Late Summer blues potentially getting you down? Trying to decide where to fish? Here in the Bozeman/Big Sky/Livingston triangle, our waters are staying cool and we’re fishing dry flies daily…in fact our grasshopper fishing is primed to serve up a multitude of “Hopper-tunities.” As the Hoot Owl restrictions are a fact of life on the Westside of the state and the weeds on the Missouri might make things a little tricky at times, the Madison, Gallatin, Yellowstone, and Yellowstone Park waters will be the place to be for the next month.
Even with low water conditions, those anglers willing to get up early and commit to fishing dry flies should be pleasantly surprised. We don’t expect bankers hours, as water temps are climbing throughout the day, but fish early and you’ll have clean and cool water. As an added bonus, the Bozeman/Big Sky/Livingston area has great apres’ fishing options! For the hippest place to stay in southwest Montana, try the The Lark Hotel or if you want cowboy chic, the Murray Hotel is the best play. For dining, it’s hard to beat the shrimp and grits at John Bozeman’s Bistro or the chef special at 2nd Street Bistro. If you want to get away from the urban or suburban feel, consider Big Sky—a mountain resort town on the Gallatin River. From Big Sky the Upper Madison is an hour away and the clear and cold water of the Gallatin is right there. For the Big Sky area, we dig renting a house and employing a private chef.
Whatever you decide, stick to the freestones in August and stick to the Bozeman/Big Sky/Livingston tri-fecta.
