2010 Montana Fishing Outlook

By Doug Mcknight

What kind of snowpack will the weather gods bring us for next year?  Well it started out good with lots of snow in the mountains by mid-October.  There was enough snow for both Bridger Bowl and Big Sky ski areas to open before Thanksgiving!   This usually means a good base snowpack for us to build on throughout the winter.  No one really knows for sure, although if the weather outside right now has anything to with what this winter will bring, I would say lots of SNOW!  The weather guys were predicting 1-2 inches of snow for Livingston yesterday, they were just slightly off as we received anywhere between 8-14” in town!  Bozeman received even more, nearly 20” in a few neighborhoods.  This kind of weather bodes well for snowpack levels in 2010, and if it keeps up, look for similar time frames for next year.  The Farmer’s Almanac is predicting above normal precipitation this winter.  Check out what they have to say:

Winter temperatures will be above normal, with the coldest periods in early to mid-December and early February. Precipitation will be above normal, with below-normal snowfall from Reno to Salt Lake City and above-normal snowfall in most other areas. The snowiest periods will occur in early and mid-November, mid- and late December, and mid- and late January.  April and May will be slightly warmer and wetter than normal.  Summer will be cooler and slightly rainier than normal, although there will be hot weather in early July and early August.

We’ll all have our fingers crossed for a good snowpack and good water levels for next summer.  But starting out it looks to be good.  By March and April we’ll have a better idea about the final snowpack figures and what the water conditions will be like throughout the summer. You can keep in touch on this by going to our web site and checking our fishing reports. 

Lots of us are especially anxious to get the fishing gear out early and many of our clients have found that an early season trip to Montana, prior to runoff, can be a lot of fun and produce some spectacular fishing.  Our early season fishing from mid-March to mid-June is perhaps the most underrated time of year to fish Montana!   There are very few people fishing and the fishing can be some of the best of the entire year!  For those of you interested in catching BIG Yellowstone River fish, pre runoff offers great shots at some truly large fish, some in the double-digit category!  This when the streamer guys are chucking those big articulated flies for big browns!   With good hatches on the spring creeks starting in mid-March you often have the spring creeks to yourself, and as a bonus the early season rate on the spring creeks is $40 a day through April 15th.   Then it goes to $75 until June 15th.   In a normal year, the Yellowstone stays low, clear and very fishable right through the end of April and early May, when we get the Mother’s Day Caddis hatches.  Hit this right and you’ll have the best dry fly fishing of the season.    So it makes a lot of sense to make a trip out in this early season when you can fish the Yellowstone, the spring creeks and even some of the ice-free lakes. With little fishing pressure and fish eager to take a fly, you’ll have a memorable Montana trip.

In conjunction with the river and stream fishing our Livingston area is famous for, we also have some outstanding fishing on smaller private lakes.  “Why would I want to fish a lake?” is a question we hear quite a bit when talking to people on the phone, planning their fishing trip.   Our local area lakes are one of the best-kept secrets when it comes to catching quality fish, and it can be surprisingly interesting and challenging fishing.  You  get used to saying, “Arrrgh, another 20 incher, dammit!”   You know there are bigger fish to catch.   Shock and awe is an understatement when you see a 9-pound trout eat a hopper and drag you across the lake, experienced by one of our good clients Gerry this past summer.   When is the best time? Probably mid-April through mid-June but really anytime from ice off in March-April through the middle of summer and into early fall, you will have very good to excellent fishing on these private lakes.   They do charge an access fee like the spring creeks, but also limit the lakes to just one group of anglers a day so you are always insured of having uncrowded conditions and good fishing.   May through early June, when our larger rivers are blown out in runoff is often the very best time to fish these lakes and catch some really big stillwater trout and good hatches of damsels and Callibaetis mayflies.

July and August remain the most popular months for anglers to visit Montana.  And for good reason - great weather and stellar fishing.  Hatches like clockwork, big fish on big dries, we could go on and on about how good the fishing can be in the middle of the summer.  We are already booking days for next summer, and if you want to fish with a certain favorite guide, give us a call to get them reserved. The best guides and outfitters working with the Yellowstone Angler do get booked up quickly, especially during this prime season so if you are planning a trip to Montana it is good to call or e-mail us and book these guides as soon as you make your plans.    We do have a big staff of guides working with us and we can usually handle even last minute bookings, but to get the very best guides it is important that you book them months in advance of your trip.   

For those of you who want to fish the spring creeks this year from Mid-June through mid-August, the time to make your reservations is NOW!  We have some rod reservations available on the spring creeks during this prime time when we have heavy PMD hatches, but they get snapped up quickly.  We want to help you have the very best fishing with us possible, and booking these guided days and spring creek days early will help to insure a great trip.

Don’t forget about the fall fishing.  Most of the tourists clear out by the end of August when the kids have to get back to school. September and October is a great time to visit Big Sky Country for some exciting fall fishing.  The browns are aggressive, getting ready to spawn and this is when the streamer fishing on the Yellowstone gets hot and produces some of the nicest fish of the year.   The fishing pressure is minimal and often you’ll have the streams, spring creeks, or the river to yourself.  The fall colors also make it a special time to be on a trout stream in Montana. Give us a call to help plan your next fishing adventure for 2010!