2011 End of Year Fishing Report
                        by James Anderson

From record snow pack levels, to months of high water and even some flooding, to an oil spill near Billings, the Yellowstone River endured another channel-changing year.

Almost everything was 3-4 weeks late this year, especially our normal runoff, but also the insect hatches, water flows on other big rivers, lakes, hoppers, you name it.  The good news is that despite all the challenges we faced going into the season, the guides and clients we work with came together to turn an otherwise tough season into another winner. We'd like to thank everyone who fished with us this year and also the guides and outfitters we work, who put in the extra effort (and miles) to make it happen.

On the Yellowstone River, typically a high water year means the fish have more places to hide.  It's more difficult to get a drag free drift with the extra split shot, it's harder for the rower to slow the boat down, and it's more difficult to fish channels that haven't even existed until this year. With all the high water we had over such a long period of time, many channels on the Yellowstone that exist close to Livingston and below changed significantly and often it was like learning a new river for the people floating and fishing.   Of course, over time the river tends to meander across its normal floodplain, but this year there were more changes than we would normally see in five years.   

Although we didn't land as many monster browns as last year, we probably saw more 20+ inch browns brought to the boat than any other year. Part of this was due to the fact that the water didn't clear up completely until early August, which gave us a longer window of "green is good."  Since the river wasn't gin clear like it normally gets in August, the fish couldn't inspect our flies as easily, not to mention seeing the tippet or the shadow of the boat.  

We are also seeing more and more anglers fishing on a catch and release basis here on the Yellowstone.  Anglers, spin fishermen as well as fly fishermen are releasing most of the big fish now, realizing that they will have an opportunity to grow even larger the next time they catch them, and in the meantime more big fish provide sport for a lot more anglers.

Bottom line is even after all the high water, we ended up having another great season here on the Yellowstone.  When the river finally got right, everyone was catching a lot of nice big fish and having a great time. Looks like the weatherman is calling for another La Niña year in 2012, so we are expecting another year of above average snowpack and water. We would be very surprised if it snowed as much as it did last year, but we'll keep you posted in the early Spring of 2012 about the snowpack levels so you can plan your trip accordingly.  We are hoping that the Yellowstone will revert to a more normal runoff pattern, meaning it will clear and be fishable by early July. 

Early Spring (March / April)

Only a few clients took advantage of the great streamer fishing we had this March and April on the Yellowstone. We've been very honest in telling people this is the best time of the year to fish the Yellowstone for that hog of a brown.  This past spring the big browns were up on the banks and they attacked flies that landed within striking distance!  With very few anglers fishing the Yellowstone all winter, the fish were not only eager to eat they were easy to catch.   The same applies to the spring creeks or one of our favorite private lakes that have had little fishing pressure for 3-4 months.   You can’t imagine some of the spectacular boils and eats we witnessed! 

A client releases a typical Bighorn brown.  Photo: Steve Galletta

While the Yellowstone provides anglers with the best shot at a big fish each spring, the Yellowstone’s largest tributary in Montana, the Bighorn River provides the most consistent action and this year was no exception.  Each year from March – May our guides spend a significant amount of time on the Bighorn fishing over pods of trout eating midges and blue winged olives.  When the fish are not on top the spring season offers anglers some of the best nymph fishing as the rivers big rainbows prepare to spawn.   Bighorn River Spring Fishing With all the excellent fishing throughout our area each spring we often wonder why everyone and their brother booking isn’t booking more trips or planning on doing more fishing on their own in this early season?  

We haven’t tried to keep this good early season fishing a secret, but we haven’t promoted it as much as we could either. Often it is people’s perceptions of what the weather is like in Montana at that time of the year.  Most people think that we still have a foot of snow on the ground in March and April, but here in Livingston it is almost always snow free by then, and we are having lots of days when the daily high temperatures are in the 40’s and 50’s. 

Normally by the middle of March there is little snow or ice in the Yellowstone and the spring creeks are experiencing good hatches of Baetis mayflies that produce some of the year’s best dry fly fishing.  By early April hatches of Baetis and March Browns bring up some nice fish and provide some exciting dry fly fishing on the Yellowstone.  Sure you can get a spring storm and even end up fishing in a snowstorm, but that can produce some of the best dry fly fishing you can imagine.   So at that time of the year we pray for those overcast days that bring on the heavy hatches.   The darker days also make for better streamer fishing, especially for big browns. Even when the temperatures are close to freezing or in the upper 30’s or low 40’s, it can be quite pleasant as long as the wind doesn’t blow too hard.  The cold weather becomes a lot more bearable, when you are catching lots of fish, and have the river to yourself!  If you can handle those cold and nasty days, you’ll almost always have some hot fishing. Check out our archived March and April fishing reports and you'll get the gist...

