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Last Updated: 12/30/2008 The Yellowstone | Spring Creeks | Waters we fish | Guide Services CFS @ Lamar River | CFS @ Corwin Springs | CFS @ Carter's 12/30
With all the snow we've been getting at both low and high altitude, 2009 is shaping up for another healthy water year. New Year's eve looks like a great day to fish the Spring Creeks, with a high of 37 °F. Days over 20°F tend to make the fish a bit more active, although we've caught fish in conditions below zero as well. Seeing the fish and casting accuracy are important on colder days because the trout won't be moving over 4 feet to eat your nymph. Down and across is a good way to work these fish, keeping in mind a dead drift. I try to strike towards the side, almost in a down stream manner if I can, as striking straight up often pulls the fly right out of their mouth. 12/26
Parts of the Yellowstone are still flowing, but the ice shelves on the edges are making it too dangerous for fishing. Other spots, like Mallard's Rest or by the Wan-i-gan Springs the river is completely frozen, resembling one of Planet Earth's arctic episodes. If you want to get some fly fishing in this winter, the Spring Creeks here in Paradise Valley or the Bighorn are two of my favorite spots. (If you're going to get your hands that cold, you might as well go somewhere with hungry fish). There's a good chance you won't see a soul, and even if you see someone else out there bearing the elements, you'll have instant mutual respect for the other sorry guy freezing his ass off in the name of tracking down trout. Try fishing a mix of midges, scuds, sowbugs, and small nymphs. A few in my box include brass bead zebra midges, Miracle Nymphs, epoxy bead midges, Brassies, WD40's and of course a Home Invader or two. 12/23
One nice thing about all the cold weather we've been having lately is that the ducks and geese have shown up in great numbers. There have been some big northerns flying around, some already sporting their bronze mallard feathers (for the steelhead fly tiers). The best hunting in general has been on cold, snowy days where the clouds are socked in and rivers are frozen up... 12/21
Now that we've been having an "normal winter" with harsh winds and temperatures consistently hovering between zero and 20°F, ice fishing has been in full swing. Hunters are putting away their guns and getting out their ice buckets, headed for lakes like Daily, Ennis, Newland, Hylite, Ruby, Canyon Ferry, as well as less famous favorites.
didn't catch squat. A few friends went early in the morning when the bite is typically a little better, but they got skunked as well. We had Doug's Eskimo ice hut up, which was a huge improvement over our standard "sit on the buckets in the wind" routine. It was my first time in a hut and I was amazed how you could see 20 feet down into your hole and watch the occasional perch laugh at your jig. There's something wrong about fishing to well educated perch that won't take your bait... I don't think I'll be headed back for Daily anytime soon. Together we probably saw about 4 perch. Doug got a nibble and while I was reeling in my 6' deep line I got a nibble, most likely from the rainbow I was trying to catch all day. The perch were about a foot or two off the bottom. We were fishing in 20' of water. The best day we ever had out there we were fishing in 17' of water, but we weren't about to move the eskimo hut and drill more holes with that wind... 12/19
There's too much floating slush and ice to fish the Yellowstone this week. Depending on what type of fishing you prefer, your best options are the spring creeks or ice fishing. With the recent cold spell, the creeks have been well rested. Nymph fishing has been the best, although you can definitely get a few fish on streamers too. The only ice I've seen on the creeks has been Dick's pond on DePuy's, most likely from the moss build up close to the surface, and not much current to keep the flow. We'll probably do a little ice fishing this weekend. We'll let you know how it goes... 12/15
Daily Lake is now covered with a solid 3-4 inches of ice. After walking out on the ice and tamping a few holes with the spud bar, Doug and I decided the lake was safe enough to fish, although we didn't stay. With the cold weather forecast we have this week, I'd say that by next weekend the ice should be close to 5 inches thick in most spots on Daily. Obviously, fishing over safe ice is the number one concern. A minimum of three to four inches of solid ice is the general rule for safety. Ice thickness, however, isn't always uniform on any body of water. Remember, your own good judgment is essential.
