Imagine a place where grizzly bears and wolves still roam, a place of space where starlit skies stretch to infinity and the cold fertile currents of rivers and lakes hold wild trout, weighed in pounds rather than measured in inches. Places of wonder where Lewis and Clark explored and mountain men called home. The American West, where the magnetic force that once beckoned early explorers is today calling all who love wild things and magnificent fishing to come and sample.
Wild fish capture the spirit of the West—rainbows, cutthroats, browns, and brookies, in a pristine environment, a Mecca for anglers. The choices are endless, from the small Livingston Valley spring creeks to the large flows of the hallowed Yellowstone, Missouri, and Bighorn. Something for everyone.

Smiling faces tell all—the right fly or lure, the fish of a lifetime—proof that dreams can come true. For most anglers the only disappointment is the end of the trip. Go once, though, and you’ll return.

From Barry & Cathy Beck—For over twenty years, we’ve made an annual pilgrimage from our cabin in the mountains of Pennsylvania to the mountains, prairies, and rivers of Montana, Wyoming, and Idaho. To sample all the trout fishing in just these three states would take many lifetimes, let alone allowing time to venture to neighboring states. Some of the best fishing stretches from the end of June to mid-October.

A first trip isn’t complete without a visit to Yellowstone Park and its grandeur, wildlife, exceptional fishing, and plentiful activities for nonfishing companions or family members. Excellent accommodations are available in West Yellowstone at the west entrance to the park. Camping and lodging also are available in the park, but make reservations well in advance.

After all these years, we now spend most of our fishing time in three areas. Montana’s Big Horn River, with it’s population of wild brown trout, long ago captured our hearts. Each August, we find ourselves casting to these free-rising browns.

The Henry’s Fork in Idaho is a close second to the Horn, with some of the most exciting rainbow fishing we’ve ever experienced. And Montana’s Big Hole River offers a taste of old Montana, complete with mountain scenery and varied fishing opportunities.

Each year there’s somewhere new to explore. We recently visited the 3 Rivers Ranch in Idaho (208/652-3788), where we were greeted with warm western hospitality, great guides, and superb accommodations. Here we fished the Teton, Warm, Fall, and Robinson—all new to us, and each a wonderful fishery.

Tackle shops can provide local information—fishing, guides, and accommodations. We recommend the following to help get you started.

Montana: Dan Bailey’s Fly Shop in Livingston, 406/222-1673; The Big Horn Trout Shop in Fort Smith, 406/666-2357; The River’s Edge in Bozeman, 406/586-5373; and Bob Jacklin’s in West Yellowstone, 406/646-7336. Lodging on the Big

Horn: Kingfisher Lodge, near the 3-mile access, H. Smith, Montana, 406/666-2326. Wise River, Beaverhead, Pattengail area near Battle, Montana: Big Hole Country Outfitters, Wise, Montana, 406/832-3254 (one of the prettiest valleys in cowboy country).

Idaho: Henry’s Fork Anglers, 800/788-4479 or The Trouthunter, 208/558-9900—both in Island Park and on the Henry’s Fork River.

Frontiers International Travel Agency, 800/245-1950, represents some of the best fishing lodges in the West.