Wild Trout Outfitters June 14th, 2020 Fishing Report
We are days away from great river condition. Our local waters are dropping fast and gaining more visibility everyday. A few 80 degree days has helped push us through the runoff season. Within the next 10 days, we should see the rivers start to stabilize, just in time for salmon fly’s to start making their appearance (if they haven’t already).
Our Fly Shop and Guide Service are fully open. There is no longer a 14-day required quarantine in Montana. If you are coming from out of state, we can take you out fishing! We have sanitation and social distance protocols in place that our guides must abide by to keep us all safe during these times. Give us a call and we can help make your Montana Dream a reality!
Wild Trout Outfitters
406-995-2975
June 14th, 2020 Fishing Report
GALLATIN RIVER FISHING REPORT
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, Sparkle Dun (BWO) #16-18, Purple Haze #14-18
Nymphs: Pats’ Rubber Legs #8, Dirty Trixie Worm #10, Tri-Color Omelette #14, 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.
Gallatin River near Gallatin Gateway MT
With many 80 degree days behind us and the snow pack dwindling each day, we are seeing the Gallatin continue to drop. Currently, we are seeing around 2 feet of visibility and starting to see a nice Gallatin-Green color. The Big Muddy is behind us and the brown dirty water is vanishing more and more each day.
The fishing on the Gallatin has been great for us. With the mud starting to leave, the river is beginning to turn a nice shade of Gallatin-Green. The Gallatin River drainage is currently holding about 57% of median snowpack for this time of year. Nymphing is still the best way to get numbers, but we have seen noses popping up for the Blue Winged Olive’s. The rainbows seem to be all spawned out now and with that egg patterns continue to produce fish. Eggs and legs or bacon and eggs are the go to rig. Black Pat’s rubber legs and your favorite egg pattern or a dirty trixie with an egg. If that’s not working for you, try swapping that out for some baetis nymphs. Stop by the shop and we will show you our favorites!
Clear water
The Taylor Fork (located about 15 miles south of Big Sky) will continue to throw mud into the river for quite some time. This will be our primary source of dirty water once the West Fork of the Gallatin clears up. If you are looking for better water clarity than what you find in the canyon stretch of the Gallatin, I suggest going upstream (south) of the Taylor Fork. The stretch between the Yellowstone Park boundary and the Taylor Fork is a short one, but a good one. However, you won’t be the only angler to realize this. If you are looking to throw some dry fly’s, check this stretch of water out.
If there are too many vehicles for your liking, buy your Yellowstone fishing license and fish the stretch just inside the park boundary. Often times anglers with a Yellowstone license will make the drive to West Yellowstone and fish the rest of the park. This leaves many fish untouched and eagerly awaiting your fly on the Gallatin inside the park.
Other local options
The West Fork of the Gallatin is starting to drop, but is still quite high. This makes access a bit more difficult. The other local tributaries of the Gallatin are in the same shape. If you can find some accessible, “deep” (meaning 3-5 ft.) pools, you should find fish on these small waters. Be careful of spawning cutthroat and rainbows if you choose to target the small streams. The Gallatin offers many options for the small stream fisherman. We have found fish in most of the creeks between Big Sky and Bozeman. Stop by the shop and we can point you in the right direction to some of our favorite small streams on the Gallatin.
If you are wanting to hike, many of the alpine lakes in the area are free of ice now and fish should be hungry.
Our guide calendar is filling quickly now that the 14-day mandatory quarantine is no longer in effect. Drop us a line or give us a call (406-995-2975) to book your dream trip and let us do what we do best… put people on fish!
June 14th, 2020 Fishing Report
UPPER MADISON FISHING REPORT
Nymphs: Pats’ Rubber Legs #8, Yarn Egg #14, Dirty Trixie #10, 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.
Madison River at Kirby Ranch near Cameron MT
The Upper Madison remains very productive with a off color green hue to it and good visibility above the West Fork. The float section has variable water clarity day to day, depending largely upon the inflows of the West Fork.
The Upper Madison has provided us with some solid fishing over the last few days. The Madisom River drainage is currently holding about 28% of median snowpack for this time of year. Nymph fishing is still the best option for numbers, but there can be a bit of dry fly fishing to be done. Streamers continue to produce fairly well with the slightly off color water. We recommend fishing the wade fishing stretch. Floating can be a bit hazardous this time of year due to the high water. Wolf Creek Bridge has a large log blocking the river right side. The log, combined with high water, can make getting past this bridge very hazardous if you are not experienced with the river. The Lower Madison is a much safer option for a float trip this time of year if you are looking to do a DIY trip. If you’re looking for a float trip on the Upper Madison, one of our guides would happily take you safely down the river to find some great fishing!
