Kelly Galloup has been a guide and outfitter for over 40 years, with over 20 of those coming in Montana on the Madison river. He knows what it takes to be the best out on the water. Kelly’s pioneering techniques in streamer and cripple fishing has attracted a small core of experienced fishing guides who eat, sleep, and breathe fly fishing. They want nothing more than to show you a great day of fishing and will do whatever it takes to put you on fish. Our guides spend their free time on the water, testing new techniques and patterns of their own designs. They are eager to pass their knowledge on to give you an edge when the fishing is tough and to take back to your local fisheries. Once you book a guided trip with us, we think you’ll understand why we pride ourselves on having the best guide staff on the Madison River.
Take a look at our fishing report to see how the Madison is fishing ahead of your trip. Our guided trips include all flies, rod and reel combos, lunch, and transportation. Montana fishing licenses and guide gratuity is not included.
Waters We Guide
The Madison River
The Madison in Montana is one of the most unique and scenic blue-ribbon trout streams in the country and one that we are proud to call our home. Its headwaters are formed at the confluence of the Firehole and Gibbon Rivers in Yellowstone National Park after which it flows roughly 15 miles before emptying in Hebgen Lake near the town of West Yellowstone. On the west side of the lake, Hebgen Dam releases water to a short 1.5-mile stretch commonly referred to as between the lakes, that serves up some fantastic opportunities to the wade fishermen before flowing into Quake Lake. Quake Lake was formed by an Earthquake measuring 7.3 on the Richter scale in 1959 which sent an estimated 80 tons of mountainside into the river. A month later the U.S. Army Core of Engineers constructed a natural spillway to ensure erosion and potential failure of the natural dam would be minimized. From the outlet of Quake Lake to the town of Ennis, the river drops nearly 1,500 feet in elevation and is commonly referred to as the fifty-mile riffle. This section is world-renowned for its prolific hatches of caddis, mayflies, and stoneflies and offers up some incredible streamer action for those looking to hook into the one. You will find a good mix of Brown and Rainbow Trout that inhabit these waters, as well as the native Mountain Whitefish. There are still a few Yellowstone Cutthroats caught each year, but it is certainly not a common encounter.
Check out our full write up on the Madison River including seasonality and hatch activity here.
The Jefferson River
The Jefferson is formed at the confluence of the Big Hole River and Beaverhead River roughly two miles north of Twin Bridges, Montana. From there it flows 80 miles through a variety of different landscapes before joining the Madison fishing River and Gallatin fishing River to form the mighty Missouri near the town of Three Forks. The Jefferson is often over-shadowed by more well-known fishing rivers in the area such as the Madison, Beaverhead, Big Hole, and Ruby; however, it still can offer up some incredible fishing throughout the year. We love taking people over here for two main reasons. The first is that it receives very little pressure, and the second is the quality and size of the fish. While the trout population in the Jeff is about half of what you’ll find on the Madison, there are some absolute pigs that inhabit this fishing river. We target these fish using streamers and large dry flies, and tend to focus our efforts on the upper 60 miles.
With all the great water and solitude that the Jefferson provides, a very common question that we receive is why aren’t there more people fishing here? For one thing, the Jefferson is not as consistent of a fishery as its neighbors and can be a little “finicky” to put it bluntly. Another big reason is that the Jeff is not always an option due to low flows and warm water temperatures during the summer months when most anglers are out on the water. That being said, the Jefferson remains one of our favorite rivers in South-West Montana, and one that provides the type quality fish and solitude that our customers truly appreciate.
The Big Hole River
From its headwaters near Jackson, Montana to the confluence with the Beaverhead River in the small town of Twin Bridges, The Big Hole River flows 153 miles through spectacular Montana landscapes that you simply have to see to believe. We tend to fish the Big Hole during the Spring and early Summer months, when water levels are high enough to float the entire river. In April and May you can find good numbers of March Browns, Skwalas, Mother’s Day Caddis, and BWOs hatching – This is also our favorite months to fish the Big Hole with larger articulated streamers. As runoff subsides in early June, Salmonflies, Golden Stones, PMDs, and Caddis are on the menu and can offer up some of the best dry fly fishing of the year. What sets the Big Hole apart from other rivers in Montana is its remote, untouched beauty. While it is accessible by car and well-traveled by anglers, the surrounding landscape remains relatively pristine.
The Yellowstone River
The Yellowstone is the largest free-flowing river in the continental United States, and stretches over 670 miles from its headwaters in the Teton Wilderness before emptying into the Missouri River in North Dakota. This is a large wild river in Montana, that is best fished from a drift boat, although there are certainly opportunities for the wade angler at lower flows. The Yellowstone provides great fishing with nymphs, dries, and streamers and produces some of the largest brown trout in the state every year. Most of these brutes are caught on streamers, and this is another reason why we love taking people over here in late Spring and and early Fall. Due to the immense size of the watershed, the Yellowstone experiences a fairly extensive runoff beginning anywhere from early to late May. On normal years the river starts coming back into shape around the second in July, but it is not uncommon for runoff conditions to persist into August on years with larger snow packs. That said, we recommend floating the Yellowstone from March through May and again from post-runoff through November. We focus most of our guided fly fishing trips on the upper 100+ miles between Gardner and Big Timber, as the river becomes more of a warm water fishery below the town of Columbus, MT.
2025 Guide Rates
- Madison River Float trips: $650.00 per day for 1-2 anglers
- Madison River Walk Wade trips: $650.00 per day for 1-2 anglers
- Madison River Half Day Trips: $550.00 per day for 1-2 anglers, does not include lunch
- Jefferson River Float Trips: $650.00 per day for 1-2 anglers
- Big Hole River Float Trips: $650.00 per day for 1-2 anglers
- Yellowstone River Float Trips: $650.00 per day for 1-2 anglers
- Outfitters: Kelly Galloup #10420 and John McClure #23640
CANCELLATION POLICY
A 50% deposit is required to book a guided Montana fly fishing trip. Deposits are refundable for any changes made prior to 30 days before your scheduled arrival date. After this date, you are responsible for the entire amount of your trip regardless of the reason for cancellation. Credit card cancellations will be charged an additional 5% to cover our processing fees.