12/13
Looks like a hazardous weather outlook for all of central montana today. We already have a few inches in Livingston, with more a 100% chance of more snow for the afternoon. Sounds like a better day to ski than fish. Tomorrow looks like snow again, but even colder with a high of -4°F, with a wind chill value around -15°F. Sometimes you can get some good shots of the steam rising off the creeks, but you have to pay the price with frozen guides and fingers. 12/10
I saw some flashes below the high hill at Mallard's Rest yesterday. The fish were nymphing about 8 feet off the bank, in 2-3' feet of water. I couldn't really tell if they were trout or not, but either way, the wind kept my rod in it's scabbard. Pretty chilly out there. 12/7
The Chinese have a saying, peng ding zi, which loosely translates to bang one's head into a nail over and over. Fishing the Stone in freezing cold wind, with slippery ice everywhere you want to walk isn't just spinning your wheels - it's peng ding zi. With that in mind, Doug and I decided to try our luck out at Armstrong's Spring Creek instead. That was a good call.
We didn't have the best light for spotting fish, but that didn't seem to matter much. Doug gave me a couple of his fabled Tan & Grey Home Invaders which had the bigger trout going nuts. None of that, "Sorry, I'm too cold to chase down your fly and rip it to shreds" attitude like I find on the Stone. We definitely missed our fair share of picture fish with plenty of white knuckle follows, bad luck break offs, and other various angler slip-ups. Even though the water temperature was perfect, The wind was still brutal. Doug's #4 weight SLT and my old "black noodle" Sage LE weren't exactly the choice weapons when it came to punching streamers into a 25 mph headwind. I found myself wishing I had picked up one of those Sage TCR's that we have on sale for 40% off. 12/5
I thought I'd give the stone another chance, but it ended up being another brutal day out there. The wind must have been gusting close to 40 mph by the late afternoon. Ice has taken over the "popstand hole" with no signs of trout, (although I did see a sucker hanging out under the slush). The rip-rap down by the RV park was iced over as well and not worth fishing. 12/4
Fishing started out on the chilly side today, a brisk 20°F in the morning warming to around 40°F in the afternoon. The nice thing was fishing in no wind. The "glory hole" on the Yellowstone was my first stop. Not many fish were holding in the lane like they were last year. It was significantly more shallow than last year. I did hook a juvenile rainbow (most likely in the tail) before I headed for the Shields. That turned out to be more icy. There was a layer of ice on either side of the river thick enough to walk on. Down the middle there was a slot of running water, but I had to constantly deal with slush and anchor ice. I was hoping the springs along the cliffs would thaw out a section of river with a pile of friendly fish, but instead the springs were frozen like icicles. Hmm... reel up. Maybe the spring creeks would have been worth it after all... 12/1
Showing up 6 months early for the Salmonfly frenzy, this Pteronarcys would make a trout's day as a juicy winter dinner. Found a few interesting things while flipping rocks the other day... the most surprising being the granddaddy of stonefly nymphs - a Pteronarcys Californica salmonfly crawling around. Could it be some kind of Punxsutawney omen for a short winter? While an easy winter makes for good fly fishing, we still hope it dumps in the hills for powder skiing and of course lots of water to last through the summer. Last year was almost perfect (aside from 9th street bridge almost collapsing). The trade off for more lower madison trips in the spring was well worth the awesome hopper fishing in August on the Stone.
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Seeing how Daily was just a hop, skip, and a jump away, we headed there for our first weekend on the ice. I was surprised to see so many rigs there, especially since we didn't see a single person the weekend before. I suppose everyone was giving the ice a chance to thicken up. It was a good 7-8 inches on Sunday, December 21st. 
It was a windy day, and although the barometer was dropping we 
I couldn't believe how much aquatic food we found out there, & it wasn't just the usual suspects. Instead of the typical winter midge larva and dormant baetis nymphs, we found handfuls of goldenstones, a bunch of fat, juicy crane fly larvae, several nice sculpin, and a scud factory that apparently is recession proof. Most of the light grey scuds were size #16-18, but we found one that must have been a size#10! 
After finding a variety of stoneflies in the riffles, I wouldn't be afraid to tie on a rubber leg as a lead fly and drop a smaller baetis or midge larva behind it. The rubber leg should be a big enough piece of meat to catch the bigger trout's attention, while the baetis or midge should be more consistent with what the average fish is feeding on. There were also a ton of micro caddis cases under the rocks, but they were clinging on for dear life and looked like they were hibernating for as long as they could. Adult midges were the most active of all the insects I found. It was as if they were trying to get out of the wind by hiding under the rocks, but as soon as I moved the rocks they started skittering the surface. Following that logic, the best time to fish dries should be the warmest parts of the day - particularly those days with intermittent sun and clouds with no wind. 
