Choosing a Float or Wade Trip While Fly Fishing in Montana

I’ve guided fly fishing trips around Bozeman, Montana for a quarter century. I don’t know how many people I’ve taken fishing on the fertile and beautiful rivers near my home town, but I always appreciate seeing places I love through the eyes of my clients. I never take the view from my “office” for granted.

Usually, that “office” is a rowing seat in the middle of my driftboat—a motorless craft specifically designed to navigate shallow, rocky rivers. Sometimes, though, my “office” is the pair of well-worn wading boots I wear while coaching my clients into wild trout against the backdrop of Rocky Mountain peaks.

One of the most common questions we get from guests looking to book a guided fly fishing experience is which type of fly fishing trip they should choose: a float trip or a wade trip. This article will explain both and offer guidance on selecting the trip that best fits your needs, abilities, and expectations.

What is a Float Trip?

Many of the most productive and beautiful trout rivers near Bozeman, Montana are big. The Madison, Yellowstone, Missouri, and Jefferson Rivers are broad, muscular flows, plenty large enough for purpose-built river boats. On float trips, we use boats to quietly drift with the current while casting to banks, runs, seams, boulders or other structure. Almost every fly fishing guide (and most serious recreational anglers) in this area owns at least one boat.

Float trips account for the vast majority of guided fly fishing days in Montana. Clients fish from opposite ends of the boat (one in the bow, one in the stern) while the guide sits between them rowing, directing their casting, offering advice, and netting their fish. Most guided float trips utilize hard-sided crafts made from fiberglass or wood called driftboats. Driftboats offer plenty of space for three people along with gear and luxuries you wouldn’t want to carry—multiple rods, tackle bags, foul weather clothing, life jackets, coolers, etc. At certain times of year, we’ll use specifically equipped rafts to safely navigate narrower, more rapid rivers like the Boulder and Dearborn, but the vast majority of my days are spent on driftboat.

Pro-Tip: Safely piloting a driftboat or raft requires knowledge and experience. Fins and Feathers guides spend years learning the intricacies of our rivers and developing their rowing expertise. We do not recommend DIY or non-guided float trips unless someone in your group has experience rowing Class II or bigger whitewater. You’re perfectly safe floating our rivers with a knowledgeable oarsman, but rookie mistakes can have dangerous and expensive consequences.

Why Take a Float Trip?

As I mentioned, float trips are by far the best and most popular option for guided Montana fly fishing trips. Here’s why:

• Access: Using boats allows you to access far more water. We can float to sections that are impossible to reach on foot. We can also fish structure in the middle of the river that you couldn’t cast to from shore.
• Covering Water: When you fish from a boat that’s moving at the same speed as the current, you can achieve extremely long drifts. Long, natural drifts usually mean more strikes and hookups.
• Comfort: Driftboats offer a stable, flat platform on which to stand and a sturdy brace to lean against while you fish. They have padded seats and plenty of extra room for gear and creature comforts.
• Variety: Even anglers who prefer fishing with their feet planted firmly on the streambed often opt for float trips. We can use the boat to transport us downstream quickly and comfortably, stopping to get out and fish prime water.

What is a Wade Trip?

While float trips are the most popular way to fish Montana’s bigger rivers, they are not the only option. Fins and Feathers also offers guided wade fishing trips. Wade trips, as you can probably guess, do not utilize boats. You drive to river access points and walk up or downstream from there. These trips require more work from the angler and usually result in fewer fish, but there’s nothing wrong with spending a day wandering the banks of a beautiful river.

Though the lion’s share of our trips are float trips, certain guests prefer the pace and intimacy of walking. A few guests enjoy combining a day of fishing with a day of hiking and the satisfaction of putting in a few hard miles between fishing spots. Wade trips are better suited to experienced anglers, as fly fishing from shore requires more refined casting, line management, and wading skills. The river bottoms are lined with boulders and unstable rocks, so wading anglers need to have good mobility and excellent balance.

Pro-Tip: Wade trips are an excellent option for DIY or non-guided fishing days. You can book a guided float trip and then spend a day or two wade fishing to augment and diversify your Montana fly fishing experience.

Why Take a Wade Trip?

Though we recommend that clients opt to spend most of their days float fishing, certain anglers prefer wade trips.

• Smaller Water: Most of the rivers we fly fish in the Bozeman area are large, but some, like the East Gallatin, aren’t large enough to accommodate boats.
• Technical Challenge: In addition to plentiful public trout water, the area around Bozeman offers the chance to fish private spring creeks. These tiny, fertile, gin-clear creeks are legendary for the number, size, and difficulty of their fish. They can only be fished on foot and require advanced booking and an additional daily rod fee.
• Education: If your primary goal is to learn fly fishing skills you can take with you and apply to your personal, non-guided fishing days, a wade trip presents a learning opportunity. Fishing on foot with a professional Montana fishing guide at your side will likely mean fewer fish that day but equip you with knowledge and experience to enhance future fishing.

Choosing the Right Trip for You

So long as you bring a positive attitude, a willingness to learn, and an appreciation for beautiful landscapes, you’re going to enjoy your day on the water no matter how you fish. Here are a few things to keep in mind if you’re still wondering which kind of trip you should book.

• Mobility: If you have limited mobility or struggle with walking long distances, book a float trip. In addition to walking to and from fishing spots, expect to wade on uneven, slippery rocks in knee-deep water that’s flowing with significant power.
• Skill Level: If you’re an experienced fly angler who understands basic casting, mending, and line management, you might enjoy the challenge of a day spent wading, but we find most prefer to float and wade a few productive spots. If you’re a novice angler, a float trip will result in more action and more consistent instruction from your guide.
• Focus: What are your goals for the trip? If you judge a good day by fish caught and new experiences, you’ll probably do better on a float trip. If you’re drawn to an experience that combines hiking, streamside ecology, and fishing, you may prefer a wade trip.
• Ask For Recommendations: There are times of the year when wading is a better option, but floating is generally more effective and a better overall experience for anglers of all skill levels. We have been guiding Montana fly fishing trips since 2000 and have the experience to know when to recommend a float or a wade trip based on myriad variables.

Last Cast

No matter what kind of trip you choose, you’re going to have fun. If you fish with a Fins and Feathers guide, we will pick you up, drive you to the river, provide five to seven hours of expert instruction on the water, feed you a delicious streamside lunch, and get you back to where you started six to eight hours later.

Guide fees are the same regardless of whether you opt for a float or a wade trip. Float trips are the best way to experience and fly fish the Montana rivers where we operate. Wade trips are good options when fishing private waters or for experienced anglers during the early and late season

If you only have a day or two to fish in Montana, I highly recommend booking a guided float trip. If you’re planning a longer trip, consider a mix of float and wade days (maybe float with a guide and spend your non-guided days wading) to diversify your fly fishing experience.