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Last Updated: 7/22/2008 The Yellowstone | Spring Creeks | Madison | Private/Local Lakes Yellowstone Park | HIGH WATER AND FISHING FORECAST Yellowstone RiverCFS @ Lamar River | CFS @ Corwin Springs | CFS @ Carter's 7/22There's a thick plug of mud coming down river (now around Mallard's Rest). The Lamar had a blip on the radar, but the Gardner really spiked. Apparently there was a slide after all that heavy wind and hail. The good news is that there is already 18 inches of visibility in Gardiner so unless we get another storm tonight the Stone should be in great shape tomorrow.
7/18
The vis at 9th street bridge is getting close to 2 feet (9,470 CFS)...
Green is good! Today is the first day that the Stone had me drooling at the chance to rip some streamers. We had 6 boats out yesterday with mixed results. One guide got hooked twice in the back with only a 12 inch whitie for photos, while other guides had their clients into as many as 10 fish in two hours. Big rubber leg nymphs, black leadeye buggers, coneheads, and big beadhead nymphs were the way to go. Be prepared to chuck and duck with A LOT of split shot. The fish are swimming deed in big eddies, seams, and slower foam lines. It's finally go time over here... 7/16
Len Rosoff with a broad shouldered Brown. photo: Eric Paulson The Salmonfly frenzy is over for the Yellowstone, unless you plan to hike and strike somewhere in the Park. Eric and Len put in up high in search of big fish eating salmonfly dries, but the fishing wasn't so hot. Most likely the fish are too gorged up there for a while. Eric saved the day however with a double dip. They did a second float mid Valley and caught several nice fish, including the 21 inch brown above... 7/15
I took a quick drive up the Stone on Tuesday to see where the big bugs were hanging out. I saw 7 rigs parked at Grey Owl but none at 26 mile or Point of Rocks. I suppose the shuttles from Carbella hadn't been done yet. I only saw rafters above the canyon, although the water clarity looked to be about 18 inches with a pleasant green tint. The wave train above Corwin Springs looked easy to float, even in a skiff, the larger white water is easily avoidable for a good rower. I stopped at Slip and Slide and saw quite a few chocolate caddis in the bushes but only one salmonfly dry. Found a bunch of shucks about 2 feet off the bank, it looked like they probably hatched about a week ago. Ditto for Corwin Springs.
Once I got to Gardiner however, there were tons of salmonflies in the air. The Gardner river was running jet clear and several big bugs headed up that branch of water as well, but the majority of bugs were headed up the Stone. If you have a park license and are willing to hike, you could cut them off at the pass at the Black Canyon trail head. Next on the list would be Tower. I'd skip 7 mile hole this year since the water is so high... 7/14
Ah shucks... Looks like the hatch is well above slip and slide The Stone dropped again to 10,900 CFS today. More impressive is that the river didn't spike at night, which indicates that the river should be dropping even faster over the next few days. Also a good sign is that the river is starting to look more green instead of brown (see the upper Yellowstone webcam). There are thousands of Salmonflies near Yankee Jim right now. If you want to be at the head of the hatch where the fish are less gorged, then float above Yankee Jim. There are a couple class 3 wave trains up there, so make sure you know what you're doing on the sticks. Carbella to 26 has been fishing (about 10 fish to the boat on average) and the fish that have been caught are absolutely gorged - practically puking salmonflies. Perhaps Rainy's needs to come up with a "trout puke" salmonfly...
