Eaton Outfitters

Eaton Outfitters runs its guided days on the Madison River in southwestern Montana, working out of Madison Valley Ranch at 307 Jeffers Road in Ennis. The upper Madison is the home water, and the operation publishes a downloadable map of that stretch for guests planning a trip. Days are fished two ways: from drift boats floating the river, and on foot wading its banks and riffles, with brown trout the target species. Chris and Julie Eaton run the guiding alongside their son Josh and Hannah Eaton, and the family has logged more than 7,000 guide trips on the Madison over close to thirty years working from this same ranch. Guided fishing is normally sold as part of a multi-day package that folds in instruction, lodging and meals rather than as a standalone rate card, and the guides also take guests to other fisheries around southwestern Montana when conditions favor them.