Montana Angler

Montana Angler guides the Gallatin River near Bozeman and Montana’s remote, permit-controlled Smith River, offering wade trips on one and a five-day wilderness float on the other. On the Gallatin, most trips are wade-based, working bridge and fishing-access sites spaced roughly every eight miles through the canyon and valley sections; guides use small rafts mainly to shuttle anglers between runs, since floating is only legal on the lower twelve miles near Manhattan. Rainbow and brown trout are the primary targets, with high fish density producing fast, steady action, though average size runs smaller than on nearby rivers. Full-day and half-day wade trips are offered year-round, with July through September the peak window and pockets of winter fishing near the Big Sky junction. On the Smith, the outfitter runs a five-day, all-inclusive wilderness camping float through sixty miles of limestone canyon between public access points. Smith River season runs May through early July and again in September, since low, warm water typically rules out floating in late July and August; the river holds a strong population of brown trout, with fish over twenty inches landed on most trips.