Fishing is the reason residents of the town set in the shadows of the Rocky Mountains never leave.
It's the reason thousands from around the globe make a pilgrimage here each year. The Madison is a big draw because it fishes so consistently on a year-round basis. The Madison originates in Yellowstone National Park, then flows north and meets with the Jefferson and Gallatin rivers to form the Missouri River. The aquatic habitat with its rock bottom makes it a good base for spawning beds and bug life that hatches during different seasons,'' says Glen Gallentine, a retired outfitter and manager of Ennis' Tackle Shop. Teeming with rainbow and brown trout, and the occasional cutthroat trout, grayling, and whitefish, the Madison hasn't needed stocking since the early 1970s, Gallentine notes.