Last Updated: 3/4/2008

Bighorn River | Spring Creeks | Yellowstone River | Dailey Lake

Yellowstone River

Checking for ice? Check out the Upper Yellowstone Webcam!

In general the fishing on the Yellowstone has been tough the last two weeks. The ice shelves on the side of the river have made it relatively difficult to wade, and the chance of running into an ice jam is too high to float. Now that the sun is coming up earlier and staying up later, getting an hour fix before or after work can be worthwhile. Midges have been by far been the main course, although I've found a few rainbows that were interested in a sculpin appetizer. The fish that ate the sculpin were holding in fast, deep runs below Carter's, unfortunately they gave me the slip. Fish were rising everywhere around me in the slow, slick water but I didn't have anything smaller than 4X and no midges in my box... I cast to them anyway with a rag sculpin and copper john dropper but the slap of the indicator moved them away.

50° Call the boss, you're sick! Grab your rod

40° Pleasant fishing unless the wind is a gale

35° When the ice isn't freezing in your guides, it's more fun

25° Guides are freezing up but fishing can still be good

20° Anchor ice and slush ice make fishing difficult

15° Head for the Spring Creeks if you must fish

10° Head for Big Sky or Bridger Bowl Ski area

0° (See above)

-10° Think bonefish in the Caribbean, Argentina, NZ

-20° Give it up, your car won't start

Where should I go?

The best places to fish on the Yellowstone during the winter are where warmer water flows in. Look for places where warmer springs flow into the Stone like La Duke Hot Springs below Gardiner, the Livingston Ditch below DePuy's, the springs the near the old Wan-i-gan dump (south of Chico), or the springs down by the Big Timber dump. In general these spots are more prolific and often hold larger fish. That being said, we're not afraid to tell you that we'll often head to the Missouri or the Bighorn to get in our fishing fix. For us, spending a little time behind the wheel for more consist ant fishing is well worth it.

What should I tie on?

Midges are the main hatch during the winter. If the wind is calm you might see a rise or two, but for the most part you'll be ticking the bottom with nymphs. Midge larva, (specifically red) is one of my favorite winter time flies. A burgundy zebra midge will help get you down, otherwise just bring your split shot. A dead drifted sculpin this time of year can also be especially deadly. Again the key here is getting your depth right. You want these flies to be floating naturally right in front of their face. Here's a quick list of some tried and true winter patterns for the Stone:

Mercer's Rag Sculpin (size 6)

Olive Whitlock Matuka Sculpin (sizes 4, 6)

Olive/Brown Gander (size 2)

Olive Woolhead Sculpin (size 4)

Red Epoxy Head Midge (sizes 18, 20)

Barr's Red Pure Midge Larva (sizes 18, 20)

Red Wire Nymph (sizes 18, 20)

Black BH Zebra Nymph (sizes 18, 20)

Burgundy BH Zebra Nymph (sizes 18, 20)

Miracle Nymph (sizes 18, 20)

Midge Cluster (sizes 16, 18)

Student's Gray CDC Midge Emerger (sizes 18, 20)

Harrop's Gray CDC Midge Adult (sizes 18, 20)

Harrop's Gray CDC Biot Midge Emg. (sizes 18, 20)

Red Mini SJW (size 14)

Otter's soft milk egg (size 16)

Paradise Valley Spring Creeks

The Creeks continue to be the hottest spot close to Livingston and Bozeman for solid numbers of nice fish. There's not many places that you can expect to catch a handful of 16 - 18 inch fish in a single winter afternoon, much less have a shot or two at a fish over 20. The icing on the cake is how gorgeous some of these fish get during the winter months. These fish are far more colorful and vibrant than the fish we have been catching in the Yellowstone.

If you want to get technical, you can fish midges on 5 or 6X tippet with a couple of micro split shots depending on the depth of the pools or riffles you are fishing. If you want to focus on primarily larger fish, don't be afraid to cut your leader back to 1 or 2X and tie on a small streamer, spring creek leech, or sculpin pattern.

Since some fish choose to spawn through the winter please be careful while wading across the stream. Be sure to avoid wading over any of the redds (cleared off spawning gravel) as this will increase the chance for more fish in the Yellowstone later on.

Which creek should I go to?

The Creeks all fish about the same this time of year. Perhaps on a nice sunny day there might be a little less pressure on Armstrong's and Nelson's, (since people who have purchased the DePuy's Winter Pass will most likely want to take advantage of the good weather). Nelson's is a great pick for expert anglers. The slower water makes it tougher to get a good presentation, but the pay off here is the possibility of catching 20+ inch browns! Armstrong's or Depuy's would be a better choice for less experienced anglers, as the the moving water tends to hide little mistakes better. Plus the riffles are fishing very well and you'll have more chances should you bust a fish off.

