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Last Updated: 7/30/2008 The Yellowstone | Spring Creeks | Madison | Private/Local Lakes Yellowstone Park | Waters we fish | Guide Services Yellowstone RiverCFS @ Lamar River | CFS @ Corwin Springs | CFS @ Carter's 7/30
Don Marks, back on the brown trout patrol... photo: Eric Paulson The Yellowstone is in full swing this week. Rubberlegs, beadheads, zonkers, leadeyes, bow river buggers... take your pick and get a good long dead drift. Dry fly fishing has been better mid Valley and virtually non-existent down low. There have been caddis popping in the evening, but the bigger fish are looking for something with more substance. If you're heading our way, stop by the shop and we'll hook you up with the right flies... 7/29
If you have a day off coming up, the Stone is going through a good cycle this week and the fish are feeding consistently. CFS is dropping slowly (now to 7, 210). The river was on fire last night. Getting 20 fish to the boat hardly leaves enough time to crack open a cold one. I wish all of our afterwork floats went that way. There were a few caddis out and about, but the fish were totally keyed on rubber leg nymphs. Top fly, bottom fly; it didn't matter. The fish were crushing it. The fish are also starting to look up for hoppers and attractor dries. If this is your game, focus on the inside edges of seams, current breaks, and pockets. Hold your rod high to get the perfect 3 second drift as you float buy. You can also row around a good looking spot and walk back up to fish it. Keep an eye out for big fish because if you don't catch them that night, there's a good chance they'll be in the same area the next day. The next week or two is when the big browns are going to slip up and get caught. Once they get nailed, they'll be extra cautious for a while. 7/27
Shayla McKnight with a nice brown, caught on a home invader! The Stone is looking great and fishing very well. CFS has dropped to 7,390 and the visibility at 9th street is a solid 2 - 3 feet. Up high there have been a few PMD's coming off in the morning, plus caddis every evening. There are still some golden stones around, and of course the rubberlegs and beadheads are working. Dead drifting streamers has been working better than stripping them so far, but of course with streamer fishing anything goes... The next few days should be red hot on the Stone so get out and have some fun. Be a little careful out there however; as Mr. Bubbles took out a drift boat down low, as did Yankee Jim canyon up high... 7/26
Doug McKnight with a nice brown caught on a streamer... After work float anyone? The cooler temperatures in the evening have been perfect for throwing streamers. You'll also see more caddis on the water this time of day...
7/23
The River is clearing with about 8-10 inches of visibility at 9th street. Talking to the shuttle drivers and folks up valley, it sounds like there is about 18 inches of visibility near Gardiner. Livingston (and the Lamar Valley) didn't get the thrashing storm that Bozeman got last night, so with fingers crossed the Yellowstone should be good tomorrow. Yesterday and today a lot of rafts hit the boulder which fished quite well. Looks like a 40% chance of sever thunderstorms in the area for tonight so give us a call tomorrow morning for an update... 7/22
Howard Guja with a nice brown by Emigrant. Photo: Hank Bechard There'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. The good news is that it was a sharp spike, and there is already 18 inches of visibility in Gardiner. So unless we get another storm tonight, the Stone should be in great shape for tomorrow, especially up high. We'll keep you posted...
7/21
The river fished very well today. Guide Dave Bryan had 40 fish day and said they probably missed just as many. One guide even mentioned having a hundred fish day - which even if only half is true they a banner day. Paradise Valley has been the best section so far, although some guides are starting to float down low. They mentioned that it was very squirrely down there - as in big waves and that an armature rower could easily capsize a boat. Outfitter Brian Sienkowski and one of his clients hooked into a monster down low. The giant took off up stream like a missile and they were instantly into their backing. When Brian saw it roll, he thought they had the biggest brown he'd ever seen in the Yellowstone. The brute rolled over a log and got the line stuck but Brian was able to row in quickly and undo it. Once they finally got the fish in the net however, the cursing began... instead of a big brown it was a big 'ol carp! They were too upset for any photos and tossed him back in there... 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...
PMD's on the Spring Creeks Carla and John double up again! photo: Outfitter Hank Bechard 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.
John Ribic with a nice a Armstrong's brown. Photo: Hank Bechard
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
George was fishing $3 bridge on Sunday and had awesome dry fly fishing. Fish were mowing down goldens, and there were actually still a few salmonfly dries hanging around. In terms of Salmonflies, late the best fishing was later in the afternoon and evening, as in after 4:00 on. Look for the deeper holes and pocket water close to the willows for the biggest fish. If you're not apposed to nymphing, a big rubber leg nymph can be killer up there, but don't be surprised if your bulldog brown turns out to be a 21 inch whitefish. The best rubberlegs are the custom tied versions with a shank full of .025 lead. Most store bought versions are quite a bit lighter and not nearly as good as they heavier ones. You can always add a couple split shot to get down as well. If you're looking for a bead head dropper to put behind the rubber leg, George's favorite for that area is Morish's Anatomay nymph in size 18. You wouldn't think those big fish would be eating such small nymph in that fast water but they do!
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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Hello! Ken Kinard with a Yellowstone lunker. Photo: 
A nice grayling caught in one of the many lakes Yellowstone has
