jasmillo
Active Member
I do not see that river getting any less crowded in the foreseeable future. In a state with thousands of miles river of with solid trout fishing, there are a handful of rivers that are big draws, and the Madison is the biggest. People who love fly fishing and who visit Montana are going to want to fish it. That’s always been the case and always will be unless the fishery collapses.
Until there is evidence to support that current useage is endangering the fishery, I say let the tourists have it....in the summer. There are soooo many good rivers, especially in that part of Montana that have few people on them during peak tourists months. Go fish those. One good thing about the Madison is it is very long, very productive river that can handle heavier pressure. Imagine if all those tourists spread out to some of the more fragile fisheries in the area? If you are a local, fish it pre-runoff, maybe battle the crowds a day or two when the salmon flies show up and stay away until October! Tough pill to swallow for locals, I get it. The state needs the tourists dollars though and the tourists are not going away. Use the thing you have over all those visitors to your advantage - local knowledge.
I’ll probably get $h*t for this post and I get it. Some out of stater telling you how to react to a situation on your local river. The situation is not all that unique though. This situation occurs to some extent nearly everywhere. It happened on my home river in CT. A river I grew up on and in the summer is inundated with out of state anglers. It happened on certain rivers in Missoula where I lived, on certain rivers in CO when I lived there and it happens on beaches and creeks here in western Washington. People congregate, so find the places with good fishing where they don’t! It takes effort, I get it. As someone who seems to move every 5 years I have had to try and find those “other” places on my own in multiple places over the last 15-20 years. Worth it though. Sometimes having a big draw like the Madison around can actually work to your benefit.
Until there is evidence to support that current useage is endangering the fishery, I say let the tourists have it....in the summer. There are soooo many good rivers, especially in that part of Montana that have few people on them during peak tourists months. Go fish those. One good thing about the Madison is it is very long, very productive river that can handle heavier pressure. Imagine if all those tourists spread out to some of the more fragile fisheries in the area? If you are a local, fish it pre-runoff, maybe battle the crowds a day or two when the salmon flies show up and stay away until October! Tough pill to swallow for locals, I get it. The state needs the tourists dollars though and the tourists are not going away. Use the thing you have over all those visitors to your advantage - local knowledge.
I’ll probably get $h*t for this post and I get it. Some out of stater telling you how to react to a situation on your local river. The situation is not all that unique though. This situation occurs to some extent nearly everywhere. It happened on my home river in CT. A river I grew up on and in the summer is inundated with out of state anglers. It happened on certain rivers in Missoula where I lived, on certain rivers in CO when I lived there and it happens on beaches and creeks here in western Washington. People congregate, so find the places with good fishing where they don’t! It takes effort, I get it. As someone who seems to move every 5 years I have had to try and find those “other” places on my own in multiple places over the last 15-20 years. Worth it though. Sometimes having a big draw like the Madison around can actually work to your benefit.