Gallatin River

The Gallatin River starts in Yellowstone National Park and flows through Gallatin Canyon past Big Sky, continuing down to the outskirts of Bozeman, eventually it makes its way to Three Forks and joins the Jefferson River and Madison River to form the Missouri River.

The Gallatin River is one of Bozeman’s closest wade fishing options, it flows right by town and can be a good choice for your half-day wade trip. It’s not uncommon to do a half-day on the river before heading to the airport for an afternoon flight out of town. Most of the river is wade fishing only, but there is a short float on the lower river. The fishing from Big Sky to Bozeman is very good with a healthy trout population and a lot of opportunity for dry fly fishing using big attractor patterns. As the river makes its way out of the canyon and down to Bozeman it starts to braid apart and becomes cluttered with big log jams and nice under cut banks, this section also has a healthy fish population and holds bigger Brown Trout; as it gets farther down river the fish get bigger but the numbers starts to decline.   

With the nearby college and the growing town of Bozeman at its doorstep, it is not surprising to find a full parking lot at some of the access sites, but even with this busy feel it’s not hard to leave the crowd behind with a short walk down the river. 

East Gallatin River

The East Gallatin River is a short fork of the Gallatin River, this portion of the river is quite a bit different then the Main fork, not nearly as fast and clear, usually a little less busy and can be a bit of a chore to wade with logs jams and steep corroded banks to negotiate. This is a fun place for the light hearted willing to get muddy and sneak up on little honey holes. Private land cuts off a lot of the river from easy access but the spots that are available offer plenty for a day on the water and endless deep buckets filled with a healthy population of trout.