Montana has long been considered a fly fishing mecca. A place where anglers around the world dream of getting a chance to fish, but why is this?

Unlike other Western states, Montana is primarily catch-and-release required fishing. This means that over the years Montana has been able to maintain a majority population of Native fish in the rivers. As a Washington native myself, then Montana transplant (as I graduated from the University of Montana), this was an achievement rooted in a partnership between conservation and recreation that amazed me.

In states such as Washington and Oregon, fishing seasons have been continuously shortened over the last several decades as fish such as salmon, trout, and sturgeon get increasingly fished out of the waters. To maintain fishing in these states, they rely on bodies of water being stocked with hatchery fish and the numbers of native fish are dwindling. You will find as you spend time in Montana that locals have an immense sense of pride in being able to keep native fish in our rivers which results in Montana being a very special place for fishing.

Aside from Montana’s ability to execute conservation efforts, Montana simply has rivers that are meant to be fished. Recently, Forbes declared two Montana towns as being in the top 10 trout-fishing towns in North America, those two towns were Missoula and West Yellowstone. The Clark-Fork River which runs through the heart of Missoula is a paradise for fly-fishing. The other great fly-fishing river nearest to Missoula is the Blackfoot River. Both rivers, full of Rainbow Trout, Brown Trout, and Cutthroat Trout, make up fishing conditions that many anglers only dream about.

Whether you choose to book a guided fishing trip with GuideTime or simply pick up a rod and hit the river yourself, you won’t go wrong with fishing in Montana. We just want you to enjoy the rivers that we all love so much and have an appreciation for the conservation that has gone on to maintain Montana’s status as a fishing destination.