Current Conditions: The Yellowstone River is dropping and starting to fish again. Best action at the moment is subsurface nymph fishing and possibly some Blue Winged Olives--they bugs will most likely hatch but we need the river to drop about another 1000 CFS for the clarity to be ideal for BWOs. The famous Mother's Day caddis hatch on the Yellowstone typically occurs in around Mother's Day but the bugs can be active a week or so before Mother's Day.
It is likely it will drop all week but if warm weather returns and/or rain hits the river could begin snowmelt runoff in earnest....but it is shaping up for an ideal spring weekend on the Yellowstone!
What to Watch For:
For the Yellowstone River to become fishable again daytime highs need to be in the 60s or lower and nighttime lows need to remain below freezing in the mountains. Check the flow chart at the end of this report page regularly and if the river trends downward for more than 24 hours it is likely returning to fishable conditions.
Some of our fav patterns when the river returns back to fishable flows and water clarity.
Pat's Rubberlegs in sizes 10-14
Perdigons in size 12-16 in any color
Pheasant Tails in size 10-14
FKA Prince in size 10
Mini Dungeon in size 4
Montana Intruder in size 2 or 4
Purple Haze in size 10-16
Buzz ball in size 18
The Month Ahead:
Hard to say what the next month will look like on the Yellowstone River--but that is one the reasons that we love this larger freestone river. Because the Yellowstone River is undammed and drains the high country of Yellowstone National Park, it has the longest period of snowmelt runoff of the waters that we fish. For the next six weeks or more on the Yellowstone River it is crucial to check our reports and check flows. It doesn't take much for the Yellowstone River to get high and muddy or for it to drop and clear into fishable conditions. But, it does take knowledge...and we have that knowledge.