Madison River Fishing Access Hot

There are 14 Fishing Access Sites maintained by the Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks on the Madison River in Montana.  The Madison is one of Montana's premier trout rivers for rainbow and brown trout.  The great majority of the river is safely fished from kayaks.  The river from Hebgen Dam to Ennis Lake is primarily riffle water while below Bear Trap Canyon, the river is a slower flowing tailwater.  Although floating is authorized in the sections between Hebgen Dam and Lyons Bridge and between Ennis and Ennis Lake, angling from a boat is not allowed.   Many anglers access these sections via kayak and then wade fish. The section below Ennis Dam, known as Bear  Canyon, provides 9 mile of remote river with several difficult whitewater sections.  Ennis, Montana lies about mid-way between Hebgen Dam (river mile 100) and Three Forks, Montana (river mile 0) and has lodging, food and fishing supplies. As the Madison is designated a class I river for stream access purposes, camping is allowed anywhere along the river below the high water mark as long as the campsite is at least 500 yards and not visible from occupied private dwellings.  Extensive camping sites exist on the Lower Madison and at a few of the Upper Madison access points. More details on the Madison River Fishing Access sites can be found at: http://fwp.mt.gov/fishing/searchResults.html?siteId=1115074459269&qType=waterStream&siteType=FA