Fishing Report June 30, 2018
Wild Trout Outfitters Fishing Report June 30,2018
Salmonfly fever is upon us! The hatch has started on the Gallatin and the Madison. Our guides have spotted them on both rivers, and the good news is the fish are looking for them as well. On the Gallatin we’ve been seeing salmon fly’s as far up River as Deer Creek and Jack Smith’s bridge. On the Madison we’ve seen adult salmon flies mostly above Varney Bridge and sporadically all the way up to Palisades. In typical fashion the epicenter of the hatch is making its way upstream on each river day by day. Knowing just where to be on the river at any particular point in time is tricky. Nymph ahead of the hatch? Trail the main hatch by a couple of days, or aim for the heart of it? It’s hard to say what the right choice is… experience certainly helps, as does fishy intuition and a bit of luck. But regardless of whether or not the fish are gorged on the giant insects or are greedily devouring fluttering stonefly dries or golden stoneflies there’s a thrill to the chase.
Maybe you’ll hit it just right, or maybe you won’t. Covering a lot of water helps… over the course of a long float you’re likely to get into ’em at some point during the day – just remain focused on putting your fly where it needs to be. Once you find feeding fish, slow down and cover the water thoroughly… many anglers make the mistake of leaving fish to find fish. You can put the odds in your favor by spending as much time as possible chasing the hatch, or if you only have a day or two to fish you’ll benefit from hiring an experienced guide. It’s not too late to reserve a day with one of our guides for this year’s salmonfly hatch, give us a call at 800-423-4742.
GALLATIN RIVER FISHING REPORT
Gallatin River near Gallatin Gateway MT
The Gallatin has been dropping like a rock over the past week and is rapidly shaping up. Salmonflies and golden stoneflies are hatching and the fish are on them! There’s really only one thing to talk about right now and that’s the salmonfly hatch. The big bugs have been out for a few days now and can be found throughout Gallatin Canyon and south of Big Sky.
Wild Trout Outfitters Fishing Report June 30,2018
The river is dropping and clearing, but still has some color to it… the Gallatin is flowing fat and sassy with that nice green hue that so many anglers have learned to appreciate. The trout are treating anglers to some explosive dry fly eats and a reliable nymph bite.
If the fish aren’t responding to your dry-dropper rig (and you are fishing a dry-dropper rig, right?) move along to another stretch of river. At times the fish can become gorged on salmonflies to the point that the fishing will slow down noticeably on a particular stretch of river. One of the great things about the Gallatin is the ease with which anglers can move to various public access points along the river. Keep moving until you find fish that want to eat your fly, they’re out there… there’s no sense trying to force the issue with fish that already have full bellies.
If you’re interested in having one of our guides show you the best of what the Gallatin has to offer, drop us a line or give us a call (800-423-4742) to book your dream trip and let us do what we do best… put people on fish!
The Gallatin River drainage is currently holding about 24% of median snowpack for this time of year;
Currently: Medium to Small Stone Fly Nymphs or dead-drifted streamers such as Black Woolly Bugger. You Can try the Bitch Creek, Yuk Bug, San Juan Worm, Flash Yellow Sally Nymph, or a Olive Caddis Pupa under a Salmon Fly Dry.
Nymphs: Pats’ Rubber Legs #8, Olive Caddis BH #16 & 14, CDC Pink Emerger #18 & #16. CDC Pheasant Tail #16-18, Pheasant Tail #16-18, Lightning Bug #16-18, Copper John #14-16, Beadhead Yellow Sally #14, CDC Emerger #14-18,Olive Shop Vac #16 & 14.
Streamers: Woolwr Bugger Black #12-#6, Bow River Bugger #4-6, Morrish Sculpin#4, Kory”s Grinch #6. Be sure to have an array of colors represented in your streamer box including: white, yellow, olive, natural/tan, and black.
Dries: GB Salmonfly #6,Water Walker Salmon Fly#8, Water Walker Golden #12, Minion Salmon Fly #8, Rogue Stone Salmonfly #6-10, Chubby Chernobyl (Royal) #12 – 6, Stimulator (Yellow) #10-14, Elk Hair Caddis (Yellow/Tan/Olive) #14-16, X-Caddis (Olive) #14-16, Lime Trude #14-16, Sparkle Dun (PMD) #16-18, Purple Haze #14-18
UPPER MADISON FISHING REPORT
Madison River at Kirby Ranch near Cameron MT
The upper Madison is in great shape with water visibility in the 3 foot range from Quake Lake to Ennis Lake. Hatches are imminent and salmonflies have already been spotted above McAtee Bridge… the hatch will be in the wade section in less than a week .
Wild Trout Outfitters June 30, 2018 Fishing Report
The hatch is here. Madison River browns and rainbows have been crushing salmonflies for a few days now. The main hatch is progressing upriver and will likely be at Varney Bridge by the weekend.
While the big bugs deservedly take center stage, their smaller cousin – the golden stonefly – is not to be overlooked by anglers… the fish certainly take notice of them. Many anglers get tunnel vision during the salmonfly hatch, which is understandable – it’s easy to focus on the big bugs. But as any experienced guide will tell you, there’s more going on out there… PMD’s are emerging, Yellow Sallies are out, and drakes are setting sail. Just something to keep in mind when you spot a big riser in the shallows…
The upper Madison has really rounded into shape over the past week. Tributaries such as the West Fork have dropped and cleared significantly allowing the mainstem to follow suit. The Madisom River drainage is currently holding about 29% of median snowpack;Visibility is in the 1-2 foot range throughout the river and it should only improve from here – there’s not enough snowpack remaining to provide another spike in flows even if we see warm temperatures over the next week or two.
