Crowding is a big concern to everybody these days. As more and more people move to the region and competition for our water resources grows, we have become increasingly sensitive to this “hot topic.” Our guided trips are generally done on portions of rivers that are serviced by other commercial operations and are also accessible to the general public. There are exceptions to this that are available on a limited basis and for an additional trespass fee. Fortunately, no one really wants to spend a guided day of fishing in Montana surrounded by other anglers all day, so our guides make every effort to choose destinations that see less traffic on a given day. On very busy days, the guides in our region tend to spread out once everyone gets on the water, thus reducing the crowding as well.
The busiest months are June, July, and August, with July being the busiest around the region. We rarely see situations where crowding adversely affects the fishing conditions, even on the busiest of summer days. With this in mind, if solitude is the most important factor in choosing your trip dates, consider the early spring as this time of year usually has great fishing and very little crowds. Keep in mind that it is unrealistic to expect to fish the Madison or Yellowstone during the summer months and not see any other anglers. Remember that we do have year-round fishing options available and we would be happy to recommend options to you if crowds are a concern. Even on the most crowded days in Montana, we have found that our perceptions of crowds are very different than most of our visiting anglers. We think spending a couple of minutes at a stoplight is outrageous and traffic is terrible if it takes 10 minutes to get across town!