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Last Updated: 10/15/2008 The Yellowstone | Spring Creeks | Waters we fish | Guide Services Yellowstone RiverCFS @ Lamar River | CFS @ Corwin Springs | CFS @ Carter's 10/15
Last night's update from Pine Creek. No dice. Nothing. Nada... Didn't even see a rise, a push, or a shadow of a fish. There were some midges flying around, but I kept scanning the through the water looking for big fish that might be starting to stage up. The channel was a total ghost town. Perhaps in November it will be a different story. I noticed that since the river has changed it is also impossible to walk the islands from the bridge. The new (and very deep) flow cutting accross the island from the west to the east is way to fast to cross, even for the toughest river commandoes. The only way to access it now would be from a boat. The good news is that the river is perfectly clear despite the melting snow... 10/14
This time of year the bait and rapala guys seem to do really well. I was fishing below 89 yesterday and saw a guy on the other side of the river catch 2 nice rainbows in a row, both of which received a "granite shampoo." I talked to Paulson the other day and he said a bait guy told him he caught a 26 inch brown on a sculpin. We've been dead drifting streamers and catching a few but nothing even close to that big. We're headed out again tomorrow, hopefully with some good news to report. 10/13
It was absolutely brutal out there last weekend. Doug ended up fishing the spring creeks and said it was the worst weather day he's ever had, (which is pretty bad considering he puts about 30 days on the water in the winter time). They caught a couple nice ones on Armstrong's and got a 3 nice browns out of DePuy's spawning channel. Nothing huge, about 17 inches or so. He did say he was 8 for 10 on tugs while fishing Dick's pond, right by the culvert. They spent a portion of the afternoon inside Eva's hut warming up their fingers from the north wind and wetting their whistles with appropriate adult beverages. Today is a little nicer with very little wind and a temperature around 45 degrees... 10/11
As long as your bundled up and staying warm, fishing in cold weather with your buddies can make some incredible memories. You know there's a good chance you're going to have the river to yourself. You also know that you better bring a thermos full of hot chocolate spiked with a dash of butterscotch schnapps... Doug and some friends are out and about today, and we'll see how they did tomorrow. I fished below HWY 89 bridge last night, and felt a descent tug before my fishing ended promptly by my cell phone falling in the drink. I can still see it falling in slow motion, bouncing off the rock, and sinking into the depths of the rapids with it's LED glow getting fainter and fainter... 10/10
First snow of the year... only a couple inches in town but over a foot on the West Boulder and higher elevations. A few hardcore folks are still heading out but most of our clients cancelled due to the weather. This cold spell should push a big group browns into the various areas that they like to spawn. It's not cool to pick off trout that are working hard on their redds, but catching them while they are running is fair game... 10/9
Doug McKnight holding up a nice Pike. Photo: Marcus McGuire Looking for something else to do until the browns start chomping streamers? How about catching a big 'ole pike!? You might recognize the cliff in the background - if so good for you, go catch 'em! 10/8
Does anyone know what kind of eggs these are? Or is it some kind of primitive organism? What ever it is there are a bunch of them. Today is less windy but the bright and sunny weather brings on another set of challenges. I'd grab your Beadhead box and head to the riffles. No need for an indicator, just walk close enough that you can high stick nymph your flies though and use "the force" to detect your strikes. I like using the Hot Butt leaders we sell at the shop because they help me see the leader move better. Depending on the speed and depth of the riffle you are in, add a split shot. I've been using a lot of Gremlin B's lately, about 14 inches above my first nymph. Last night there were a few small fish rising to midges but no big heads showed up. Didn't see any browns in the side channel I walked down, but they should arrive soon with this push of cold clouds. 10/7
Unfortunately today is really windy near Livingston. As usual there is a little less wind up in the Valley (15-20) but gusts up to 35 down and east of town. It looks like less wind for the next few days, but some serious weather rolling in from Canada starting Thursday. This could be just what the doctor ordered for the big browns to start moving around. If you don't have a good fall fishing jacket, we have a some great deals for you at the angler. 10/6
