Scott Vollmer Outfitting, LLC
Scott Vollmer, MT Outfitter #26303
Authorized Dealer, Canyon Coolers
Copyright Scott Vollmer Outfitting, LLC. All rights reserved.
Places We Fish.
Blackfoot River
The river of "A River Runs Through It" (the book, not the movie), the Blackfoot is truly a remarkable and scenic river. Returning from its recent pollution tarnished history, the Big Blackfoot River now boasts high populations of brown, rainbow, and westslope cutthroat trout, along with large bull trout in its crystal clear depths. If you are looking for scenery to add to your fishing, then there is no better place to look than the Blackfoot. The Blackfoot is a great dry fly river, with great hatches occurring from spring to summer. In addition, the large brown trout in the Blackfoot often seem "pre-programmed" to eat streamers. Because of its early season cold water, the Blackfoot River tends to fish best immediately following June runoff into summer, but don't overlook the early season (April-May) here. Scott Vollmer Outfitting operates under special Montana Fish, Wildlife, and Parks commercial use permit #138 on the Blackfoot River.
Yellowstone River
The longest undammed river in the lower 48 states, the Yellowstone River hosts brown trout, rainbow trout, Yellowstone cutthroat trout, and mountain whitefish. The Yellowstone is heavily affected by spring runoff, which often only subsides in mid-July. The Yellowstone is a large river best fished from a drift boat. There are many popular and scenic floats, many in Paradise Valley. However, the Yellowstone has great fishing for about 200 river miles and many of the lower river floats can be spectacular, depending on the season. Probably the best fishing on the Yellowstone occurs pre-runoff (March-April) and just after runoff subsides. The Yellowstone has some great hatches, most notably the Mother's Day caddis in the early season (hopefully before runoff) and the salmonfly hatch (hopefully not during runoff). Streamer fishing on the Yellowstone can be extremely productive, especially for the large browns that roam this large river.
Missouri River
A true western tailwater, the Missouri River is yet another large Montana river and trout fishing classic. Its cool and clear waters harbor large populations of rainbow and brown trout along with mountain whitefish. Like most western tailwaters, the Missouri River does not have a wide variety of aquatic insects. However, its hatches of midges, beatis, pmds, tricos, and caddis are prolific. Other less-known hatches occur here and can produce excellent results for those anglers prepared for them. Many anglers use nymphs as the lack of hatch diversity can lead to technical dry fly fishing on the Missouri River, but there can be excellent streamer fishing here as well. Due to its controlled flow rates from Holter Dam and consistent water temperatures, the Missouri River is a year-round fishery.
Madison River
A very famous and very popular Montana trout fishery, the Madison River is a blue ribbon fishery hosting large quantities of quality brown and rainbow trout and abundant mountain whitefish. Dubbed the "50 mile riffle" by some, the Madison can be disconcerting to first-time visitors because of its lack of the traditional riffle-run-pool trout stream character. However, well-hidden everywhere in its near-constant 3-5 foot depths are numerous trout. The Madison River is a year-round fishery, with the best fishing occurring before the busy summer season and commencing as runoff subsides around the beginning of July. The Madison hosts an abundance and variety of aquatic insect life and is probably best known for its salmonfly hatch which typically occurs from late-June to mid-July. The Upper and Lower Madison are both situated below reservoirs, which moderates spring runoff and allows angling opportunities even during high runoff from tributaries. Many anglers fish the Madison with nymphs, but dry fly and streamer opportunities can be found by the attentive angler. Scott Vollmer Outfitting operates under special Montana Fish, Wildlife, and Parks commercial use permit #275 on the Madison River.
Other Rivers and Streams
The great thing about southwestern Montana is the diversity of streams that are viable wade or float fishing options with rivers like the Gallatin, Boulder, Ruby, and Clark Fork. Fishing these accessible streams can make for an extremely enjoyable day. Another option is to fish smaller, wade-friendly streams. We have the capability and knowledge base to guide fisherman throughout the state of Montana, where Montana Fish, Wildlife, and Parks and the Bureau of Land Reclamation allow for commercial use. We welcome your inquiries and requests and will accommodate them based on our existing operations plan.
Jefferson River
Not as famous as its southwestern Montana brethren, the Jefferson River is a fabulous trout fishing river nonetheless. Affected by irrigation dewatering, the Jefferson can become too warm and too weedy to fish in mid-summer. The "shoulder seasons", pre-runoff, post-runoff, and late fall are the best times to hit up the Jeff. Not having the high fish counts of other rivers, the Jefferson supports large brown and rainbow trout, which lends itself to targeting these fish by streamer fishing and having a high degree of patience. The Jefferson can have great early season hatches not well known to the general angling community. If you hit it right (and I'm always trying), the Jefferson can be as rewarding an angling experience as you can find in our state.