The Yellowstone, Madison, and Missouri have all been fishing very well. It’s strange that we have the opportunity to fish salmonflies on both the Yellowstone and the Madison at the same time, which is nice because it distributes the boat traffic a little better. If you are chasing the big bugs on the Stone, think 26 mile put in up to Gardiner. If you’d rather stay out of the hustle and bustle you might float from Emigrant down. Town /down still has a lot of water volume running through it, which will require a confident rower and some extra split shot or a sinking line. This section of the Yellowstone should shape up in another week or so, for now the Valley is likely the smarter choice, especially seeing how the fish are still looking for stonefly dries and nymphs. Wind has been a bit of an issue on the Stone, (at least during the mid afternoons), so an early float (or an afterwork float) might be a good idea. The Upper Madison has been fishing well although it doesn’t seem like the salmonfly hatch is as thick as past years. Still, the fish are looking for them and the fish that have been caught over there are bigger on average than the fish on the Yellowstone this year. The Missouri has had some great PMD hatches recently, (as well as evening caddis) but it will take a competent and technical angler to catch and land them. Think long leaders and 6X if you decide to head over. Give us a call if you’d like to book a trip! 406-222-7130.