The river is about a foot and 1/2 of visibility right now... Everyone has been floating up high to catch the salmonfly hatch, but streamer fisherman will be on the prowl soon. The lower river takes a little longer to shape up than the upper as the bigger fish are most likely still in the side channels. It's going to be a while before down low is on fire, but it will definitely pay off to be one of the first boats once the fishing gets good... 7/12The river has dropped to 11,900 today but clarity hasn't really improved much. Outfitter Eric Paulson was on the river today and felt that at this point, the Upper Madison is a better call. The big bugs were definitely around however. Eric said there were more salmonflies in the bushes on one section of the Stone than the entire Upper Madison. Perhaps the best move is to fish the Upper through the weekend and see where the Yellowstone is at early next week... 7/11
Outfitter Bob Bergquist was on the Yellowstone 7/11 with clients and called to report that the salmonflies were all over and that they managed to catch a few on dries. He said there was at least a foot of visibility and that the Upper Yellowstone was fishing but that it helped to have a client who could cast in tight to the willows and in the back eddies. I saw Charlie Conn (from the Sweetwater fly shop) and he said that he had been fishing up there a lot lately. He said that the fishing was OK, but that clarity was still an issue and that the Stone wasn't quite fishing as well as we'd all like to see it... On paper, the Yellowstone has been dropping like a rock this past week. Since July 6th, the stone has dropped about 1000 CFS each day, with flows out of the Lake have been around 7,000. As tributaries add more water into the system, the Yellowstone is currently at 13,500 and dropping. For the Stone to get down to 10,000 CFS or under, the flows out of Yellowstone Lake will have to decrease to around 6,000. On paper at least, it looks like this could happen in about 3 or 4 days from now. If you live in Livingston, there's just enough time to drive up afterwork and catch the frenzy. If you are driving over the hill, you might see if you can get off work a little early and drive over around 3:00... 7/9
I talked to Burke (who works at Matson Rodger's) and he said he's been fishing a bit around Emigrant after work lately. He said that he's seen a few drift boats but that they gave him the goose egg sign as they floated by...
7/6
A Western Green Drake shuck found near Pine Creek. A few brave souls have been floating the Stone but with low success stories. George floated Pine to Carter's twice, but didn't do much aside from where the creeks flow into the Yellowstone. He did mention that he saw several eats on the surface and that fish were sipping big green drake dries. One would have to think if a fish can see a green drake floating down the pipe that they would have no problem clobbering a fluttering salmonfly.
For more, check out our HIGH WATER AND FISHING FORECAST
PMD's on the Spring Creeks The PMD's are going good now. The hatch seems to kick off around 9:00 - 10:00 with more fish eating nymphs and emergers. By 11:00 however, fish will be eating dries as well as spent spinners. The first PMD’s of the season to appear are the largest – the Ephemerella Infrequens, which are imitated with duns that average size 16 but often look as large as 14’s. Rene’ Harrop’s PMD No-Hackle in a size 16 with a big gray wing silhouette and pale olive body is a perfect imitation. For more information check out George's PMD article.
Aside from the PMD's there have still been midges in the morning (before the water heats up) and in the evening as the water cools back down. During the middle of the day when the water is warmer but the PMD's have stopped you can fish with ants, beetles, crickets, hoppers, or spiders. You can also try dredging deep with a spring creek leech, small bugger, damsel nymph, or sculpin pattern.
The MadisonCFS Below Ennis Lake near McAllister
The Upper Madison is on fuego! People have been foaming at the mouth as the big bugs have really turned on strong. The river is clear, stable, and dropping so the conditions couldn't be better. The thickest part of the hatch has been from Varney to 8 mile, but they'll be moving up soon enough. Aside from salmonflies there are golden stones, caddis, and yellow sallies - the water is literally covered in bugs and the fish are quite happy. This river is mostly likely in its prime right now, so call in sick, grab your gear and get that boat in the water. As more and more boat traffic starts to develop, don't be afraid to rock the middle of the river with two big black salmonfly nymphs or a dry with a 4 foot dropper. If you don't like the sound of casting that all day, you can also target smaller 8-12 inch trout on the edge of the banks with a single caddis dry fly...
Yellowstone National Park
to offer. Photo: D.Holiway
This time of year a trip to Yellowstone Park can be a lot of fun. The Lamar is still too high and muddy to fish, but slough creek is fishable this week. Bring some Green Drakes, PMD's, plus all your favorite terrestrials. There have been bears reported around slough creek campground, so don't forget bear spay, especially if you plan to camp. The beautiful thing about the park is that you have 2.2 million acres to explore. There are hundreds of small creeks, streams, rivers and lakes to fish. Everyone has their own favorites and we encourage you to discover your own. If you simply don't know where to start, stop by the shop on you way and we can give you some ideas on a "hike and strike."
Local and Private Lakes
Although the PMD's on the creeks and salmonflies on the river have produced some awesome fishing, local and private lakes are still producing (and probably always will produce) the biggest fish. Lakes aren't for everyone, and we realize that, but for those who enjoy lake fishing give us a call. We have access to a few exclusive lakes with some incredible fish in them. Rod fees and guides are required. 406-222-7130.
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Related Links: Archived Fishing Reports
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A nice grayling caught in one of the many lakes Yellowstone has
