Montana Fly Fishing Guides - Freestone Rivers
Freestone rivers are truely a rarity, at least ones that fish well,
these days. Freestone rivers undamed rivers that receive their water
mostly from snow melt. In Montana we are blessed with a number of very
productive freestone rivers. Don't be fooled into believing that just
because it's a freestone that the fishing is easy. At certain time of
the year it can be fantastic (i.e. caddis, salmonflies, hoppers), but
there are times when these rivers with take all of you spring creek skill
and finesse to persuade a Baetis sipping trout to take.
The Yellowstone River is the grandaddy of them all. This huge freestone is the longest undamed river in the lower 48 states flowing over almost 700 miles. Most of the blue ribbon trout waters are within the 100 mile stretch from Yellowstone National Park's northern boundary to Big Timber, Montana. The highlights of the year on this river are the early spring baetis hatch, spring caddis hatch, early summer salmon flies, mid-summer hoppers and the fall streamer fishing.
The Boulder River is as much a rafting adventure as it is a fishing trip. This great freestone flows from the Absaroka Mountains to the town of Big Timber where it drains into the Yellowstone River near Big Timber, MT. We fish this river about 4 weeks a year in July from a raft. The action is fast and furious with aggressive trout rising to caddis, stoneflies, hoppers and good mayfly hatches. Our guides love this river so if you get the opportunity to fish this river we highly recommend it.
The Stillwater River is best described as the sister river to the Boulder, although its a bit larger. This allows us to fish the river well into August in most years.
Small Freestone prevail in our corner of Montana and there are plenty to fish for a lifetime - we won't spoil the fun and name them all but we have plenty of other small waters to fish both public and through private leases to accommodate your fishing passion.
