About  
Dear Friends,

Yesterday Montana Governor Steve Bullock announced that Montana will progress into Phase 2 of The Opening the Big Sky Plan on June 1. In this phase the 14 day quarantine for out of state guests is dropped. In essence we are opening the state for guests right at the historic start to the summer season. Restaurants, breweries and gyms will also be allowed to increase capacity. Yellowstone National Park entry from Montana will also open on that date. Take a look at the entire directive Governor Directive

While this is great news for everyone in the tourism industry and for folks wanting to get out of the city and get some big views and elbow room it needs to be treated with some caution. Our entire staff is more excited than ever to welcome our great out of state friends. We also understand the risks to opening. Montana is made up of small towns that had little to no effect from the COVID virus. Many in Montana are concerned that the addition out of state guests will change that. We are all in this together and ask our out of state friends to be partners with us in this challenging time. If you feel sick please do not travel. If you have a trip with us booked and you can not travel for this reason just let us know. We will reschedule up to the end of 2021 at no loss to deposit.

We have developed protocols on our trips and in our store to mitigate many of the risks and we are constantly staying advised from health agencies on best practices. While some of the practices might have changed our focus has stayed the same. We have creatively crafted the changes to increase service levels, maintain the magic that guided trips always have, make sure our product has not become robotic and protect our guests and staff. If you want to talk about making your Montana Fly Fishing Trip successful and safe just give us a call at the store.

We understand that many of our great guests will be unable to travel this year for health or economic reasons. We are also extremely excited for this season and the possibilities it has. Our river has never been healthier, we had a good snow pack, the fish are happy, most likely the busy pace of the river during the summer will decrease and more solitude will be found. It might just be the perfect season.

There are many things to count as blessings if you look close. The awakening of spring, the receding snow line giving birth to green, our continued health, a productive and healthy river and the best group of guests, staff and guides anyone could ask for.

I have said it before and will again. The come back is greater than the set back. Welcome back to Montana and welcome home.

Good Fishing and God Bless,
John Way
4 Years in a Row of Kicking Plastic on our Guided Trips
For the fourth year in a row we are kicking plastic on all of our guided trips. Each guest will get a new water bottle for them to keep and use during the trip. In the last four years we estimate we eliminated almost 10,000 single use plastic bottles. While this is an increased cost and an added perk to guests it is just the right thing to do. Many guest have all the past colors and designs. If you want to get this years design just give us a call a float trip comes with the price of the bottle.
Madison River Stream Flows
We often get asked from guests how we plan our guide day. Where on the river to float and why. Many times our guides are looking at the stream flows first. This is especially important in the spring and early summer when high flows and changes can impact your day on the water. Check out this link to the Madison flows at Varney Bridge. One more piece to the puzzle on being productive.

Meet the New Intern Louie
Meet Louie our newest member of the team and the new intern. Louie will be heading home to Oregon in the fall after his training is done but will be spending the summer in Big Sky Country. He will be supervised by shop dog Gracie pictured with him on his first day. Stop by this summer and meet Louie and make his summer in the Trout Capital of Montana great.

Fishing During Runoff
Many folks think you can not catch fish in high water. Our guides constantly prove them wrong. In fact during high water most of the fish are pushed to the banks and anywhere it is slower. This decreases the area you need to focus on. If the river is a little off color and high when you arrive just change your tactics. Stop by the store or better yet take a guided trip and learn how our guides find fish during the runoff. Take a look at the blog from last year on fishing the Madison during high water.

Do you want to win an Orvis Helios 3 Fly Rod of your choice? Here's how:

  1. Click the buttons below - "Leave a Google Review" and "Leave an Orvis Review"
  2. Go to "Write A Review"
  3. Leave an honest 5-Star review from your experience with us.
  4. 5-Star reviews from both Google and Orvis will be entered (you can do both).
  5. Winner will be randomly selected after the December 1st deadline.
  6. Winner will be contacted and may choose between the Orvis Helios 3F or 3D and the length/weight they desire.

Get Your 2020 MT Fishing License!

Stop in the shop and get your 2020 License today!
There's a small change to licenses for 2020. You will recieve a regular printed sheet and will be allowed to carry a digitized copy of the license on your phone.

If you still want to carry it on your person, I highly suggest you check out some of the great waterproof items we have in the shop.
The Tackle Shop 
127 Main Street, P.O. Box 625, 
Ennis, MT 59729
(406) 682 4263