Rates, Terms, and F.A.Q.

2025 and 2026 Early Bird Rates

The following rates are in effect for trips booked on or after February 1, 2025, including 2026 trips booked prior to January 1, 2026. Trips booked prior to this date will be charged at the rate in effect when the trip was booked.

The rates are per guide and refer to the total number of clients who go on the trip, whether all are fishing or not. More than two clients requires booking additional guides. No exceptions.

Please note that we are unable to offer half-day trips in Yellowstone Park between July 1 and September 30 due to all the traffic and associated long drive times.

 

Our early booking discount is simple: book before January 1 to get last year’s rates. Otherwise, our lower winter and spring/fall rates serve as our available discounts. During peak season, we (and most competitors) are frankly busy enough charging full prices that it makes little sense to offer additional price breaks.

Terms

Deposit Policy: A 50% deposit is required to confirm and hold your booking. For trips booked more than seven days out, we will send an invoice via e-mail that clients pay online to serve as this deposit. We also require a credit card number or money order in the amount of the remaining balance to keep on file for final payment. Prospective bookings are not considered confirmed until a deposit has been paid and we have a payment method in hand for the remaining balance. We cannot “pencil in” prospective trips.

Final Payments: Payment for the remaining balance of the trip may be paid in cash, personal check, or credit card. Cash or card preferred. We do not charge extra for credit card payments, as most of our competitors do. For new clients, the remaining balance is due 7 days prior to the first date of the booking. With repeat clients, we generally waive this requirement and charge the balance on the day of the trip.

Guide Gratuities: Please tip your guides in cash, if at all possible. Gratuities average around 20% of the total trip fee.

Cancellation Policy: Deposits are fully refundable minus a 5% fee up to one month prior to the first date of the trip. Between one month and one week prior to the trip, deposits will be refunded if we are able to rebook the guide(s) assigned to the trip and forfeited if not. Trips canceled within 7 days of the first date of the booking require full payment. We strongly suggest purchasing trip insurance.

Weather and Water Condition-Related Changes: We fish rain, snow, wind, and shine. Trips may not be canceled due to unpleasant but safe weather conditions. Clients are expected to have or be able to rent clothing, rainwear, and if necessary wading gear suitable for the weather and water conditions. If the guide(s) determine that conditions are dangerous or unfishable, we will attempt to reschedule or modify the trip. If this is not possible, we’ll issue a full refund. Note that we do not guarantee we’ll be able to fish a specific body of water or use specific fishing techniques.

What if YCFF Cancels? If we have to cancel a trip due to dangerous or unfishable weather or water conditions, motor vehicle or boat breakdowns, guide illness or injury, or state or federal closures (usually related to drought or fire), we will issue a full refund if we are unable to reschedule.

We reserve the right to modify the above policies on a case-by-case basis solely at our discretion.

Inclusions & Exclusions

The following are included in the above rates:

• guide service
• transportation from your lodgings or a prearranged meeting point
• water (bring your Nalgene or similar reusable bottles if possible)
• a picnic-style lunch on full-day Montana trips
• a hiking-friendly lunch on full-day Yellowstone Park trips
• all necessary flies and fishing tackle if you don’t bring your own

We do not include the following:

• guide gratuities (avg 20%)
• YNP and/or Montana fishing licenses (if required)
• private water access fees (if required)
• YNP access fees (if required); note that your short-duration personal vehicle pass does not apply when you ride with us. Annual passes do apply.
• wading gear (seldom needed on June through early September float trips if you have shoes you can get wet)
• personal attire suitable for the weather, such as raingear

Trip Hours & Timing

On average, all of our trips tend to run somewhat longer than those by most of our competitors in real terms.

Full-day trips during our May through mid-October Peak Season run eight to ten hours including our travel time from Livingston. A typical summer float trip runs from 7:00AM to 4:00. During periods of extreme heat, they may meet as early as 5:00AM.

Spring & fall short full-day float trips run slightly shorter to account for the poor early morning fishing. 10:30AM to 5:30PM is typical. If a full-length trip is desired, standard peak season rates apply.

Half-day trips run around four to five hours including travel and usually take place in the mornings in the summer and around midday in spring, fall, and winter.

Meeting times for all trips vary depending on weather & water conditions. July and August trips usually meet much earlier in the morning than trips in spring, fall, and winter.

Trip Locations

Trip locations vary a lot depending on the time of year, day-to-day weather & water conditions, clients skills and interests, where clients are staying, etc. Flexibility as to where we fish goes a long way towards making for a good trip.

Full-day trips may take place anywhere within our operations area, as discussed on our guided trips destinations page. They provide the most flexibility. Note that float trips on the Missouri River near Craig, Montana require a booking of 2+ days. This will impact few, if any, new clients.

Half-day float trips and shoulder season short full-day float trips take place on the Yellowstone and Lower Madison Rivers (drift boat and raft). Shoulder season full-days may also take place on private and public lakes & reservoirs.

Half-day wade trips take place on several waters near Livingston and in the mainstem Yellowstone, Gardner, or Gibbon Systems in YNP. Note that half-day trips are not available in Yellowstone Park between July 1 and September 30 due to excessive travel time caused by all the traffic. Montana trips require drastically less travel time.

