 are shipped Priority Mail. |