End Of The Line For Trout Fishing, You Can’t Do Better Than Ennis, Mont.

Break out the royal wulffs, humpies and woolly buggers. It’s fishing season in the icy-cold waters of Montana.

The rivers and creeks will be thick with bobbing lures this summer and fall as the pole-and-troll set heads for mountain streams gushing with melt-off from winter snowpack.

Whether they favor a deep-running plug or a cast dry fly, lovers of walleye, kokanee salmon, mountain whitefish and burbot will find a fishing fantasyland in Montana.

But the biggest draw for the lure-laden set is Montana’s famed trout. For brown or rainbow, you can’t beat the tiny village of Ennis, about an hour north of Yellowstone National Park on Interstate 287.

“The special thing about Ennis is that the Madison River flows right through town - it’s a blue-ribbon spot, the best wild trout stream anywhere in the country,” says Tom Anacker, vice president of the local chapter of Trout Unlimited.

To avoid disappointment, lose your “A River Runs Through It” illusions at the state line. Montana has been discovered. If you dream of solitary fly-casting on a stretch of pristine river, you’re out of luck.

The reality is that the 50 miles of the lower Madison River north of Quake Lake near West Yellowstone is the most written about, talked about - and fished - stretch of river in the Northwest. Some days it can seem like every man and woman with an elk-hair caddi lure, a pickup and a week off from work is in Ennis.

“It used to be just the oil barons and rich boys who came up here, but these days any fool who goes to Wal-Mart and buys a rod heads up this way,” said Ron Marr, editor of the Fan Mountain Almanac and Trout Wrapper, the local weekly newspaper.

But the beaten path sometimes is beaten for good reason. Despite the crowds, few fishermen go away empty-handed. Trout weighing up to 3 pounds are as common as the flies that infest the riverbank marshes. A 30-mile stretch of the river from Quake Lake to McAtee Bridge has been designated a special catch-and-release area.

The center of fishing life along the Madison is Ennis, the self-described trout capital of the United States. At the city limits is a huge metal statue of a heroic fly fisherman reeling in a trout. Nearby is a sign: “Ennis, population 660 people; 11 million trout.”

Once the playground of oil barons who would buy out stretches of river for two-week private vacations, the area now attracts tourists of every stripe and pocketbook size.

“This is a pretty laid-back place. We don’t want to know what you do for a living or how much you’re worth, just where you want to fish,” said Tom DiMeola, owner of Madison River Fishing Co., one of the busy outfitters in Ennis.

Fishing season usually kicks in around mid-May and doesn’t peter out until early October.

The town of Ennis is a collection of stores, restaurants, bait shops and saloons on either side of a dusty, slow stretch of I-287. The town serves as little more than a place to grab a plateful of fried eggs, shop for supplies and check the map one last time before heading out each morning to the riverbank.

The Madison River is filled with brown and rainbow trout. If the crowds are too thick along the main stretch, try the slower waters of nearby Indian Creek and O’Dell Creek.

There are still a few remnants of the golden days in the 1950s, when rich businessmen from Denver and Dallas would trade in their pinstripes for hip waders during monthlong respites in Ennis.

Some would stay at the El Western Motel, a collection of low-slung buildings hugging the interstate south of town. The lodgings on the west side of the road seem little more than rustic motel rooms.

But across the highway on the east side is a collection of swanky ranch-style log cabins. Polished knotty-pine rooms are filled with stuffed leather easy chairs and American Indian rugs. A full-size kitchen is ready for cleaning, chopping and baking trout. Afterwards, fish tales can be told around a large brick-and-steel fireplace.

Every item in the cabins evokes the Western world of cowboys and ranchers, from the thick rope that runs along the ceiling borders to the twin horseshoes serving as handles for the tin trash cans.

Anyone planning a long stay might check out the local fishing “dude ranches.”

The T Lazy B Ranch on Jack Creek Road is a popular spot for fly fishers, who return year after year for the relaxation and the expertise of owner Bob Walker. The ranch borders Jack Creek near Madison River.

Three cabins cluster around a main lodge in a tiny meadow within Jack Creek Canyon. The cabins are nothing fancy but fine for the anglers who’ll be spending most of their days along the riverbank.

The C-B Ranch in nearby Cameron has three duplex log cabins. The ranch offers fishing excursions to the nearby lower Madison and all of the Yellowstone National Park fisheries.

If you’re a bit on the lazy side, you can fish the five miles of private land along Indian Creek, which meanders through the ranch property. It’s a good spot for rainbow trout. The ranch also leases a small stretch of O’Dell Creek near where it meets Madison River.

Another way to enjoy the Madison - with or without a pole - is to travel it by raft or canoe. Depending on the time of day and the season, you’ll likely see beavers working on their dams, ducks and herons near the marshes and perhaps an eagle glaring from a high branch.

September is not only a great time for fishing, but also prime bird-hunting season around Ennis. The hills and canyons are home to Hungarian partridge, sharptail, and ruffed and blue grouse.

Marr says that each year more visitors seem to discover Ennis’ charms. The local supermarket now stocks expensive champagnes and European chocolate bars. But the town retains its cowboy character nevertheless.

“The primary difference between Ennis and a lot of other places is it’s still got a tad of local character,” he said. “Sure, there’s a lot of tourism and prices go out of sight in the summer. But it’s still a place where you’ll walk into a bar or restaurant and find ranchers and cowboys. Make a wrong turn down a dirt road and you’ll still run into the guy on horseback looking after his cattle.”

MEMO: This sidebar appeared with the story: IF YOU GO Hanging your hat El Western Motel, P.O. Box 487, U.S. Highway 287 S., Ennis, Mont., (406) 682-4217. Double room, $65. Best bets are deluxe cabins (Nos. 18-21) at $130 per night. T Lazy B Ranch, 532 Jack Creek Road, Ennis, Mont. (406) 682-7288. Three cabins, $120 per person including all three meals and most activities. C-B Ranch, P.O. Box 604, Cameron, Mont. (406) 682-4954. Three cabins, $135 daily per person, based on double occupancy, includes all three meals and most activities. Fairweather Hotel, Virginia City and Nevada City Hotel, Nevada City. (800) 648-7588. Room for two, with bath, $45. Victorian style rooms, $65.

Grub Best option: Cook your own fish at your campground, cabin or guest ranch. Next best options: Basic cheap grub (under $20 per meal for two) at the Bear Claw Bar & Grill in McAllister, (406) 682-4619. Cowboy food and drink at the Longbranch Saloon, (406) 682-7370. Fine dining at The Continental Divide, (406) 682-7600. Dinner for two: $45.

The reel world There are several outfitters in the Ennis area. The best is Madison River Fishing Co., (406) 682-4293. Equipment rentals, daily fishing trips, three-day fishing school.

More information The fishing season usually begins the third Saturday in May and runs through the end of November. Licenses are necessary. Montana Tourism: (800) 541-1447. Montana Department Fish, Wildlife and Parks: (406) 444-2535.