Montana Fishing Reports

An ideal winter fishing forecast is shaping up for the weekend in southwest Montana. With daytime highs creeping into the high 30 degrees F and night time temps not dipping into the teens, things are shaping up nicely for winter fly fishing near Bozeman, Big Sky, and Livingston. Once we tick past February 20th, there are substantially more hours of daylight which means hatches of midges are starting to be a regular sight on many of our rivers and spring creeks. However, keep your expectations realistic because as excited as we are to be out of the brunt of the winter cold, water temps are still cold, there is still substantial ice on the rivers, and the trout are still in their deep winter state. It is not until we get regular hatches of Blue Winged Olives and March Browns can we safely say it is "Go Time" for our spring fly fishing season here in southwest Montana. But...each day we get closer and closer to being able to headhunt rising trout or have our strip streamers for actively feeding trout. 

To get some useful knowledge and to expand your winter fly fishing horizons, be sure to read some of our recent blog posts featuring: 5 Tips for Winter Fly Fishing, Winter Fly Fishing Tips that Go Beyond Just Dressing Warm, 5 Tips to Improve Your Fly Fishing with Streamers or Winter Fly Fishing Options Near Bozeman. Our tailwater fisheries of the Upper Madison and Missouri Rivers are good bets right now while our freestone rivers like the Gallatin and Yellowstone Rivers may soon have shelf ice and where you can fish safely will be limited to certain sections. If you are looking for consistently solid options for winter fly fishing near Bozeman, they are the Paradise Valley Spring Creeks because they have a consistent water temperature of 52 degrees 365 days of the year. For adventurous anglers, there are two options in Yellowstone National Park that are open year-round, but soon they will most likely be snow covered or unsafe to fish because of shelf-ice.