If you can get away and come to the Livingston area in March or April, plan to bring a couple of different outfits with you. Bring a big rod like a 9' #8 weight, as well as a smaller 8-9 foot #3-5 weight rod for the spring creeks.   If you don’t have a big rod, we have rentals available, and many of the guides are willing to let you use their personal streamer rods as well.  The streamers we use are often 4-6 inches long, and sometimes we'll fish two streamers in tandem that size!  A lot of folks think an 8 weight is overkill for a streamer rod, but not for the kind of streamer fishing we are doing.  Also, with the dramatic improvements that have taken place in rod design recently, these new powerful 8-weights feel as light as the older generation 6-weights, with nearly twice the punch! Check out our latest 8 weight shootout for more information. 

Caddis (Early May)

Mother's Day Caddis was a more or less a flop on the Yellowstone this year.   Some caddis did come off in the dirty water but by then it was too late for the fish to key in on them.   In a normal year we’ll get several days to a week of good caddis fishing before the river gets out of shape.  This year the river got dirty, then caddis, then it cleared up a bit, too cold for caddis but we did get some solid dry fly fishing for baetis and March Browns. Anglers were catching a lot of fish on emergers and caddis nymphs, but hardly any on dries.  In fact, as the water got more discolored, anglers did best fishing streamers and big ugly nymphs, close to the banks. Surprisingly, with the fluctuations of colder weather there was some fishing on the Stone until late May and even a few days in June!   After that the Yellowstone was into a long, high runoff that would last another two months.

When the water came up, it came up quickly.  Livingston residents, (especially those who own property near the river) were worried of what was to come. Thankfully the weather warmed up slowly and there was only minor local flooding.  The Yellowstone did have bigger issues well down stream, especially near Billings, where high water caused the rupture of an oil pipe.  I suppose the only good news is that the high flows pushed most of the oil out of state in 3 days.  Still, many workers were cleaning this up for about a month. At least the best trout water was not affected, it is always a shame when things like this happen.  Closer to home, the river was absolutely gushing at flood stage for weeks. Had it gotten hotter, or if we had any extra rain, FEMA would have had to fly in to the rescue.

Salmonflies (Late June)

As one would expect, the salmonfly hatch on the Yellowstone was a bust this year as well.  The salmonfly hatch did come off, but the river was still far too high and dirty to fish effectively.   The only areas that fished well were at the confluences of the clear flowing tributaries.  Once run off did hit, many fishing access sites remained CLOSED! I don't ever remember seeing that before on the Yellowstone.

The upper Madison's fishing accesses on the other hand, where open for business and booming with one of the biggest and best salmonfly hatches we've ever seen.   With the Yellowstone blown out, we sent a lot of our clients to the Madison, where they had some spectacular salmon fly-fishing.  I remember seeing the glow on several clients’ faces after returning from floating the upper Madison.  You didn't even have to ask how them the fishing was. Just from the look on their face, you could tell they had experienced an epic day on the water.

The Big Hole was another river that fished well during the salmon fly hatch in early June, however the higher water made the rowing especially difficult and many of the fish were tucked up right next to the willows.  You literally had to have your flies floating an inch away from the willows to catch any fish.  Not many guides have the official permits to float the Big Hole, and those who do usually get booked up quickly.  If you are interested in experiencing what salmonfly fever is all about, call us as early as you can!  In a normal year we’ll have good salmonfly fishing here on the Yellowstone as early as late June and normally the best bet is that first week in July.  On the Madison plan to be there mid-June thru late June to hit it right.    Call us - 406-222-7130. 

PMD's on the Creeks (Late June-mid July)

The fishing on the Paradise Valley Spring Creeks was excellent this year, with good PMD hatches from mid-June through the end of July.  Since the Yellowstone was unfishable until the last week in July, the fishing pressure on all the spring creeks was up, and it was tough to find space, especially in July.

The good news is that tons of fish had moved up into the creeks as they normally do to spawn, but even more fish showed up this year, probably trying to get out of the mud and silt of the Yellowstone.  We saw fish actively rising and making steady targets as early as 8:00AM on many days and lasting until 4:00PM on others. The only catch was they were not easy to catch! Fishing pressure educated these spring creek fish pretty quickly.  I don't think I've ever seen so many refusals, especially on drag free drifts, even when you felt you had the perfect fly. By late July, each and every fish caught became a true accomplishment. Even some of our perfectly tied Harrop patterns were getting refused! 

