Trips
Day-trips
HGS offers sinple–day trips, lunch included. We'll discuss the best general fishing options and locales before you come, and once you're here, we'll settle our final plans based on current conditions. And, you determine when we start and how long we stay out. I've worked for hardcore trout–addicts who love to cast in utter darkness at both ends of the day, and I've guided folks who've gotta be on dry land with some old scotch at 5:00 p.m. It's up to you; you're doing the hard work – I'm just working hard to help you enjoy it. Top
The Big Hole, Bighorn, and Missouri are "two-day" rivers
These favorites are too far away to fish and return in a single day to Gallatin Gateway without cheating either your sleep or your fishing. So, we need a minimum of two days to fish them. If you choose to fly, I can pick you up and return you to the nearest airports: Butte, Billings, and Helena, respectively. If we plan to fish somewhere else after a couple days, we usually just carry on in my rig. At each of these rivers, there are several lodging choices and a selection of eateries where you can wallow in luxury (Montana-style, mind you) or mingle with the haybalers, rodeoers, and fellow anglers. Top
Float Fishing
HGS uses a variety of boats to get you safely to the best fishing in a variety of water conditions:
Driftboat – the best way to cover long stretches of great water and perfect for casting to those bank-hugging hogs and rock–garden Godzillas on the Yellowstone, Missouri, Bighorn, or Jefferson. I use a classic hardside Clackacraft or one of the new "lowside" skiffs that cuts through the wind and allows us to sneak up on shallow–water fish as silently as the raft.
Raft – for rocky, "thin–water" situations like the upper Madison, the middle and lower Gallatin, Big Hole, and the Beaverhead or anywhere the flow is extremely low. I use an Avon Explorer fitted with a solid frame, a hard floor, rod scabbards, and comfortable seats.
Canoe – ideal for sinuous braided streams, it's an "aquatic motorcycle" that quickly and quietly gets you to backwaters where you can get out and be all alone with the fish. HGS is one of the few guide services that offer this choice – take advantage of it- you'll love it.
One of my favorite trips is to canoe the Gallatin in stretches where few anglers go. I'll only take relatively physically–fit and youthful–minded clientele because we don't fish from the boat, there's some paddling involved, and we often have to portage over or around trees to get to the special spots.
All boats can be used as transportation, too, letting you take some shots at promising banks or pods of sippers as we make our way between great walk-wade spots, so long as regulations allow fishing from a boat. This is the popular way to negotiate the Missouri and the Bighorn – or any river, for that matter – when the hatches are on in certain spots. Top
Walk-wade Fishing
If you like one–on–one match–ups with clever trout, crouch down, tread softly and carry that rod low so they don't see you. We can get to a lot of places along our favorite rivers that hold fish the boats often miss. On backcountry or small stream adventures, a little walking leaves the most of the crowd behind. Some of my best days are with folks who fish in and along a stream, lose track of the time and unwind like nowhere else. I call it "trout tunnel vision" and encourage the technique for stress relief. Likely locations for such therapy: all waters in Yellowstone Park, the upper Gallatin, and, of course, the spring creeks. I usually tote lunch along so we don't have to leave the fishing. On the spring creeks, we dine bankside in relaxed splendor. All in all, this is a good way to go – we can read the water, catch some bugs to match a fly to, really get into the action. If you're one to work over a fish until you catch it, this is your world. Top
Handicapped anglers
HGS has experience with wheelchair–bound and other disabled anglers. We make sure you're stable, safe, and secure, then help get you oriented on the bank or maneuver the watercraft so you get your best opportunities without hassle. Last year, I had an avid, energetic guy strap his chair in the front of the driftboat and proceed to outfish his 20–something son. On one of my first trips, I steadied and supported a semi–paralyzed elderly stroke victim all day; we had a great time. (Re politically–correct terms like "challenged": Not sure what's acceptable these days, but I tend to think of everyone as able, no matter what's happened or happening to them.) Top
