Wild Montana Anglers

06/10/2026

Wild & Scenic River Corridors: A Local Celebration

2026 marks a major milestone for one of America’s most iconic native trout fisheries — the Three Forks of the Flathead River.

This year we celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Flathead’s designation as a Wild and Scenic River corridor. The protections that came with that designation have safeguarded 219 miles of river, helping preserve what many consider the gold standard for intact native trout fisheries in Montana and across the Rocky Mountains.

Large, connected Westslope cutthroat trout fisheries are increasingly rare. The Three Forks of the Flathead remain one of the last best places to encounter wild Westslope cutthroat and bull trout in a truly intact watershed.

Fifty years of protection.
Fifty years of stewardship.
Fifty years of cold, clean, connected water.

Here’s to the next fifty.

06/03/2026

“It’s a blood sport whether you like it or not.” Those were the words spoken by my client Rick as I was trying to revive a mature cutthroat trout that was hooked deep with a barbless dry fly one late July morning. Rick was an older gentleman, retired from a career in the military and he did not mince words when it came to the sticky subject of fish mortality and catch and release fishing. Since then, those words have hung in the periphery of my consciousness. As a result, I find myself asking more and more, what are the impacts to the fisheries I work on from my role in the guide seat?

It is a fact that not every fish we catch and release is gonna survive the encounter. According to several studies that have surfaced in the past 20 years related to trout mortality through the use of catch-and-release practices, anglers are looking at anywhere from 0-10% mortality with good water conditions and mortality rates much higher (40+%) when water conditions are not ideal. Those are numbers that can keep fishing guides up at night.

I accept my impact on the fishery and strive to hold myself and the guides that work with Wild Montana Anglers to the highest standards once the fish has hit the net. We do this by using the best available practices of handling and releasing fish. Sometimes that does not allow us to get a photo of the big one or fish throughout the afternoon in the dog days of summer. But it does allow us to take better care of the places we are so fortunate to work on. Below are three principles learned through and that help in the goal of minimizing mortality and that we use everyday on guided trips.

1: MINIMIZE AIR EXPOSURE

2: ELIMINATE CONTACT WITH DRY SURFACES

3: REDUCE HANDLING TIME

To keep things readable for this platform, I did not dive into the details of these three principles. If you are interested in learning more or want to check out more literature on how to reduce fish mortality check out website(https://www.keepfishwet.org/) and keep an eye out for more posts from us on how to be better stewards of the wild places we love.

05/27/2026

Trailer Overhaul
"The bane of my existence", "stick in my crawl", and "a special kind of gift that keeps on giving" have all been murmured by your favorite fishing guide at some point or another when referring to a issue with their trailer.

It's not if, it's when you will have to do a trailer repair. The most common by far are trailer lights and bearings but as guides, working on some of Montanas most remote drainages where the roads are rough and the boat ramps are considered “spicy,” you need a complete over haul of your trailer from time to time. Check out the link in the bio for a full article on how to overhaul your drift boat trailer.

https://wildmontanaanglers.com/trailer-love-a-drift-boat-trailer-rebuild/

05/20/2026

Danny Catlett is a guide’s guide.

Well respected throughout the Montana guiding community, Danny has worn more than a few hats in the outdoor world over the years. He and his wife Rhonda moved to Columbia Falls, Montana in 1995, where they built a life together and raised their three daughters. Recently celebrating their 31st wedding anniversary, the two take a lot of pride in the strong foundation they’ve built both within their family and their community.

Danny’s deep connection to the outdoors led him into guiding fishing and hunting trips in 2004, turning that passion into a full-time career by 2007. In 2009, he added another layer to his craft by starting a taxidermy business, keeping his hands and his mind engaged year-round. After decades of dedication, Danny became a licensed outfitter in 2023.

One client once described Danny’s guiding style as the Bob Marley song “Three Little Birds.”
“Don’t worry about a thing, ’cause every little thing gonna be alright.”

Laid back as he may be, Danny is always in command of his craft and rarely fails to deliver a memorable day on the water—no matter the conditions.

Each summer, Danny works alongside the talented team at Wild Montana Anglers, sharing his knowledge, patience, and deep respect for Montana’s rivers and wild places.

Whether he’s guiding anglers, leading hunters, or crafting taxidermy pieces that honor the experience, Danny remains committed to the resource and the people who depend on it. It’s a level of care, humility, and experience that shows in everything he does.

Book a trip with Danny and you just might be humming a Bob Marley tune yourself once the day is done.

05/13/2026

Conservation Licenses.

It is often asked by the folks we take out fishing. Why do I need a conservation license just to buy a fishing license in Montana?

The short answer is because Montana decided a long time ago that access and healthy fisheries shouldn’t depend on general tax dollars or fluctuate with politics. Coming out of the 1970s access battles and the creation of Montana’s Fishing Access Site (FAS) program, the state made a deliberate choice to fund conservation and access directly through the people who use it.

The conservation license was created to make sure everyone who uses Montana’s fish and wildlife resources helps pay into the system that supports them. That money goes directly toward things anglers care about: maintaining fishing access sites (clean toilets), managing rivers, improving habitat, enforcing regulations, and keeping public access public.
It’s one of the reasons Montana still has one of the strongest FAS programs in the country. Boat ramps can’t maintain themselves. River corridors don’t protect themselves. And fisheries need management. Especially as pressure, drought, and development increase.

Is it an extra step when buying a license? Yes. Is it part of why we can still float, wade, and fish so much public water in this state? Absolutely.

