Normal 0 Golden Trout Lake is located high in the Gallatin Mountain Range at over 8,000-feet above sea level. To reach the trailhead drive seven-mile north of Big Sky, Montana to the Portal Creek Road. Turn right on Portal Creek Road and drive six-mile to the Golden Trout Lake Trailhead. Golden Trout Lake lies in a cirque in a lush Alpine Forest, in a Wilderness setting. Golden Trout Lake is crystal clear, small in size and contains only Golden Trout. Springs feed Golden Trout Lake and there is an outlet the Golden Trout use for spawning.

With heart-stirring landscapes, benefits for physical and mental health and clean, cold water, Montana’s high country is truly the final frontier in the last best place. That is why Wilderness Adventures Press is excited to introduce this all-new guide to flyfishing southwest Montana’s mountain lakes. These underfished tarns host everything from wild 5-pound cutthroat to the elusive and challenging golden trout to the increasingly rare arctic grayling. Mix in the occasional trophy brookie and all the 12-inch cutts and rainbows you can catch and it becomes apparent that there is no shortage of opportunity. Author Joshua Bergan has spent years exploring these pristine highland gems. From fish and bugs present, to water conditions, hiking difficulty and the flies that work, this guide provides all the necessary information. A broad selection of drive-to lakes, short hikes and several-mile treks with overnights are laid out with GPS coordinates for the trailheads and destinations. The author’s driving directions get you to Point A and Wilderness Adventures Press’ highly-touted maps take it from there. This comprehensive guidebook covers over 250 highland lakes from the Absarokas to the Idaho border, including the Gallatin Range, Madison Range, Gravelly Range, Tobacco Roots, Pioneer Mountains, Beaverhead Mountains and other smaller ranges. Fishing mountain lakes isn’t for everyone, which is why it should be for you. Unleash a lifetime of new fishing spots with this outstanding new book.

This guide answers every angler’s questions about stocking schedules, fish abundance, precise location coordinates, elevation, surface area, and maximum depth for more than 1,000 lakes and streams in the magnificent Beartooth and Absaroka Mountains on the Montana-Wyoming border. Many of these waters teem with colorful fish; others are barren. Some are easily accessible; others are tough to find. This book gives clear descriptions of trails, distances, landmarks, terrain, and even availability of firewood. Each page is enriched with first-hand descriptions, advice, humor, and knowledge of the area’s history, including the Crazy Mountains.

How to reach and fish remote waters in Montana, Wyoming, Colorado, Utah, Idaho, and Oregon.

Normal 0 Rattlesnake Creek is a small wadeable creek which runs through the Rattlesnake Wilderness and Recreation Area for approximately 23 miles and flows into the Clarkfork River in downtown Missoula, Montana. Until 1983, Rattlesnake Creek was used as Missoula's municipal water supply. In 1940 the creek was closed to fishing above the water supply reservoir, which is located 2.5 miles upstream from the mouth. Due to an outbreak of Giardia in 1983, Missoula began using wells as its sole source of water thus allowing recreational use of the water for the first time in 45 years. In the winter of 1984-85 the Montana Fish and Game Commission opened Rattlesnake Creek to catch and release fishing above Beeskove Creek. A six-mile hike limits access to the catch and release fishing section. No vehicle travel is allowed but mountain bikers for easier access can use an old fire road. The current study on Rattlesnake Creek was designed to obtain more intensive data than otherwise possible by state or federal agencies. This report summarizes the results of research initiated in the spring of 1985 to evaluate the population dynamics of the unfished cutthroat fishery below Beeskove Creek and to evaluate the effects of special regulations in the area above Beeskove Creek. The Study Area The upper Rattlesnake Creek drainage is located 5.6 miles (8.3 km) north of Missoula in western Montana (Figure 1). The drainage encompasses approximately 81.3 square miles (21,053 ha), most of which is owned by the United States Forest Service. Rattlesnake Creek originates on the flanks of McLeod and Triangle peaks, flowing south-southwest to its confluence with the Clark Fork of the Columbia River at Missoula (Figure 1). In 23.3 miles (37.0 km), from source to mouth, the creek descends 5291.0 ft. (1613 m) for a mean gradient of 4.3%. Of the nine perennial tributaries, three (Wrangle, Lake, and High Falls creeks) originate from glacial lakes; the remaining 6 (Porcupine, East Fork of Rattlesnake, Beeskove, Pilcher, Fraser and Spring creeks) originate from springs. Numerous intermittent streams also feed Rattlesnake Creek. More than 40 lakes are located in the upper drainage mostly on the west side. Geologic studies indicate that the parent materials include argillites, quartzites, and limestone of the Precambrian Belt series as well as Cambrian shales and limestones (Nelson & Dobell,1961). The watershed is characterized by relatively high peak discharge per unit area, a disproportionately large amount from the upper elevations (Van der Poel, 1979). Rattlesnake Creek is a 3rd order stream, which flows through a fairly steep valley. The valley bottom is an open pine-larch forest; cottonwoods and shrubs line the creek. Occasionally the valley bottom opens up into small, grassy meadows. Higher in the drainage the valley is increasingly timbered and steep. A stable natural character generally persists throughout the drainage. The substrate of Rattlesnake Creek is mostly gravel and cobble with a few boulders. The average flow is approximately 45-50 cubic feet per second. Although the creek does not currently supply Missoula with water, it is primarily managed as a watershed and secondarily managed as a recreational area (USFS Management Plan, 1984). The possibility of building a small filtration plant on the creek and again using the water for Missoula's municipal water supply is being discussed. A small water company dam already exists 2.5-miles upstream from the mouth of Rattlesnake Creek. The area would be the most probable site for a filtration plant. The water company dam prevents all upstream fish migration from the Clarkfork River.

