We’re in the midst of runoff in southwest Montana, but prime time is just around the corner. It’s going to be another great season at Wild Trout Outfitters and here are a few of the things we look forward to over the coming months.
June: Stoneflies! The Gallatin, Madison, and Yellowstone all host excellent stonefly hatches in June. Golden stoneflies and salmonflies bring big fish to the surface. Whatever your game – dry, nymph, or streamer – the latter half of June provides some of the best conditions of the year as the rivers are dropping and clearing. Green is good… so good.
July: A favorite month for many visiting anglers. The rivers are flowing fat and sassy. PMD’s, yellow sallies, green drakes, and caddis keep the dry-fly-only guys happy. Terrestrials, including spruce moths, come into play later in the month. The nymph bite is solid and provides opportunities to catch larger fish subsurface.
August: Classic summer weather. Early starts and long days. Hoppers and nocturnal stoneflies return to the riverbanks and fish eat the Chubby with reckless abandon, well, sometimes they do. It’s a great time to run a dry-dropper rig. Low, clear flows and lighter, longer leaders become the norm. If the dry fly bite isn’t on, the fish are always willing to eat subsurface.
September – The kids are back in school and the crowds are thinning. Hatches are sparse, but October caddis are bouncing around and if the weather holds out terrestrials remain in play. Baetis nymphs are increasingly important. The brown trout are becoming more aggressive and streamers start turning some heads.
October – Known amongst our guide staff as ROCKTOBER, our attention at this time of year turns to big, fall run browns in Yellowstone National Park.
Considering a trip to Montana this year? Give us a call or drop us a line to discuss what time of year is best for your visit.
GALLATIN RIVER FISHING REPORT
Gallatin River near Gallatin Gateway MT
Flows on the Gallatin River are on the rise again. The extended forecast is calling for moderate temperatures, which may stabilize flows.
Flows on the Gallatin have remained relatively moderate this week, but yesterday’s rain resulted in a substantial spike. The weatherman is calling for highs in the 50’s with nights dipping into the 30’s over the next few days, that may be enough to stabilize flows. Of course all bets are off if we receive a significant amount of rain at higher elevations.
Below the Taylor Fork the river is muddy, to be sure, but diehard anglers can expect to have some success. Your best bet is to keep it simple… a stonefly nymph or sculpin pattern up front, trailed by a worm or an egg. That’s it, really. Dead drift those flies through the right water and you’ll connect – persistence helps, as does fishing patterns that you’re confident in. Never underestimate the confidence factor. Above the Taylor Fork the river is high and cold, but the clarity is better. The drill is pretty much the same up high, but smaller nymphs are in play.
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: Flutter Bug #6-8, Cat Puke (salmonfly & golden stonefly) #6-10), Rogue Stone (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
Nymphs: Pats’ Rubber Legs #8, Mega Prince #8, San Juan Worm (Red) #12, 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, Shop Vac #16
Streamers: Sparkle Minnow #4-6, Bow River Bugger #4-6, Home Invader #2-6, McCune’s Sculpin#4, Gonga #4. Be sure to have an array of colors represented in your streamer box including: white, yellow, olive, natural/tan, and black.
UPPER MADISON FISHING REPORT
Madison River at Kirby Ranch near Cameron MT
The upper Madison remains fishable and productive with about 18″ of visibility up high and 6″ closer to Ennis. The Madison above Lyons Bridge is currently a great option for the walk/wade angler with the possibility of good baetis hatches on overcast afternoons.
The Madison “between the lakes” is fishing well with stable releases out of Hebgen Dam. Double nymph rigs consisting of baetis and more baetis have been producing consistently. This is a favored stretch of river during runoff for many of our guides, and for good reason – clear water and the potential for big fish.
The Madison below Quake Lake remains very productive, it’s benefiting from cool weather and stable flows. The best fishing remains up high, above the West Fork confluence. Here anglers will find about 18” of visibility – good enough to find trout rising to baetis duns and emergers on overcast afternoons. The nymph bite remains strong using a variety of patterns ranging from stoneflies to mayflies and caddis imitations. Small baetis nymphs such as the RS-2, WD-40, and Pheasant Tail have been producing consistently in size 18.
Despite the cooler weather the West Fork’s inflow remains high and muddy, discoloring the mainstem significantly. Floating anglers will find the best conditions on river right from Lyons Bridge to approximately Windy Point, below that the West Fork’s mud plume discolors the river from bank to bank resulting in less than a foot of visibility. Anglers willing to put in the effort have been catching the occasional big fish in the float section on large nymphs and streamers.
Nymphs: Pats’ Rubber Legs #8, Mega Prince #8, Pheasant Tail #12 & #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: Parachute Adams #18, Purple Haze #14-18, Sparkle Dun (olive) #18 and #12 (brown), X-Caddis #14-16, Elk Hair Caddis #14-16
Streamers: Sex Dungeon #4, Circus Peanut #4, Barely Legal, Sparkle Minnow #4-6, Bow River Bugger #4-6, Home Invader #2-6, McCune’s Sculpin#4, Gonga #4. 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
To the surprise of many anglers the Yellowstone has offered windows of opportunity over the past few days. But with the recent rain, river levels have risen, and the Lamar has spiked.
The Yellowstone remains a gamble. Flows have been relatively stable for a while now, and at times the river has offered enough visibility to justify fishing it. With the cool weather in the extended forecast this moody freestone may hang in there a little longer, assuming we don’t get too much rain.
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: Flutter Bug #6-8, Cat Puke (salmonfly & golden stonefly) #6-10), Rogue Stone (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
Nymphs: Pats’ Rubber Legs #8, Mega Prince #8, San Juan Worm (Red) #12, 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, Shop Vac #16
Streamers: Sex Dungeon #4, Circus Peanut #4, Barely Legal, Sparkle Minnow #4-6, Bow River Bugger #4-6, Home Invader #2-6, McCune’s Sculpin#4, Gonga #4. 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’S FISHING SEASON IS CLOSED AND WILL REOPEN ON THE SATURDAY OF MEMORIAL DAY WEEKEND ( MAY 28, 2016).
In just over a week the fabled waters of Yellowstone National Park will reopen to anglers for a new season of fishing. The Saturday of Memorial Day is opening day and will greet anglers with opportunities for quality fishing. Opening weekend typically finds most of the park’s streams and rivers swollen with snowmelt. 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 opening weekend 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 both caddis and baetis 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. Should opening weekend find the Firehole flowing high and turbid, anglers can still find success, but may need to shift gears and trying swinging soft hackles or nymphing.
The Gibbon River is a very diverse fishery that provides less reliable fishing for opening weekend – some years it fishes very well on the opener, 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.
Opening weekend in Yellowstone is a tradition for many anglers, give us a call (800-423-4742) to discuss planning your own trip.
Patterns to have on hand for the opener:
Dries: Adams #18-20, Sparkle Dun (olive) #18-20, Purple Haze #18-20
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
