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Last Updated: 3/28/2009 by James Anderson

The Yellowstone | Spring Creeks | Waters we fish | Guide Services

Bighorn & Missouri | CFS @ Corwin Springs | CFS @ Carter's

Yellowstone River

James Anderson with a nice cutbow caught on a Pat's rubber leg

above Mallard's Rest. Photo: Hank Bechard

This week's weather and snow flurries have kept all but the hard core anglers off the Yellowstone. Looks like snow over the next five days, however the water clarity is good to go. We've had a handful of guide boats on the over the last couple days and the fish have been taking rubberlegs, beadheads, midges, and streamers once the water warms up. Yesterday the best feeding window was between 3:00 and 4:00 in the afternoon, we even saw several fish rise to midges. Today was slower in comparison, but the morning seemed to fish slightly better than the afternoon.

The shield's is still off color however, and as the lower elevation snow starts to melt, expect to see the river rise and get dirty again. If you like to chuck streamers from now until the end of April is the perfect time to smoke a big brown...

Click here for more recent Yellowstone River photos...

Watch out for ice walls if you are floating down low. If you don't check your pullout it could be a lot longer day than you thought. Also be sure to bring a 4 wheel drive vehicle for Mallard's Rest...

HATCHES

There have been a few midges out and about but certainly not many noses plowing into them. Bring some midge dries with you just in case, but don't get bumbed if they never make it out of you box. Unfortunately the Stone probably won't become a good dry fly fishery until the Mother's Day Caddis hatch (Late April). For now it's better to stick with nymphs or dead drifted buggers on the brighter days and rip streamers on those ever cherished overcast days. There are still a lot of sculpin in dark colors out there, so if you are keyed into this game, try dead drifting dark green, brown, or black.

RECOMMENDED FLIES

Red serendipity #14-16

Black Zebra midges #18

Red Zebra midges #18

Brown Pat's Rubberlegs #8

Otter's Soft Milk Eggs #12

Black leadeye buggers #2-4

Bow River Buggers #4-6

Black Woolhead sculpin #2

Black Sculpzilla #4

Black Circus Peanut #2

Double Bunnies #2-4

White Home Invader #2

White Zonkers #2-4

JJ Specials #4

Spring Creeks

The baetis are have arrived... Photo: George Anderson

If a road trip to the Bighorn or Missouri just aren't in the cards for you, a quick trip to the creeks is a great option. The rainbows have moved in and are spawning now, so it is important that we all try to avoid stomping on the redds (spawning beds). That can be easier said than done when you see a 25 inch Yellowstone rainbow sitting there with just inches of waters over her back in Betty's riffle. To help you resist the urge, Daryl Smith has hi-vised off some sensitive spawning areas with cones, so please respect these areas and either fish above or below the marked areas.

There's nothing wrong with catching fish on egg patterns below the redds though. These fish will be looking for midge larva and baetis nymphs as well, but always keep an eye out for little pink and orange protein pills. It's not only rainbows and cutthroat that enjoy picking off these easy meals either, sometimes you can catch a BIG brown hanging below the redds, especially wherever you find a deep drop off with waist deep water.

Be sure to play with your weight and get your flies in the feeding line. The fish are still sluggish and are not going out of their way to get a meal. Get it right in front of the face however, and they will eat just about anything size #18-20.

ADDITIONAL REFERENCES

Armstrong's Spring Creek

DePuy's Spring Creek

Nelson's Spring Creek

Thoughts on fishing redds

What do redds look like?

HATCHES

The baetis have finally been stating to come off, but not in huge numbers. If you get a nice non-windy cloudy day (keep those fingers crossed with Livingston) the possibility for an epic day is certainly there. Otherwise you'll probably get as much action on your midge dropper as your baetis dry if not more. Flip over some rocks and see what's under them. You'll see how many baetis nymphs are around, plus a bunch of olive/grey scuds, leeches, stoneflies, and cranefly larva. Don't forget to bring some eggs as your ace up the sleeve.

RECOMMENDED FLIES

Black Zebra midges #18

Olive midge larva #18

Dave Student midge emergers #18-20

René Harrop Light Grey CDC Midge Emerger #20

René Harrop Grey CDC Adult Midge #20

René Harrop Grey CDC Hanging Midge #20

Grey Sparkle scuds #18

Pink Sparkle scuds #18

Otter's Soft Milk Eggs #14

Orange Ray Charles #18

Bighorn sow bugs #18

Black leadeye buggers #6

Bow River Buggers #6-8

Rag Sculpins #4

Spring Creek Leech #8

Bighorn and Missouri

If you have the time for a road trip, the Bighorn and Missouri are two of your best options this time of year. The fish counts are impressive and the average fish size is relatively large. The Bighorn is fishing better than the MO these days, but you also have to deal with the crowds. A few of our friends counted 70 boats from the Dam to 12 mile last weekend. They also saw several jet boats down low and (I cringe to mention) anglers fishing on jet skis! The MO has been tough due to wind, colder water temps, and the fact that the rainbows head up the creeks to spawn where the Bighorn is predominantly a brown trout fishery. Get a couple friends together to split food, gas, and lodging and hit the road! You should catch enough fish in those two days to last you weeks back at the office...

ADDITIONAL REFERENCES

Bighorn Trout Shop

Missouri Trout Shop

Tailwaters Near and Far

Book a guide

HATCHES

Although you can expect to see plenty of baetis and midges, this time of year most anglers do best by deep nymphing with extremely long drifts. Try a variety of pink scuds, Bighorn sowbugs, zebra midges, various worm patterns, green scuds, and who could resist - streamers. If you're not into fish on the Horn, check your weight and add a split shot or two. If you're not into fish on the MO you might have to start learning your big runs and buckets better because it is a much bigger (and tougher to learn) tailwater. If you are not that familiar the MO, you should probably stop in the Trout Shop for some flies and advice.