Current Conditions:
The Yellowstone River has dropped a lot in the past few days. Expect it to fish well with subsurface tandem rigs with any of the flies below. Some BWOs may hatch in the late afternoon so keep an eye for those. Caddis are still a few weeks out and fingers crossed the river stays in shape....ten day forecast looks tasty for ideal for fishing on the Yellowstone River for the next week or so.
Water temps are still cool in the morning and fishing will improve in the late morning and into the afternoon as temps rise. Trout are still most likely still in their winter lies so expect to find them in slower runs with a bit of depth for protection...BUT this could change quickly. Nymphs will be very productive most days and target smaller patterns like size 16-18 bead head attractors and maybe even some larger midge larva. Streamers can still be effective but fish them very slow and deep.
Some of our fav patterns right now are:
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:
The Yellowstone should fish better and better as spring progresses, with hatches of march browns and spring baetis becoming more prevalent. By mid April we should have more and more surface activity over hatches. As weather slowly warms remember to be mindful of air temps and check the river gauges so avoid spikes in levels from early snowmelt.