Fishing Report

Paradise Valley spring creeks are fishing well. Lots of fat, healthy rainbows are coming in from the river on their spring spawning run. Fair numbers of big river browns coming in behind those bows as well. We have been seeing some midges on the water and on most days, large spring Baetis too. There can be a window for a couple hours in the early afternoon that some fish have actually keyed in on the surface to both midges as well as these blue winged olives (Baetis). Mostly, it has been a subsurface game to be consistent. CF Midge pupa […]

Getting around the valley a bit today, we’ve been keeping an eye on what’s usable as far as boat ramps. And what’s not. It’s early, but there’s been folks asking. So, here’s a quick rundown on where you can and where you CAN’T put-in or take out your driftboat. Carter’s Bridge just south of Livy is fine as is Mayor’s Landing in town. Folks already floating here for a bit. But….. that’s it for a ways up the valley! Pine Creek? Nope. Not yet, though getting there. Maybe within the week. Mallards Rest? No. Big time ice jams along the […]

I’ll admit, we’ve been away for a bit. Winter Happens….. and this has been a “real” winter around here. Not much like the past couple where by now in early Feb the low snow in the valley is all but gone Nope, this off season has been cold and snow filled. It’s taken a bit, but that snow has really piled up actually. My boat has been under a drift deep enough it was starting to look a bit less like a boat and more like a natural snow berm. The plow guys have been happy that’s for sure. However, […]

All sections of the Yellowstone river from the National Park Boundary to the confluence with the Missouri are back open to fishing and all recreation. After about a week of mud we are finally back on the water. Saying that fishing has been a little tough the last few days. With bright sunny weather the dry fly game has been slow. Better luck with subsurface patterns: the AW bugger, Bow River Bugger in black, Crystal bugger in olive and black sz’s 8 and 10, Pat’s Rubberlegs in black and brown sz’s 8, 10, 12, PT nymphs in 18 and 20, […]

Hot off the press from Montana FWP, more Yellowstone River sections are open to use as of this morning. Previous announcements late last week had the waters from Carbella to Point of Rocks FAS re-opened and folks have been steadily coming by the flyshop with requests to know if more water would follow suit. Answers came early this morning with FWP posting a new announcement stating that the river from Point of Rocks FAS down to Emigrant FAS would re-open today. As well, FWP is pulling upstream from the Highway 89 FAS to Pine Creek FAS. This effectively changes things […]

The Yellowstone River from the Point of Rock FAS to the Highway 89 Bridge FAS is still currently closed. Above Point of Rocks FAS and below Highway 89 Bridge FAS the river is open to all recreational activity. The Paradise Valley Spring Creeks and all of the Yellowstone Tributaries except for the Shields river are open as well! Fishing on the Yellowstone above Yankee Jim Canyon has been decent. Some dry fly action on small parachute attractors and even some terrestrials still. This cold weather will probably slow the terrestrial fishing unless it warms up again. Subsuface, go with a […]

K. Brougher getting things done on the Madison this week. Yellowstone river closure still has us and other Paradise Valley/Livingston outfitters and fly shops heading “over the hill” on days to float fish with guests. Other than the first day or so of the closure, it really hasn’t been as jammed up on the Maddy as one may have thought. Guides and boats seem to be well spread out and fishing has been pretty darn good. There’s not been all that much in the way of hatches or bug activity viewed while on the water. And as much, it’s been […]

The National Park Service turned 100 years old yesterday. There was a huge gala hoopla event in Gardiner to mark the celebration. Pretty incredible if one takes a minute to look back on where the “Park” was back in its beginnings. By “Park” we locally all affectionately refer to the 2.2 Million acre Yellowstone National Park in our backyard. I hear that the “free” concert last night with Rodney Crowell, Emmy Lou Harris, and John Prine among others was a lot of fun. We know that fishing yesterday in the Park was a ton of fun! Pictures even to prove […]

Eerie. That one word describes what it’s like along the banks of the Yellowstone River right now. There’s no one. Empty river, empty fishing access sites. Nothing. In places where on a typical August day there would be 10 or more trucks with trailers parked waiting to be shuttled, half a parking lot full of folks just either fishing, walking along the river, throwing a ball for their dog, or otherwise enjoying a picnic and a day on the river, there’s very little activity at all. It’s quite somber. The only sounds are the river running, wind in the trees, […]

In case you have not already heard or read about it, we are writing to let you know firsthand about the unfortunate and unprecedented events on the Yellowstone River.Last week we began to receive phone calls asking us about why there were dead whitefish showing up along the riverbanks on the Yellowstone here in Paradise Valley. A quick phone call to the MT FWP Region 3 Headquarters had biologists on their way. Teams conducted on-river surveys and sample collections from infected whitefish ensued along with simple fish counts.It has been stated by FWP to almost certainly be a parasitic disease […]