Our guides are out on the river daily now and are reporting excellent nymph and streamer fishing on a variety of patterns. Smaller nymph patterns have been performing very well, with $3 Dips, Shop Vacs, Lightning Bugs, and various Yellow Sally nymphs being some of the best. Fish are certainly looking for stonefly nymphs, but don’t get fixated on trying to force feed them… switch it up and try smaller caddis and mayfly patterns if the fish seem to be passing up your stonefly nymphs.
It’s not too late to get in on the action… call us today to talk shop and reserve your spot with one of our guides; there’s a beautiful stonefly-crushing rainbow out there with your name on it!
Nymphs: Pats’ Rubber Legs #8, PMD emerger #16, Pheasant Tail #16& #18, Soft-Hackle Lightning Bug #16-18, Lightning Bug #18, RS-2 #18-20, WD-40 #18, Shop Vac #16, $3 Dip #16-18, San Juan Worm #12
Dries: GB salmonfly #6, Watter Walker (salmonfly and golden stonefly) #6-10, Chubby Chernobyl (Golden) #8-10, Stimulator (Yellow) #10-14, Elk Hair Caddis (Yellow/Tan/Olive) #14-16, X-Caddis (Olive) #14-16, Lime Trude #14-16, Sparkle Dun (PMD) #16-18, Purple Haze #14-18
Streamers: Kory”s Grinch #6, Circus Peanut #4, Sparkle Minnow #4-6, Bow River Bugger #4-6, Home Invader #2-6, Morrish Sculpin#6. Be sure to have an array of colors represented in your streamer box including: white, yellow, olive, natural/tan, and black.
YELLOWSTONE RIVER FISHING REPORT
Yellowstone River near Livingston MT
The Yellowstone River has dropped significantly and is currently fishable. The river is still big and dangerous and should only be attempted by expert oarsmen until it mellows out a bit more. A few salmonflies have been reported down low, but we’re probably still a week or so away from fishable numbers of the big bug’s.
Wild Trout Outfitters June 30, 2018 Fishing Report
The Yellowstone is likely not going to be a great option for the next couple of weeks as river levels have risen substantially and there’s enough snow remaining in the high country to sustain high flows for a while yet. Check back in a couple of weeks… you don’t want to miss that sweet post-runoff window on this river. As the ‘stone drops and clears it offers up some of the best fishing of the year on big dries and streamers fished tight to the banks.
Currently: Large nymphs or dead-drifted streamers in the #4-6 size range such as the Pat’s Rubber Leg, Bitch Creek, Yuk Bug, Mega Prince, San Juan Worm, Bow River Bugger or Sparkle Minnow.
Patterns to stock up on for post-runoff:
Dries: GB (salmonfly & golden stonefly) #6-10), Rogue Stone #6-10, Chubby Chernobyl (Golden) #8-10, Stimulator (Yellow) #10-14, Elk Hair Caddis (Yellow/Tan/Olive) #14-16, X-Caddis (Olive) #14-16, Lime Trude #14-16, Sparkle Dun (PMD) #16-18, Purple Haze #14-18
Nymphs: Nymphs: Pats’ Rubber Legs #8, San Juan Worm (Red) #12,TCO size 14, Mega Gay # 18-14 ,Pink Gummy #12, Purple Gummy #12, Pheasant Tail #16, Lightning Bug #16, Copper John #14-16, Beadhead Yellow Sally #14, CDC Emerger #14-18, Shop Vac #16
Streamers: Circus Peanut #4, Sparkle Minnow #4-6, Bow River Bugger #4-6, Kory”s Grinch #6, Morrish Sculpin #6 . Be sure to have an array of colors represented in your streamer box including: white, yellow, olive, natural/tan, and black.
YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK FISHING REPORT
Yellowstone National Park is open to fishing, and the west-side rivers are fishing well.
The early season in Yellowstone typically finds most of the park’s streams and rivers swollen with snowmelt, and that is currently the case. Many river systems such as the Yellowstone and its tributaries (the Lamar, Slough Creek, etc.) are virtually unfishable during the early portion of the park’s fishing season. The portion of the Gallatin River within the park is typically fishable from a clarity standpoint, but the river and its tributaries will be flowing high and water temperatures will be cold.
Some of the best early season fishing opportunities in the park can be found along the Madison River and its two primary tributaries: the Firehole River and the Gibbon River. These fisheries are located near the park’s west entrance and are go-to destinations for most of our guide trips in the park. The Firehole is a popular early-season destination for anglers, and for good reason – flows are typically moderate and it’s a fairly safe bet that trout will be found rising to hatches of baetis, PMD’s and caddis in the classic meadow water above the falls. Below the falls on the Firehole anglers may still find a few large, holdover fish that migrated up from Hebgen Lake during the fall spawning run. These fish can be taken on large stonefly nymphs imitating the giant salmonfly, a hatch that occurs in early June on the lower Firehole due to its thermal influence.
The Gibbon River is a very diverse fishery that provides less reliable fishing early in the season – some years it fishes very well early on, and during other years it is too high and off color to be productive. If conditions allow, anglers will do well nymphing below the falls with stonefly patterns, or with baetis imitations along the river’s upper meadow reaches.
Give us a call (800-423-4742) to discuss planning your own trip.
Dries: Adams #18-20, Sparkle Dun – Olive (baetis), Yellow (PMD) #18-20, Purple Haze #18-20, Light Cahill #16-18
Nymphs: Pheasant Tail #18-20, Soft-Hackle Pheasant Tail #18-20, CDC Emerger #18-20, Partridge & Olive Soft Hackle #18-20, Lightning Bug #18-20, WD-40 #18-20, RS-2 #18-20, Pat’s Rubber Leg #8
