The Yellowstone River is now fishing well from top to bottom with nymphs, streamers and dry flies. The river is still green, with visibility between 2 and 3 feet. The river is currently flowing at 5650 in town.
In general dry fly fishing has been more consistent in the valley with hoppers, nocturnal stones, attractors and evening caddis. Look for the hopper fishing to continue to get better over the next few weeks river wide. With the water higher that normal for this time of year nymph fishing with a streamer trailed by a nymph is a good idea if you are on the hunt for a big fish. As the water continues to drop look for the bigger fish to move into the deeper runs and mid river.
Effective Patterns: Chubby Chernobyl, Morrish Hopper, Grand Hopper etc……. Prince Nymphs, P Tails, Rubberleg Nymphs and Caddis Pupa. Bow River Buggers, Zonkers and Conehead Woolly buggers. X – Caddis, Trudes, Stimulators and Royal Wulff Cripples.
The Yellowstone National Park waters are all fishing fairly well. This time of year the park waters receive a high amount of fishing pressure and those willing to work harder and fish farther away from the major accesses will most likely have the best fishing. We have some great park maps and books at that shop that can help anglers find some of the best and lesser known park waters.
The Spring Creeks are fishing quite well for this time of year. The sulpher emergences have been very consistent each afternoon and providing anglers with a lot of dry fly opportunities.
The Private Lakes in our area have been fishing very well with terrestrials on top and scuds, leeches, damsels and streamers underneath. If you are looking to try a different kind of fishing and want to catch some really large trout our local lakes are the answer!
This year the lakes got fished pretty hard, due to all the high water and muddy rivers around the state. If you were on the early end of this lake fishing frenzy, you were taking time out for the hero pose. If you were one of the end boats, or the caboose, you were out of luck.
Finally the lakes have bounced back from less pressure. Now that the Yellowstone, Madison, Gallatin, Jefferson, and many others are fishing well, almost no one is fishing the local and private lakes – which means the big ones are eating again!
Give us a call to figure out which lake is for you. Let us know your preference for targeting browns, rainbows, cutthroat, brookies, big numbers, or big size. We will be able to hook you up with one of the best stillwater guides in montana.