The Big Hole

Although the Big Hole River is more than 100 miles long, the term big hole—frontier-ese for a deep, wide valley—refers to the river’s upper basin. Here, between Jackson [1] and Fishtrap, is fabled ranch country, rivaling only eastern Montana for its eternal flatness and traditional Western ways.

Here too is great fishing for the discriminating angler, with rushing streams full of scrappy brook trout and rare arctic grayling, a long-finned species rarely found outside of Alaska and northern Canada. Almost all river access is through private land, so be sure to ask permission from the landowner.