Fishing Report

Early May in Montana typically means two things; snow melt and Mother’s Day Caddis. Caddis hatches have been increasing in intensity but have been later in the day to evening rather than the classic mid afternoon. Fish have been very willing to take Caddis dry flies but you’d best be sticking around late! The main hatch concentration has been mid to upper valley now. Warmer temps and bug life are indicating that summer is right around the corner. However, the warmer temps also mean that the rivers are about to completely blow out. So get on the river to throw […]

The snow is starting to melt and the river is beginning to rise here in Paradise Valley. However, there’s still a handful of days we think that you’ll be able to get on the Yellowstone before it totally goes out. The Yellowstone continues to get March brown and Blue winged olives hatching in the afternoons. Especially on cloudy and less windy days. .Be on the lookout for the Mother’s Day caddis hatch, which should be starting in a week or so! Patterns to try: Pat’s Rubberlegs, Marabou Rubberlegs, Mega Prince, large Hare’s Ears, BH Princes, BH FB Pheasant Tails, Soft […]

Over cast days have been an anglers dream that last few days as consistent temps have brought on some great Baetis hatches. Look for windless days with lots of cloud cover to drive the hatch and have the fish looking up! We were able to get on the river yesterday and look at the bug activity which was great. There were plenty of BWOs on the surface as well as the occasional March Brown Drake. After doing some seining, we found plenty of Baetis nymphs, Caddis larvae, Midge larvae, and the a couple of Green Drake nymphs. Finding pods of […]

Sometimes you catch the most interesting things while floating the river. Today was no exception. Though as April Fool’s day goes, perhaps this one had a double message. I’m pretty superstitious and belief in the No Bananas In the Boat gig is for real. April Fools Day had been proving to be a nice day afloat, until hooking into this banana peel. But I had to get our lucky fly back. No foolin, it was caught “fair”, though not exactly released with care. But it did not stay in the boat! The rest of the day went on without issue […]

This last week we have experienced a considerable flush of all the copious amounts of low elevation snow. And its gone in a hurry! Middle 50 degrees and not a hard freeze at night has ushered in a big time thaw. Partly good, but also highly destructive in places! Middle valley areas were flooding badly as the ground was still frozen and the water had no where to go. Folks lost roads and driveways as the snowmelt literally flooded across low lying areas in its effort to reach the river basin. Needless to say, the river is blown out as […]

As the saying goes, “if you don’t like the weather in Montana, wait five minutes.” The temps have dropped dramatically and there has been consistent precipitation the past few days. There has been lots of evening showers, in addition to light snow in the mountains. The drop in temperature has locked up a lot the snow in the mountains, causing the Yellowstone River’s flows to drop and provide better water clarity. For the first time in years, there should be a window to fish the Yellowstone in mid-May. However, this will likely cause runoff to be delayed even further. One […]

Back on the water. It’s been a long month! The entire month of February was one long arse below zero, snow filled, horrid month of weather. Perhaps one of the hardest winter months in recent memory! We maxed out at a whopping NEGATIVE 38 degrees the first weekend in March. In like a Lion was right! But we’d been dealing with that kind of sub zero temps for a month already. More like another swift kick to the mid section….. Weeks of below zero temps sure did a number on the rivers around here. Massive ice jams have built up. […]

Middle winter check-in. It’s cold! Not much else can be said, really. Snow is piling up and we’re experiencing the coldest weather of the winter so far. Zero, zilch, nada, why would you want to go fishing around here right now about sums up the scene. However, the snowpack for next summer’s water is looking good…. We’ll be back in the store sometime in middle to late March. See y’all then.

The Yellowstone River continues to fish well! Flows are down to 2,540 cfs near Corwin Springs and 2,720 cfs in Livingston. With lower water, look to identify deep seams of faster moving water to hold trout. Reading water for structure below faster oxygenated water will be sure to produce solid fishing, just make sure you aren’t pounding the banks where fish are no longer holding as much. Upcoming cold weather should be really good for maintaining a good water temperature, as well as may bring in a bit more water to keep the river full. This has been the smokiest […]