Big Spring Creek flows threw the center of Montana and threw the town of Lewiston, Montana. Big Spring Creek fish hatchery is just upstream from Lewiston, Montana.

Normal 0 The Bighorn River, which runs through the Crow Indian Reservation, opened to the general fishing public in 1981 from action taken by the U.S. Supreme Court. The Bighorn River in Montana begins below the Yellow Tail Dam and After-Bay. The After-Bay was constructed to hold the super saturated Nitrogen water, created by peek power generation from Yellowtail Dam, allowing the Nitrogen too dissipate before entering the Bighorn River. At times the trout below the After-Bay experience high levels of Nitrogen and the trout get Nitrogen Narcosis, the “Bends”; this can decimated the trout fishery. The Bighorn River flows northerly through a wide valley that is heavily farmed and there are irrigation diversion in the lower river divert large volumes of water from the river. The highest trout populations and fishing crowds are in the first 13-miles of river below the Yellowtail After-Bay. The species composition, Rainbow and Brown Trout, in the Bighorn River have fluctuated wildly since the 1981 trout fishing opener. The latest Rainbow Trout population decline is due to Whirling Disease infestation throughout the Bighorn River. The Bighorn River is a large western river with very few places a person can walk across the width of the river. The water is generally clear, except during run-off when water is released over Yellowtail Dam. The shoreline along the river and the many islands are filled with large Cottonwood Trees. The fishing on the river is either exceptional or it is poor. Some of the runs below a riffle-run may contain over a thousand-trout in just a few hundred-yards of river. Many of the guides on the river have their client’s fish nymphs through these large pods of trout. Fishing in this manner can get anyone into hooking fish. The reason is, the trout are stacked in the run like cordwood and while the trout is gilling for oxygen their mouths open and the tippet is pulled through their mouths and the fly inadvertently sticks the fish in the mouth. I have observed this many times while snorkeling. Normal 0 Normal 0 Normal 0 This books purpose is to provide factual data and useful information needed to experience a successful day fishing for Wild Trout in the Rocky Mountains. It is not uncommon to spend hundreds if not thousands of dollars in the pursuit of fishing for Wild Trout. This book can provide the needed information for a successful fishing trip: water temperature, water level, water turbidity, air temperature, weather conditions, daily hatches, stomach analysis from Wild Trout landed, “GDB” flies fished, fly fishing presentations, trout species, trout lengths and geographic location. An Outfitter or Guide will charge you $300.00 to as high as $500.00 for a day of fishing but by reading this book you will be able to catch Wild Trout on your own. The “GDB” Flies used to catch and land all the Wild Trout contained in this book were “Originated” and “Hand-Tied” by the Author.