What flies should I bring?

Scuds, sowbugs, and midges are the main staple through the winter. A dead drifted sculpin is sneaky way to offer larger fish a generous meal as well. Strangely enough, some rainbows (and browns) will spawn in January and February. (So that's why those orange scuds work so well). This is one of the few times that your Yellowstone fly box will mirror your Spring Creek Box:

Mercer's Rag Sculpin (size 6)

Olive Whitlock Matuka Sculpin (sizes 4, 6)

Olive/Brown Gander (size 2)

Olive Woolhead Sculpin (size 4)

Red Epoxy Head Midge (sizes 18, 20)

Barr's Red Pure Midge Larva (sizes 18, 20)

Red Wire Nymph (sizes 18, 20)

Black BH Zebra Nymph (sizes 18, 20)

Burgundy BH Zebra Nymph (sizes 18, 20)

Miracle Nymph (sizes 18, 20)

Midge Cluster (sizes 16, 18)

Griffith's Gnat (sizes 16, 18, 20)

Student's Gray CDC Midge Emerger (sizes 18, 20)

Harrop's Gray CDC Midge Adult (sizes 18, 20)

Harrop's Gray CDC Biot Midge Emg. (sizes 18, 20)

Harrop's CDC Transitional Midge (size 18, 20)

Black Wing X midge (size 18)

Tan Larva Lace midge (size 18, 20)

Red Mini SJW (size 14)

Otter's soft milk egg (size 16)

Bighorn River

The Bighorn fished well this weekend. We only saw two other drift boats all day. There were definitely some foot soldiers out and about, but finding some elbow room to fish was not an issue. It was still frustrating to have guys cut right in front of you when they have an entire river of fish to target, but all you can do is shake your head and smile. The weeds weren't a problem yet, and the weather was cold but cooperative enough. There wasn't any ice, although early in the morning our guides did ice up for a while. There were still some redds around, as well as some spawning fish, so be careful to avoid stepping on them.

Some of the best fishing we had was in the side channels, especially those well away from the redds. The fish we found away from the redds were mostly big, fat rainbows that seemed hungry and in full on feeding mode. Most guys on the river this time of year are not targeting these fish, which leaves a nice niche. Pink soft hackles, black midge larva, midge emergers, egg patterns, and streamers will all produce. Here and there we even saw some fish rising to a small size 20 baetis which were on the water about 3:00. The hot ticket would to bring down at least one 4 weight rod rigged up with a baetis dry since once you have your indicator, weight and nymphs rigged up the way you want them it is kind of a pain to switch back and forth to dries. We also saw some midge activity in the morning and a few fish were chasing down emergers.

I was getting away with some pretty thick tippet down there. In the early morning before the midges were up and at 'em, I was getting away with Gmax 02x to my first fly and 2x for my dropper. Once sun came up, I switched to 2x for both and stuck with it all day for my soft hackles and nymphs. The fish didn't seem tippet shy, and it was nice not to have to re-tie on a rig with cold fingers. I don't think you'll need to bring anything less than 3x for nymphing, (for dries and emergers you may have to scale it down to get the tippet through the eye of your fly).

Dailey Lake Ice Fishing

Ice fishing is definitely not for everyone, but almost everyone has fun each time we head south to Dailey Lake. Bucket full of rods? Check. Ice auger or spud bar? Check. Ice scooper? Check. Jigs and blood maggots? Check. Plenty of warm gear and beer? Let's go get 'em!

There are a ton of perch in Dailey Lake. You'll want to take the time to walk out towards the middle of the lake for these guys. The last time we fished, they were hanging around 14 -17 feet deep - about 1 foot off the bottom. A chartreuse color jig baited with a maggot did the trick. It seemed like the schools would move because you'd be red hot for a minute, and then nothing for 10 minutes. We had a couple fish finders too, which helped locate the fish. We saw a big rainbow on the radar, who was cruising about 9 feet deep, but she managed to resist our offerings.

While you'll definitely catch more Perch than anything, you can also catch walleyes near the west side rocks. If walleyes are really what you are after however, there are better options including Canyon Ferry, Fort Peck, Fresno Reservoir, Hauser Lake, Lake Helena, Tiber Reservoir, or Bighorn Lake.

Always use your best judgment when it comes to getting on the ice out at Dailey. 50-70 m.p.h. winds are not uncommon to Paradise Valley, which can begin to melt the ice and start new cracks. A safe rule of thumb is that you need at least 4 inches of ice. You'll want to take particular care in the north western corner of the Lake, as it tends to open up first. Feel free to stop by along the way for a hand drawn map of the hot spots, or don't hesitate to give us a call! 406-222-7130.