By Beau on May 23, 2013
It’s that time of year again, the opening day for fishing in Yellowstone Park is this coming Saturday. With run off plaguing a lot of Montana’s rivers, the park offers up some good options. The Firehole, Madison and Gibbon are all good options for opening weekend.
There are a couple of things you want to remember when headed down to the park to fish. Yellowstone National Park requires that you have a fishing license for Yellowstone Park, your Montana license will not work down there. The second thing you need to know is that regulations have changed down there since last year, so make sure when you purchase your license that you get a copy of the new regulations. YNP fishing licenses are available at Sweetwater Fly Shop.
During late May in the North West region of the park you can plan on seeing Baetis, PMD’s, Caddis, and Midges.There is also the potential for Litte Yellow Stones and Salmonflies in the canyon section of the Firehole. The dry fly fishing can be outstanding. Small streamers are always worth a try this time of year down there as well. Small Wooly Buggers, Zonkers or little Slump Busters can all be great options. If you’re a big nymph fisherman, then bring patterns that represent Baetis and Caddis. Also remember if you are nymphing, lead is not aloud to be fished in the park, so be sure to pick up some lead free split shot.
Remember that the bears are active this time of year in the park, so use caution when beating around the bush. Bear spray is always a great thing to bring along with you on park fishing trips. No fish is worth being mauled over.
Plan on seeing other anglers down there, but don’t let that keep you away, there are plenty of fish to go around during the Yellowstone opener!
Posted in Yellowstone N.P.
By Beau on May 22, 2013
Streamer Eater from the Upper Madison
Tired of that muddy Yellowstone River water? Have you thought about heading over to the Upper Madison? If not, then it is definitely time to consider it. We have been hearing good reports coming from the Madison since opening day (5/18). The river is a bit off color(about 2 feet of visibility), but it is not keeping the fish from eating. The river is flowing 1,810 C.F.S. at Cameron, and has been fluctuating between 46 degrees in the mornings, to 54 degrees in the afternoons.
Nymphing has been the most productive form of fishing on the Upper. Baetis, Caddis, and Stone flies have all been putting fish in peoples nets. The number one fly over there the past few day has been the Jimmy Legs, in fact they have been fishing two of them at a time. A large ( size 4 or 6) dark brown and orange as a point fly with a small (10 or 12) peacock, or black as the dropper. Effective baetis nymphs have been the Olive Morrish’s Anato-May, the Grey Little Green Machine, and the Galloups BWO Nymph. All of the baetis have been fished in a size 16-20. For the Caddis guys have been throwing the Chartreuse Morrish’s Hot Wire Caddis and the Olive Mangy Caddis.
The dry fly activity has been limited and predominately in the early evening, and has been mostly Baetis fishing. Popular Baetis dries include the Sprout Baetis, Parachute Adams, and the BWO Tilt Wing Dun.
The streamer fishing has been pretty hot over there as well, with Olive being reported as the color to fish all day. The olive and black with a white head Silvey’s Sculpin Leech, Hickman’s Flesh Eating Sculpin, and the Galloup’s Bottoms Up in Olive have all been taking fish.
Although we love the Yellowstone, run off is our chance to set forth and fish other rivers. Get after it!
Posted in Madison River
By BigCutty on May 16, 2013
All of the freestones are high and muddy; the tailwaters have more than a few boats on them. What’s a solitude-seeking angler who doesn’t want to take a 6-week hiatus from fishing to do? This is a great time to check out one of the stocked private lakes in the area. Pay a moderate rod fee to the ranch owner, used to defray the costs of stocking and management, and you can have a fish-filled lake all to yourself. And the lakes tend to fish very well this time of year. They’re great for beginners and offer a decent chance at catching large, occasionally giant, fish.
My wife and I hit Jones Lake yesterday for a bit of birthday fun. Jones Lake is on a ranch about 1/2 an hour north of Big Timber. The setting is classic Big Sky Montana prairie, with a view of the Crazy Mountains to the west. It’s a small lake, small enough to be fished effectively either from shore or a boat, but it’s chock full of fat, feisty rainbow trout. We had steady action all day long. Most of the fish we caught were from last year’s plant, moderately sized but full of fight. And we each landed one in the 20″ range (and saw plenty more of that size cruising by). We forgot the camera yesterday (and the boat net), so the picture is from last year.
Most of the action was on CDC Pheasant Tails, dangled under an indicator and animated with a strip-pause retrieve. We did get one or two on a small Bugger. We saw a few Callibaetis in the air and fish were rising sporadically, so it would be worth trying a dry fly. The lake also contains lots of scuds and midges, so imitations of those would likely be effective. The usual lake fare.
All in all, a very fun day of fishing. If you’d like to give Jones Lake a try, give us a call at Sweetwater Fly Shop (406-222-9393). You can fish it on your own, or if you are new to the lake fishing game, you might want to consider hiring one of our experienced guides to teach you the ropes. If Jones Lake happens to be booked, we can also set you up at one of several other private lakes in the area.
Posted in Uncategorized
By BigCutty on May 13, 2013
We weren’t the only ones who decided to float from Warm Springs to Black’s Ford yesterday. In addition to all of the drift boats and rafts, there were even a few hardy tubers. Given the number of boats that we were following, we were happy to get into a few fish. There were plenty of bugs in the air – caddis, baetis, yellow sally stoneflies…. But no fish rising, at least not in the bright sun of mid-day. So we nymphed. We caught fish on a size 14 olive Mangy Caddis. But the winner was Kyle’s Bead Head Yellow Sally nymph. The water clarity was good, though Cherry Creek is spilling in some mud. It shouldn’t be nearly as crowded on a weekday, or even on a weekend day that’s not 90 degrees and Mother’s Day. If you are trying to get into some dry fly action, try to time things so you’re taking out right at dark. And bring a flashlight.
Posted in Madison River
By BigCutty on May 9, 2013
Runoff is here for real on the Yellowstone River. It looks like there’s no stopping her now. The good news? We could be fishing the Yellowstone early this year, say by sometime in the second half of June. Any kind of prognosis is tentative, and a lot could happen between now and then…. Did someone say Salmonflies?
The Mother’s Day Caddis hatch was a blast this year, at least for those who could get out on the 5 days or so that were really good. The rest of us, myself included, can kick ourselves again for having jobs that require our attendance.
One correction to my previous post. Apparently, the construction on the Norris Road has moved past Warm Springs, so you shouldn’t have to deal with any delays on your way to the Lower Madison. See you there over the next few weeks.
Posted in Madison River, Yellowstone River | Tagged Madison, Mud, Yellowstone River
