About the MONTANA FISHING CO. Guided fly fishing trips on the Madison and Yellowstone Rivers.

Personalized service
An outfitter - guide service located in Island Park, Idaho, the Montana Fishing
Company, LLC takes pride in the personalized service we are able to provide our
clients due to our small size. We do our own guiding whenever possible, but
when additional guides are required, we choose only from a select handful of the
many independent guides in our area that we have the utmost confidence in.
Availability is on a first come first served basis making advance
reservations a prerequisite.

Fly fishing background
My fly fishing back ground started at a tender age of 8 in Connecticut, fishing the
many streams available there and using my fathers rods and flies. My full interest
in the sport did not come into it's own until I was 20. As I recall it was a cold damp
day after a night of rain. I was floating a dry fly while negotiating a wet slippery
bank on an unnamed stream, when out of nowhere, came a 10" brooky. The fish
hit with the utmost ferocity only a wild trout can possess. I was so startled, not
expecting a strike, that my hands went up almost dropping my rod and causing
me to lose my balance. In an instant I was sitting in the mud, my heart pounding.
To this day I'm in utter amazement at the exhilaration that can be brought forth by
a mear 10" fish.

Necessity and suicidal fish turned to love of guiding
In 1988 my wife Elsie and I relocated to Ennis, Montana, after purchasing the
Riverside Motel. Many of our clients were fly fishermen visiting the area. In my first
encounter with the Madison I was standing knee deep in the river, like so many
before me, trying to untangle a mess of fly line, my fly bouncing on the water at my
feet when a fish came up and hooked itself. Needless to say I myself was hooked.
At the same time I was dismayed that so many of my motel clients were taking
trips with fishing guides and returning dissatisfied. How could that be when the
fish, obviously eager to commit suicide, were biting at my feet. So out of a feeling
of responsibility to the guests of the Riverside I started on my quest to become a
river guide never realizing the great love of guiding I would obtain.

Less drive time more fish time
In 2002 we sold the motel and moved to Big Sky, Montana where I continued
guiding under the new business name Montana Fishing Co., LLC. We have since
moved to Island Park, Idaho which allows us easier access to the Madison and
Yellowstone Rivers.
Less drive time more fish time.

Smiles and memories as big as life
One thing my first encounter with the Madison impressed on me was that even
though the fish that hooked itself at my feet wasn't large it was a memory that has
remained as big as life. We are about enjoying Montana, the river, smiles and
memories.