Most of the guides we have working for us on the spring creeks are real spring creek specialists, and know how to catch fish for clients under the most difficult and demanding conditions, using a variety of techniques and fly patterns.   Many of these guides also tie their own flies and having something just a little different to show the fish is often one of their tricks to success.  Even if you are a good angler, having one of our top guides at your side, that can teach you all the sophisticated casting and fishing techniques needed pays big dividends not only on our spring creeks but other difficult waters anywhere in the world. 

Green is Good (late July / early August)

Green is good refers to the period when the Yellowstone first starts to clear.  This happens just after runoff and also after a big rainstorm in the Park that can temporarily muddy the river.  In a normal year this will be the early part of July, but almost always by the middle of July we’ll have good water conditions and good fishing.    But this past summer the river didn’t begin to clear until the 3rd week of July, (a nod of the hat to those who guessed right). Not many fish were caught during that last third week, on average only 2-6 trout per boat / per day, but almost every boat landed at least one 20 inch brown. Chuck and duck with big streamers and nymphs was the name of the game, that and a strong rowing guide at the helm.  Again we were blessed to work with some of the most experienced guides and outfitters in the business - signing up for float trip with a rookie guide this time of year would have been a scenic float to skunkville. 

Hoppers, Droppers, & Attractors

      (August - October)

Although we had a late start, the river gods made up for it with one of the longest hopper seasons in history. Guides started fishing hoppers as early as the beginning of August (which probably looked like stonefly dries to the fish) and were still grabbing them well into October thanks to the mild Indian summer weather.

We've never seen the upper Yellowstone (above Yankee Jim) so busy.  Driving past Joe Brown to the Park we used to see half a dozen rigs parked.  This year it was more like a couple dozen! As a result, the fishing wasn't nearly as spectacular up there as it normally is.  In a normal year getting 50-75 fish to eat small hoppers or attractor patterns in a day is easy.  There were fewer eats this year and more nice native Cutthroats in this stretch than in the lower river.

Carbella to Emigrant fished very well this year, and was actually one of the best sections for catching fish over 16 inches on attractor dries. 

The Bird float (Grey Owl to Mallard’s Rest) was busy as always, (and for good reason).  Beginners and experts alike pounded them in this section, and not just small fish, many were in the 18-20 inch class. 

From Pine creek, all the way down through Livingston to what we call the Pig Farm (between Sheep Mountain access and Springdale) the river changed a lot, making it more difficult to read from the year before.  Still, that was probably the best section for big fish this year.

Below Springdale is usually the spot for a hog, but it was so busy this year that many of our guides avoided floating it like the plague.  Otter to Pelican became the New Bird Float.  I think one reason Down low was difficult this year because everyone was pounding the banks, as the middle of the river was too deep and fast for the average guide to figure out.  Unless you didn't mind a slow day on the banks, or lobbing 4 BB split shot (and two heavy nymphs) down the middle, sections that braided up more fished better.

Some other popular items on the menu:  Midnight stone dries with cinnamon ant droppers, Royal Wulff cripples sautéed in a Purple Haze glaze, Fat Franks marinated in Fly Agra and garnished with Frog's Fanny, Invader à la mode, and the house favorite - rubber leg crème brûlée.

Local and Private Lakes (June-Oct.)

Ice off fishing on local private lakes was outstanding as usual. After the first round of hogs got caught in March, April and May, there wasn't much action due to the lack of bugs. The Callibaetis and damsels were a solid 3 weeks late and didn't get going until July. Of course by then, the river was still muddy and it was actually difficult to find rod openings on some of the private lakes we book.  A lot of hogs got caught on these lakes, but they became much more educated than in a normal year. Luckily the guides and outfitters we work with love to fish lakes on their days off and found several other “under the radar lakes” to take people to, many without rod fees. Don't bother asking where, they won't even tell us where their secret spots are.  Last but not least, a special thanks to Mr. C for letting our clients fish on the "Forbidden Palace" again this year!

Prediction for Next Year?

Looks like La Niña is bringing us another big snow year!  While we wouldn't mind a "normal" year, we'd take another high water over a drought year every time.  We'll keep you posted in the Spring on snow pack levels, but if this year was like last year you'll want to book your favorite guides as early as possible during August and September as their schedules filled up very quickly during this condensed season.  Rest assured, we can always match you up with a great guide, but nothing beats fishing the yellowstone with old friends.  Give me a call at the shop as I have their schedules on hand and can set you up for an epic day on the water...