CFS at Corwin | CFS at Carter's Bridge | CFS at The Lamar
Finally we got some rain! We'll always take precipitation over a clear river every time. Not only will the mud rest the fish, but it will also kill some of the overgrown weeds since they can no longer photosynthesize - which means when river clears the early morning streamer fishing is back on!
Clarity of the Yellowstone at 9th Street bridge (7/27/07)
How was the river before the rain?
Despite the hoot owl restrictions, the fishing on the Yellowstone was great. Some of our guides reported it was the best they have seen it this year! Some of the best hopper fishing has been right up until 2:00. Most of the fish were caught in 2-3 feet deep water rather than down deep in the holes. It seems the fish located in these faster runs were in the mood to eat (in addition to cooling off and getting more oxygen). The fish located in deeper holes were far less interested in eating.
When will the Yellowstone be back in action?
Good question. Looking at the Lamar's CFS flows, they Yellowstone should be fishable by Monday or Tuesday. What's fishable you ask? Usually it takes 2-3 feet of visibility for the fish to see food coming at them. As they say, "Green is Good" so when you see a green tint to the water the yellowstone is back in action. You'll want to fish the Yellowstone the first day the river is "green" since the water temperatures will be cooler, the fish haven't been caught in a few days, and the mud will help thin out any overgrown weeds.
How's each section been fishing?
McConnell to Joe Brown
 If you are after more numbers than size, try floating above Yankee Jim or from Carbella to Emigrant. Up here a Turk's or BLT hopper has been deadly. No need to nymph up here (although go for it if you want to - there are not as many whitefish above Yankee Jim and those cutthroats are a real sucker for attractor beadhead patterns). Since there are a few wave trains in this section, it is best to have at least one experienced rower in the group.
Carbella to Emigrant
If you don't feel like rowing above the canyon and want to primarily or entirely with dries, than this section is a good pick. The fish tend to pod up in this section, so if you find a group of rising fish it would be a good idea to drop anchor. This section of the river does have a lot of whitefish, so putting on a beadhead dropper is just asking for a rubber lips. For more trout, stick with a hopper and a small dry dropper, preferably something visible like a hi-vis ant, trude, humpy, H & L variant, hi-vis parachute adams, hot wing elk hair, ect.
Grey Owl to Mallard's
The "Bird Float" as the locals call it, has been fishing quite solid this week. To begin with, it has a good fish count, plus the added bonus of a few big browns as well. On bright days, a white zonker has been known to wreak havoc on big fish. Hoppers would be a good way to get them as well - but be sure to throw in a couple stack mends to get a longer dead drift. The down side to getting too much slack in your line is missing the strike, so try to find that happy medium of a perfect drift and a tight line.
Mallard's to Carter's
This section has been relatively slow this year, (unless you happen to be one of the first boats down the bank). The guys who have been doing well in the afternoon are stopping the boat, getting out, and fishing the many riffles by foot. While this technique takes more effort, it is far more effective fishing, as an angler gets 10-12 good casts in the faster oxygenated water rather than just one quick cast as the boat floats by. Midnight stones are around still, so try a brown or golden stone nymph off of your hopper.
Carter's to 89
The float through town this year has been a happy medium of numbers and size - that is to say you can catch quite a few fish, and some of them might be in the 18-22 range. It seems the fish start feeding more frequently around 10:00, so even if you can't make it out early it is still a good idea to get a quick float in before 2:00. After noon, be sure to switch to some kind of hopper rig, as we're finally starting to see some of the bigger fish get caught - so far all on hoppers.
"Down Low" (89 to Columbus)
Typically Down Low is big fish water, but recently there has been some weeds. This isn't a problem for fishing dries and hoppers, but the weeds definitely make it harder for nymph fishing or jigging a streamer. The fish are there, but you have to be patient, and realize that you aren't going to catch a big fish every time you float Down Low. You might get skunked, you might catch some smaller rainbows, you might hook up with a 23 inch brown... One thing is for sure, unless you are insanely lucky, you won't catch the big ones without a lot of effort and time - but that's the trade off for big fish. If it was easy to catch the big ones, I don't think it would be nearly as much fun. As they say, that's fish'en...
Sacajaweea Park
This fish wasn't caught on the Yellowstone, but it right next door! For those who don't get the Livingston paper, we thought you'd like to see the photo... John Futter, of Livingston holds a 30 inch/16-pound brown he caught out of the Sacajaweea Lagoon. He used dough bait on a No. 6 hook to catch the behemoth. Photo: Livingston Enterprise |
