Fishing Report

Mid August is here and with it the Dog Days of Summer. Or so it seems in a lot of places. I won’t be one to upstage how the Yellowstone has been fishing. Frankly, it’s been getting pretty tough out there. Water levels are low without a doubt. Cooler weather last week and a day or two of muddy water from the rain we had were much appreciated. Longer nights, shorter days all have helped as well. While there are Hoot Owl restrictions to fishing hours on the Stone, those were lifted on 8/8 from Carter’s Bridge and moved downstream […]

As we move through the end of July and into August we again are looking at some pretty skinny water along with rising water temps. Water in Livingston has hit 70 degrees two out of the last 3 days. It has stayed a few degrees cooler in the upper valley and above Yankee Jim Canyon. The weather forecast is calling for mid to high 80’s this week with chances of thunderstorms. Tough to say what will happen but hopefully some rain will drop and lower the water temps. All in all fishing has been decent. Terrestrials are the go to […]

Strong storms moving through earlier in the week had the fortunate effect of much liked precipitation. Soak the garden, put snow on the mountain tops kind of precipitation and cooler weather. As we reported earlier, the effect in the Park was to muddy up just about everything- Soda Butte, Lamar, even Slough. With that, we were seeing a sizable jump in water levels and an off colored river here in the valley that lasted multiple days. We are good to go, now, however and things look to be back on track. Pics from this AM show green water with respectable […]

Today seems to be a bit of a “pull back” sort of day. After how busy the past 3 weeks have been and how well the Yellowstone has fished overall (pretty much WOW), it only seems natural that an event such as an all day rain storm, 50 degrees, and snow in the high country might have a bit of an effect. Since the river dropped into shape and cleared in late June, the Stone has been on fire with outstanding fishing on almost all levels. We did have a few rainstorms here and there along the way that may […]

Late June and PMDs on the Paradise Valley Spring Creeks are typically synonymous. There has been no exception thus far. PMDs actually were seen, albeit just here & there over 2 weeks ago. It’s been fairly light as far as angler traffic until last week when things really started to fill-in. This week however both the mayflies and the anglers are here in earnest.. If you haven’t gotten reservations to fish Depuy’s, Nelson,or Armstrong for just about any day between now and end of July, good luck! Reports on all 3 spring creeks have been good to very very good. […]

It has been a great week over here in Paradise Valley. A ton of bug activity has kept fish on the rise and the bite has been outstanding. The Salmon Flies seem to be mostly on the upper stretches of the Yellowstone near Gardiner and above. You will see the occasional adult fluttering lower. Fish have been more willing to come up and eat the smaller Golden’s as of late. An olive, gold, tan, brown, red, purple, or pink chubby in sizes 8, 10, and 12 are all good flies to throw. Drop a small rubberlegs in black, brown, coffee, […]

Whoa! It’s been a little since we posted anything so here is a quick update on what’s happening in SW Montana and in Yellowstone National Park! The National Park opener was great. Lots of anglers out but lots of fish to be had. The Madison, Firehole and Gibbon were the places to be. Since then the firehole has warmed up and fishing has slowed. The Madison and Gibbon are still doing ok. Angler’s have been finding good action on some of the smaller creeks like Obsidian and Blacktail Deer crk. The small alpine lakes are also good options right now! […]

As you trudge through the workweek keep your spirits high because this Saturday, May 28th is opening day for the Yellowstone National Park 2016 fishing season! With most of our freestone waters out of commission due to runoff the park will offer a variety of fishing options that will remain fishable throughout the spring and into summer. Mainly the Firehole, Madison, and Gibbon rivers will be the place to go this weekend. Water temps are hovering in the high 40’s/low 50’s. Perfect trout temps. Check out the recommended gear list below! -Yellowstone National Park Fishing Regulations -Yellowstone National Park Fishing […]

That’s right! Even though the Yellowstone is out of order, that doesn’t mean we are done fishing! The spring creeks have been fishing great with Baetis in the afternoon. Midges before and after. Better bug action on the overcast days. The few private lakes in the area will also be good options with callibaetis nymphs, leeches, damselfly nymphs, and Chironomids. Other than that you have the tailwaters to explore like the Madison and Missouri Rivers. The Lower Madison was fishing well with flows in the 1600 cfs range. These have since been bumped up and fishing has slowed, water has […]