Late last week rain and storms put our river out of commission. It looks to be the same today. These pictures were taken up at Gardner this AM and show that water clarity is not great. Fortunately the river is clearing, but very slowly! The weather man is calling for drier conditions for the week with possible T-Storms. We may even see some decent clarity as early as tomorrow morning but it may be until Wednesday until we see good visibility. We will keep you updated as much as possible throughout the week. Saying that people are fishing the river with mixed results. You can be marginally successful dragging junk on the bottom but that’s about it right now. I would say there are better options to explore.
Now is a good time to head into Yellowstone National Park. Fishing the Yellowstone above the Lamar confluence can be good this time of year with terrestrials, Green Drakes, and small streamers. Also above the falls can be a good option but you can expect fishing to get more challenging as we get further into August. PMD’s, drakes, terrestrials, and small streamers again for the upper section. Lamar and Soda Butte should be dropping back into shape soon depending on future rain storms. There are plenty back country lakes and small streams that require a little bit of a hike but can have good fishing as well.
Smaller Yellowstone tributaries have been fishing well right now. The further you get away from the crowd the better. These streams tend to be more resistant to storms and mud. They also stay cooler later into the summer. Small hoppers, ants, and beetles along with some attractor dries should do the trick.