Hey Foy,
All I ever heard about was the Madison. From what I've read it is the quintessential Montana river. But over the winter I looked at boat launches on the satellite map and all I saw were boats on the ramps, in the parking lots, and on the river. It seemed really crowded. And I know it gets a lot of pressure. More, I think, than where we were on the Missouri, even though that was some tough fishing. The only fish I caught were born yesterday and were too young to know not to go for what I presented them with. My other problem is that I'm really new to fly fishing and while I have pretty good aim and my casting has improved, my back cast gets me into trouble. So it is easier from the raft. And then of course you're limited by flows. By the time we make it out west is is late June and many rivers have already started subsiding.
I would like to spend more time in SW Montana, though, next time. It is a massive state. Hard to do it justice in 2 weeks.
Headed your way tomorrow. OBX!