I had a great time on my 3 weeks in Montana. Spent a lot of time hunting birds and fishing. Mostly though, I enjoy seeing new places and new water. I drove up to White Sulphur springs for a day and snooped around on the upper Smith River. In all I added 6 new streams to the total. I fished the Beaverhead, a favorite on the way back, hoping the BWO’s would be out. Just hanging around town and listening to music is a good option also. In Bozeman and Livingston at least. Dillon, you have to wait for the county fair to hear live music. Or playing golf. I actually brought my clubs.
September is not the greatest month. Mayflies are non-existent even though the Blue Winged Olives are starting to show up a little by now. All in all I spent a lot of time seeing new places and walking around on the prairie. And the Yellowstone river always gets a lot of attention. October gets better. BWO’s are out strong, egg patterns are starting to work as the Brown Trout are getting ready to spawn, October Caddis, and Streamers for the aggressive Brown Trout.
I am always amazed at what I see here. So, here are a few shots:
Bozeman is a very fast-growing small city with almost 60,000 residents. Montana State is situated in the heart of Bozeman. Including surrounding towns, Bozeman is now a 100,000 plus trade area. It feels much bigger. That is due to 1.4 million people per year spending at least one night in Bozeman! The billion dollar mark has been past in annual tourist spending. And it is expensive! Housing is higher than Scottsdale or Boise.
Downtown Livingston. Some good restaurants and lots of bars. Lots of history.
One of the great reasons to hunt is to put you in a place you would have no reason to be in. Like the tops of mountains chukar hunting, or the prairie above. Great cover for those huns and sharptails. Lots of huns. I heard Sharptails were good, but did not find a lot this year. “Huns” are Hungarian partridge. Sharptails are Sharp-tailed grouse.
Manhattan Montana. What America used to be. 11 miles west of Bozeman
This is the no name river. I will have more on this.
This is Big Lake. This is just one corner. It is huge, but no fish other than some minnows. Shallow lake. Geese and ducks everywhere. There are 1,000s of acres around it that are open to hunt.
This is another corner of Big Lake. Excellent cover for Sharptail and Huns. Wheat stubble is nearby making it great habitat.
The lower Madison-about 40 miles downstream from Ennis.
The Yellowstone. My favorite. It is the longest free flowing river in the US at 692 miles. This riffle is about a mile and a half long. You could spend days there. It is just one good hole after another. Getting to it without a boat is the hard part. Between Livingston and Big Timber. The lower you go downstream from Big Timber the fewer the trout. Below Columbus to Billings there are some huge fish, but lower numbers. Below Billings the trout peter out leaving a few hundred more miles of river full of Smallmouth Bass, Channel cats Chiselmouth, Shovelnose Sturgeon, (limit 5,) the Pallid Sturgeon which is endangered, Goldeneye and Paddlefish which go up to over 6 feet and 200 lbs. You will also find Pike, Freshwater Drum (Sheepshead) Walleye and their older cousins, Sauger. You will have little competition. You really don’t know what you are reeling in next. This is not fly water. In my mind. Throw out a chunk of bait, kick back and wait. Dinner may be coming soon.
Paradise Valley. There are about 55 miles from Livingston to Yellowstone National Park. Between the 2, closer to Livingston, is Paradise Valley. Home to a number of Celebs. Go into Albertsons and you may see Michael Keaton, John Mayer or Jeff Bridges. This stretch is where all the boats and guides will be. Tourist want this scenery. The Yellowstone flows straight north from the park to Livingston then makes a big bend right below Livingston, sending it eastward across the prairie. This is the stretch I love. Not near as many boats and people. You can fish all day sometimes and not see a boat. There are some great walk-in spots in the northward flow and the eastward flow. A drift boat which I have had 3 years with on the Yellowstone is a blessing and a curse. Shuttles, navigation and some pretty tough white water. Pick your stretch, some are no brainers. On the other hand, it is not true that covering a lot of holes rather than staying in one area helps you catch more fish. But you will think it does.
This is the last part of the big bend, just downstream from Livingston, that sends the river East for 100 miles of more trout fishing.
The Crazy Mountains, just north of Big Timber.
The Lower Jefferson about 10 miles upstream from the town of Three Forks. The Jefferson along with the Gallatin and Madison make up the three forks. At that point they become one and are called the Missouri River.
The Smith River above the famous canyon float area. There are nice browns here. From Livingston the White Sulphur springs is the most fenced area I have seen in Montana. There are fences around 1,000s of acres of nothing. There is access at bridge crossings and a few Fish and game acess spots. The upper river runs through some US forest land also.
The Murray Corner in Livinston. Home to Dan Bailey’s fly shop which is worth a visit, sits next to the Murray corner which includes the Murray Hotel, Murray bar, and two restaurants. The Murray bar has been hosting great talent for over 60 years. The Murray Bar was the subject of the Jimmy Buffett song, “Livingston Saturday Night.” In the early 70’s.
It is hard to say goodbye. God willing, there is always next year.
See you soon,
Craig
208-559-6250
craig@craigverdi.com
Montana is a demented state filled with bigots. Most of the people there are condemned to damnation on Judgment Day for their hate.