Licensing & Insurance Fine Print

Walter Wiese is Montana outfitter #22001, Madison River SRP holder #297, USCG Operator of Uninspected Passenger Vessels (Inland) Ref #3528616, and holds a permit to operate from the BLM Carbella fishing access. He is Yellowstone National Park CUA permit holder 19-426SSF. Both he and all guides we use hold general liability and commercial auto insurance and have CPR and/or First Aid certifications required for the jurisdiction in which we are operating.

All clients (or their parent or guardian) may be required to sign an acknowledgement of risk & acceptance of responsibility form and a form acknowledging the policies we require clients to accept regarding posting photos, videos, and other details of our waters on social media and other online platforms before the trip begins. A photographic release document allowing us to take and use photos of you and your party in advertising is optional. We encourage you to view these documents (rev. 11/23/22) at this link.

General Guided Trip Policies

• Clients must wear eye protection at all times (with polarized sunglasses strongly encouraged).
• Trips are catch and release only except where must-kill regulations are in place.
• All fishing is barbless and artificials-only. Spin fishing is permitted on boat trips only. Spin-fishing clients must remove one hook point from any treble hooks.
• We do not intentionally target or disturb actively-spawning wild trout.
• We follow “leave no trace” guidelines on all trips.
• We follow Yellowstone Park guidelines on animal interactions on all trips, including those in Montana.
• We attempt to follow “visual rule of crowding” guidelines on all walk trips. Basically this means fishing out of sight of other anglers whenever we can.
• We accept clients aged 10 and up, or 12 and up for trips from October 15 through April 15.
• Yellowstone Country Fly Fishing is an equal-opportunity service provider and does not discriminate on the basis of age, race, sex, gender or gender expression, sexual orientation, creed, or national origin.
• No more than three guests per guide on wade trips, including non-anglers. Additional guests require additional guides.
• No more than two guests per guide on float and power boat trips. Additional guests require additional guides.
• Wading gear worn in boats must not include any metal studs, cleats, or bars. Wading gear worn in Yellowstone Park must not include felt soles.
• We ask that our clients leave their firearms behind. Our guides carry bear spray on all walk trips and we have additional canisters available for client use, on request.
• No illegal drugs on trips, please. This includes marijuana inside YNP.
• Recreational marijuana is legal in Montana and guests may partake as they wish within legal limits. Please acquaint yourself with Montana marijuana laws.
• No smoking in rubber rafts or at all during periods of High or Extreme fire danger.

What Should I Bring?

When you book we’ll e-mail you a guided trip itinerary that includes details on clothing, wading gear, and fishing tackle you should bring. Otherwise, this packing list will give you a place to start, and our trip planning pages will help you plan for your DIY fishing.

Other Assorted Questions

I’ve Never Fly Fished Before, but I Want to Learn. Do You Take Beginners?

Absolutely. Probably a quarter of our clients have never held a fly rod before. Check out the Beginner Trips page to learn about which trips make the most sense for beginners. Please note that previous experience with “conventional” fishing tackle is not helpful in learning how to fly fish, since the casting and line management are completely different with fly fishing.

What Trips are Available for Anglers With Disabilities or Limited Mobility?

We generally suggest float trips for anglers with limited mobility, since all of our wade fisheries are rugged and the best fishing usually requires a hike.

Do I Need to Know How to Swim?

No, but not knowing how will slash the number of places we feel comfortable taking you, because wading anglers do fall in, clients do fall out of the boat or fall getting in and getting out of the boat, and once or twice a year some guide on the Yellowstone out of all the guide services makes a big mistake and flips a boat. With non-swimmers we’ll stick to small streams and gentle rivers on walk-wade trips, and we’ll float flat sections on boat trips where the guide could make a rescue without endangering the boat. Non-swimmers are required to wear life jackets at all times on float trips, as are all clients under age 13 (state law).

A Member of Our Party is Pregnant. What Trips are Available?

Because of the risk of falls, even on gentle roadside streams, we take pregnant clients on boat trips only after the first trimester.

All boat trips are suitable for pregnant clients, though please bear in mind that we cannot readily get off the water once we’re on it, so it would be a major medical emergency requiring a helicopter if contractions started miles from the takeout.

What’s for Lunch? What About to Drink?

We provide a picnic-style lunch on all full-day Montana trips. Wade trips in YNP will include only hiking-friendly foods such as granola bars, etc. We can adjust for dietary requirements as needed. If your dietary needs are detailed, we may ask that you bring your own lunch and will offer a small discount to our listed rates. We’ll also offer this discount if you simply choose to bring your own lunch.

We provide water and reusable water bottles on all trips, though you are also encouraged to bring your own reusables. Other beverages are the client’s responsibility. No single-serve glass containers, please, though wine bottles are fine.

How is the Cell Service on the Trip?

It ranges from nonexistent to great, depending on location and provider. Verizon has the best service in our area. If you need to have cell coverage during your trip, you must tell us this when you book, or at the latest before departing on the trip. We can usually fish areas with consistent cell service on float trips. This is seldom possible on wade trips.