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                   Water temps are cold right now, be sure to strip SLOWLY… Photo: Josh Edwards
Plenty of midges but no risers...

We’ve seen a substantial increase in fishing pressure the past couple weeks on the Yellowstone, perhaps due to the lack of new snow on the ski slopes?  Perhaps it just feels good to get out and wet a line as we haven’t seen many bent rods out there.  There have been plenty of midges coming off but unfortunately we haven’t seen any rising fish.  The water temperature has been so cold that the fish have been reacting better to a slowly stripped streamer or a perfectly drifted nymph right in front of them.  If you want to try fishing a streamer, black or dark olive is our go to winter color.  If you want to fish nymphs try a rubber leg with a small size #18-20 beadhead or midge pattern behind it, (zebra midge or a serendipity).  The water is really clear right now, so size down on your rubberlegs to a 10 or 12 if possible.  We’ve heard there has been a few brave souls out there trying to float the Yellowstone.  We feel it is far too dangerous to float right now, with little to no benefit to outweigh the risk.  Stick with wade fishing until Spring rolls around, when the fish will be biting and there’s less chance of getting hit by an iceberg…

                                                                   Ice jam at Mallards 1/24  Photo: Josh Edwards