THE RAMBLINGS OF A CATSKILL FLY FISHER

Rivers run through it

BY TONY BONAVIST
Posted 1/11/23

Not so many years ago, Montana was still the wild west. A rural state with lots of cowhands, where it was legal to purchase a sidearm, wear it in a holster, and walk down Main Street. Real estate was reasonably priced, and there was a lot of open space.

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THE RAMBLINGS OF A CATSKILL FLY FISHER

Rivers run through it

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Not so many years ago, Montana was still the wild west. A rural state with lots of cowhands, where it was legal to purchase a sidearm, wear it in a holster, and walk down Main Street. Real estate was reasonably priced, and there was a lot of open space.

I don’t know whether or not one can still carry a six-gun in public, but real estate is no longer reasonably priced.

In 1973, Chet Huntley opened Big Sky, a high-end resort and living community about 50 miles south of Bozeman. The establishment of Big Sky began the change in Montana from a sparsely populated, mostly rural state, to a destination of the well-heeled. Over the years, that transformation progressed rather slowly.

Until.

In 1976, Norman Maclean published “A River Runs Through It,” an accounting of life near the Blackfoot River in western Montana. It was not too long thereafter that Robert Redford, the actor and film director, contacted Maclean to see about purchasing the rights from the book, so he could produce the movie. 

Legend has it that Maclean originally declined Redford’s offer. However, at some point, the author acquiesced, and in 1992, the film “A River Runs Through It” was released.

Although the book “A River Runs Through It” tells a story about life along the Blackfoot River, the actual filming was done on the Gallatin River, between Bozeman and Big Sky. Word has it that staff from Dan Bailey’s Fly Shop, in Livingston, assisted with the filming and provided a lot of casting scenes shot from a distance. Brad Pitt played the main character. As far as upscale, commercially produced movies about fishing go, this film was very well done, with casting scenes that were authentic.

I don’t know how soon after the release of “A River Runs Through It” the real estate boom began in Montana, at least in that portion of the state situated in the Rocky Mountain region. Theatergoers saw the beauty of Montana and the great trout fishing, and the exodus from other states to the Big Sky started. 

As a result, sleepy towns such as Ennis, Twin Bridges, Hamilton and Darby—among others—started to witness a significant change in the real estate market. Large ranches were sold, housing prices soared, and Montana was on the map of the most desired destinations for people with deep pockets. 

Folks from California in particular purchased properties, either taking over existing homes or, in many instances, purchasing large tracts of ranch land. Some of those folks hired contractors and had massive homes constructed on their new sites. Local architects and builders were retained to design and build these structures. A great many were made of logs, with a lot of stone—including massive fireplaces—beneath cathedral ceilings. 

At some point along the way, “The Big Sky Journal” began publication, and became an instrument of Montana’s real estate brokers, used to promote the properties they offered for sale. It is a beautifully produced magazine featuring all aspects of life in the western Rocky Mountains, including fly fishing. In fact, the annual spring edition is called the “Fly Fishing Issue.” And I’m proud to say that this writer once had a piece published in the Big Sky Journal. 

By now some of you may be wondering what all of this high-end development has to do with fishing, and with fly fishing in particular. The influx of money has had a significant impact on the cost of housing in and around the famous trout rivers of northwest and southwest Montana—rivers like the Bitterroot, Blackfoot, Big Hole, Gallatin, Missouri and Madison. Those rivers are now destinations for anglers from all over the world, particularly during the salmon-fly hatch. Fishing pressures have increased dramatically, and guides and guide boats are commonplace on many of these rivers. In fact, guide-boat pressure on sections of the Madison River outside of Yellowstone Park became so intense that boats are no longer permitted in certain sections. As a result, angling is now restricted to the river bank and wading. On other rivers, guide boats are restricted to every other day.

Anglers planning a fishing trip to Montana should check with the guide published by the Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks department for regulations that pertain to the rivers they plan to fish. 

When I was in Missoula, I stayed one summer to complete my degree. During my time there, I fished the Bitterroot every week, and saw exactly one guide boat and no other anglers. The same with Lolo Creek and the Clark Fork—I never saw another angler, a fly fisher or otherwise.

Now these 20-or-so years after the release of “A River Runs Through It,” both real estate development and fishing pressures have changed the demographics of the state markedly. In fact, Bozeman is now the hub of the new Montana. It features high-end restaurants, galleries, the Montana State Bobcats and the only airport in Montana with a direct flight from Newark, NJ. That in itself says a lot about the Bozeman area, southwestern Montana and the folks that live and fly fish there. 

In my view, “A River Runs Through It” was the one single factor that influenced the changes in the state of Montana. These days, the Big Sky Journal also plays a role. Just try and reserve a room in West Yellowstone during peak season, without a lot of advance planning!

montana, story, norman maclean, film, literature

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