The fall colors are in prime time on many of the smaller streams. Now is a beautiful time to fish smaller streams because the leaves are so vibrant. The Cottonwoods on the Yellowstone are also looking very good and will continue looking bright and yellow for two more weeks. Floating through town is always colorful as people have planted plenty of exotic trees, which we normally don't see along the banks - more red leaves in particular. Bring your camera and do a quick afternoon float. If the sun is out you'll get some great shots. If it's cloudy the fish should be biting and you might get a shot of Mr. big... 10/5
James D. Putt'en the BRB to work... Photo: James Warren The browns seam to be chasing the streamer a little better on the Madison than the Yellowstone. I think the Yellowstone is about two weeks behind the Madison in terms of big browns attacking your streamer with sheer vengeance. The dry fly fishing on the Yellowstone however, has been pretty good. Outfitter Bob Bergquist and his folks were throwing streamers hard all morning, switched to dries and immediately hooked up with a 23 inch brown! They fished streamers again in the afternoon and managed to catch two more nice trout in the 16-18 inch range. 10/4
The fishing last night was slow but we managed to catch a few browns on streamers. I fished down by the KPRK bridge where Fleshman creek flows into the Yellowstone. There were a few small browns near the confluence but nothing big. Doug floated Carter's to 9th with a couple friends and they caught two nice sized trout on streamers. 10/3
An immature golden stone found near 9th street While flipping a few rocks in town I saw a lot of baetis nymphs, rock worms, golden stones, mahogany drake nymphs, clingers, and good sized, dark sculpins. Fingers are still crossed for clouds... 10/2
Doug E. Fresh with a fat Madison Brown. Photo: Derek DeYoung The Yellowstone has been tough this past week. A lot of boats have been heading over to the lower Madison instead and having decent success on small streamers, crayfish, and tiny shiny nymphs. Over here on the Stone the white fish bite has been strong but the big browns are still missing in action. Hopefully the weather rolling in this weekend will change things for the better. 10/1
Murphy's law: A Mahogany Spinner on top of an 8 weight Loomis. Last night I headed down low in hopes for some good streamer fishing, but I didn't find it. I did find a bunch of fish rising to Fall Mahoganies though. They were rising very consistently. From the fins it looked like there were a few decent fish. The smallest fly I had was a size #4 Bow River Bugger. I tried swinging different streamers through the pods, but they weren't hav'en it. After I put every fish on near the bank down I decided to head home. Hmm... maybe I'll bring a 5 weight with a floating line and some rusty spinners next time... 9/30
This little brown fell for a size #12 Bow River Bugger. There have been some nice rainbows and cutbows getting caught on the Yellowstone the last few days. The big browns on the stone have been MIA for the most part. A few nice ones in the 17 inch range have been picked up on nymphs in the Valley. Down low has been slow the last few days, but towards the end of the week the action should pick up with the clouds. Looks like a few clouds Wednesday, but most of them have moved to Thursday, Friday, and Saturday.
The Spring Creeks
Baetis and midges are now the main hatches on the creeks. Think thin flies. If I had to fish one fly all day out on the creeks I think it would be one of dave students thin olive baetis nymphs. It is tied very sparse and the fish prefer flies with less material on it than the wide fat ones with too much dubbing. Olive midge larva have been doing well also. If you stay out later you might see some Sulfurs. Outfitter Bob Bergquist got one of his clients into a huge 23 inch brown on Armstrong's the other day. There have also been some big browns getting caught at Nelson's, one customer reported that he caught 5 browns over 18 inches in the same afternoon - the best he's down out there in 20 years! DePuy's has also been fishing well with the additional access to the Yellowstone's natural "spawning channel." I wouldn't be surprised if some nice sized browns found their way up there to have a look see...
The creeks really haven't been all that crowded now that everyone is getting into hunting mode. There have been a few guides out there with clients, but other than that it has been pretty open. It is still $75 for a rod right now, but starting 10/15 those rates will go down to $40. Not a bad price to pay for a solid day of browns, rainbows, cutthroat, and one of the best views in the world...
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