Nymphs and Streamers
For nymph fishing, still kind of the same stuff. The nice thing about spring and early summer fishing, is the fish are pretty limited on bug varieties. This makes fly selection pretty simple. Eggs and legs or eggs and bacon are what we are using to start. If that’s not working, we usually keep the egg on and swap our other fly out for smaller baetis nymphs or caddis nymphs. For streamers, we are usually throwing large black streamers in the off color water. We have had some luck on sparkle minnow variations as well. Throw your streamers tight to the banks or cast them out and swing them into the banks. Dry fly fishing remains a possibility in the walk wade stretch with lingering hatches of baetis, caddis. But the bulk of the action is on nymphs and streamers.
Salmon Flys
We’re anticipating excellent river conditions for this year’s salmonfly hatch on the Madison. It’s still too early to be seeing many of them. As we get closer to July, we should start to see them popping off. This is a great time of the year to be able to fish big foam fly’s from the boat. 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!
YELLOWSTONE RIVER FISHING REPORT
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. Be sure to have an array of colors represented in your streamer box including: white, yellow, olive, natural/tan, and black.
Yellowstone River near Livingston MT
The Yellowstone will be in runoff mode for another week or so. Water clarity and river flows are improving, so this river is still a possibility.
The Yellowstone is still high and off color. It is getting to the point where it would be fishable. While this isn’t our first choice for fishing this time of year, you could still get a boat out there and enjoy the Paradise Valley. Wade fishing will likely remain difficult until the flows come down. Streamers and nymph fishing will be your best bet if you do decide to fish the Yellowstone. Use large dark colored streamers to get the attention of that big fish you’ve been looking for. For nymph fishing, try some larger stonefly nymph’s to imitate the salmon fly nymphs that are migrating towards the banks right now. Trail some thing small and flashy behind your stonefly.
June 14th, 2020 Fishing Report
YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK FISHING REPORT
Yellowstone National Park is fishing great. The Firehole, Madison, and Yellowstone lake have all been producing.
Lot’s of options when it comes to fishing in Yellowstone. With 2.2 million acres, there is a lot of ground to cover. Salmon flys are on the Firehole, and some stretches of the Madison. Yellowstone Lake has been great for still water fishing from shore.
Firehole
Salmon Flys! We’ve been finding adult salmon flys in the Firehole Canyon. These bugs will likely be gone any day now, so get on it soon! Just because the bugs are gone, doesn’t necessarily mean the fish won’t come up for a large foam bug. Bring your favorite salmon fly imitator and drop a rubber legs underneath it for a few bonus fish. Our favorite salmon fly patterns are the water walker, chubby Chernobyl, cat puke, and our new royal water walker. Most of the fish are eating the salmon flys along the banks in the Firehole Canyon. Above the canyon stretches, you find various mayfly hatches this time of year.
Madison
The Madison is a great option for fishing in the park this time of year. Most of the fishing we do is just inside of the park boundary. Take some time to explore this area. Especially the areas away from the road. Most people are not willing to walk very far from their car because Yellowstone offers a lot of access points to the Madison River. There are still a few lingering salmon flys in this area. Start with your favorite big bug tied on. If that’s not working, drop a rubberlegs underneath it. If that still isn’t working, get out your nymph setup and try a rubberlegs variation with a small prince nymph behind it. Stop by the shop and we can point you in the right direction and set you up with the right flys!
Yellowstone Lake
There are some LARGE cutthroat in this lake. Many of which can be captured from the shoreline with your fly rod. You are mostly looking for points on the lake. Look at a map and try to pick out a point. Leeches and other streamers tend to work well. If the fish don’t seem to enjoy chasing their food at that time, try some nymphs.
Give us a call (800-423-4742) to discuss planning your own trip, or an up to the minute fishing report!
June 1st, 2020 Fishing Report
Dries: Adams #18-20, Sparkle Dun (olive) #18-20, Purple Haze #18-20, Flutter Bug #6-8, Cat Puke (salmon fly) #6-10), Rogue Stone (salmon fly) #6-10, Chubby Chernobyl (Golden, Purple Salmon Fly) #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,
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, Baetis Emerger #16-20