At Wild Montana Anglers, we think of it less as a fee and more as buying into the system that keeps Montana’s rivers fishable and accessible for all of us.

05/06/2026

I think most Montana guides chuckle when we get asked the question: “We fished with this one guide once, do you know them?”

“He was a white guy, medium height, beard, usually wears a hat and sunglasses.” The typical reply is Yeah… you just described most of us.

Unfortunately, we tend to all look alike, and to be honest, our guide rigs usually do too. Pull into any busy Montana boat ramp and you’re bound to see a lineup of Toyota Tundras, Chevy 1500's, or Suburbans backed up to drift boats and trailers.

At Wild Montana Anglers, we’ve always liked breaking the mold. For over a decade, our guide rig of choice has been a hybrid Toyota Highlander. It’s hauled drift boats, jet boats, and rafts thousands of miles to some of Montana’s most iconic boat ramps.

That said, over 20+ years of hauling boats and shoveling water, plenty of rigs have come and gone. One still stands above the rest: a 1987 Toyota Land Cruiser. It didn’t go anywhere fast, started about 80% of the time, but it never lacked adventure or stories inside its cavernous cab. The Band’s Jericho lived permanently in the tape deck.

Meeting new clients in the morning was always a 50/50 coin flip. Some were stoked on the nostalgia of climbing into an old rig. Others quietly wondered why we were getting passed by just about everyone on the highway on the way to the river.

Eventually, the peer pressure from fellow guides and outfitters won out, and the old Cruiser was retired. But I still think about it whenever I see a Land Cruiser in the wild or when “Atlantic City” comes on while bouncing down one of Montana’s many dirt roads.

To my fellow guides out there—what was your favorite guide rig over the years?

04/29/2026

Quick-release tools.

One of the biggest stressors for trout in Western waters is warm water temperatures. The other is how much we physically handle the fish. As anglers and guides, we can’t change the water temps, but we can control how much we handle trout. On our trips with clients, we take that seriously.

One of the best ways we’ve found to reduce handling stress is by using dehooking tools. They come in all shapes and sizes, but they all do the same thing: let you remove a hook without ever lifting the trout out of the net.

After a lot of trial and error, we’ve learned that the key to using these tools consistently is simple — keep them on your net. If the tool is clipped to your vest or buried in a boat bag, you're not going to use it every time. Having it mounted to the net keeps it close, speeds up the release, and cuts down the amount of time the fish spends in the net (and in your hands).

We’ve tried everything to keep them secured: duct tape, super glue, zip ties… none of it held up. Embedding a small lanyard in epoxy directly onto the net frame has been the most durable and guide-proof method by far.

Also, I’ll be honest, using these tools will takes practice. Even after a few years, I still have moments where I wonder if I’m doing it right. But it’s a skill worth developing if we want healthier trout and a healthier fishery.

In the waters around Glacier National Park, I’ve found that carrying two sizes works best:

• A small dehooker for dries and nymphs.

• A larger diameter dehooker for foam flies and streamers.

Less handling. Faster releases. Better outcomes for the fish we care about.

04/22/2026

If you walked into your local watering hole and ran a quick bar stool survey on how fishing regulations come to be in Montana, what percentage of folks do you think would actually know?

Do you?

Don’t worry, for the longest time, I had no idea, and honestly no real desire to know how fishing regulations come to be in the state of Montana. But it’s actually a pretty important process, and one that we all have a chance to be part of.

Here’s a quick breakdown, from the point of view of a fishing guide (so take it as you will), on how a fishing regulation goes from idea to the regulation booklet:

• Every two years, Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks (MT FWP) begins the process of setting regulations for the next cycle

• Regional biologists compile a list of potential changes based on science, department recommendations, and public input

• Those proposals go through an internal review process to vet each potential regulation change�

• The vetted list is released for public comment and may be modified based on feedback

• Final proposals are presented to the FWP Commission for a vote

• If approved, the regulations are implemented in the next cycle’s regulation booklet

We are currently at the beginning stages of this process for the 2027–2028 fishing regulations.
This is your opportunity to weigh in for the 2027–2028 fishing regulations.

Here in the Glacier National Park area of Region 1, there are several proposed regulation changes. Take a look at the link below for proposals and, if you can submit your input either in person at the Region 1 office on May 14th, 2026 at 5:30 pm or online via the link below.

Maybe next time you’re at the bar, the conversation gets a little more interesting.

👉 https://fwp.mt.gov/aboutfwp/public-comment-opportunities/fishing-regulations

04/14/2026

Do you know the song Hallelujah by Leonard Cohen? It opens with the line, “Now I’ve heard there was a secret chord, that David played and it pleased the Lord.”
I often find myself humming that tune after pulling over to pick up trash while floating Montana’s rivers. And I’m convinced that if there are fishing gods out there, this might be their secret chord—the one that bumps your fish karma just a little higher.
More importantly, it shows the folks we’re lucky enough to fish with that we genuinely care about the places we work. Stewardship isn’t a side project; it’s part of the day.
So don’t be surprised if you see a Wild Montana Anglers boat pulling away from a ramp near Glacier National Park with a little more than fishing gear on board and maybe a guide quietly humming the rest of Hallelujah.

04/11/2026

Spring has brought unpredictable weather and water conditions around the Glacier National Park area but we got all the beta you need to have fun, safe, and productive day on the water. Check out our latest fishing report for April.

April 2026 fishing report for Glacier National Park and the Flathead Valley. Current river flows, fly recommendations, and spring fly fishing conditions in Montana.