With weekend forecasted temps slated to be in the 40s and 50s, the Gallatin River is going to be a legit option for the week. It is still early in the season, despite the warm weather, for any sort of hatch activity, but the nymphing should be quite good. You are going to see some midges indeed, but it is unlikely the trout will be keying in on them on the surface, so stick to tandem nymph rigs. Nymphing is the best bet, and it pays to skip a lot of water and jump from one deep run to another. Look for steady currents that aren’t too strong but still enough to bring food to trout. Slow water that is 3-6 feet deep and located just below a riffle is always a good bet. Nymphing a stone fly trailed by a baetis nymph or midge larva is a good bet but egg patterns and worms are also good flies to try.
This is one of the more consistent winter-time fisheries near Bozeman and Big Sky, and with our warm weather recently and with a mix of warm and cold in the forecast, it will continue to be a very solid winter fly fishing option near Bozeman and Big Sky. Mild days are even producing some risers over the midge hatch.
The Month Ahead:
The Gallatin River will fish well from now until runoff---in fact the next month or so on the Gallatin River is some of the local anglers' favorite times. Don’t mess with the fast water as the fish will have moved into the slower and deeper runs. There are several springs near the Big Sky junction that keep the upper canyon waters ice free and this is a great place to fish in the colder months. During cold snaps the valley waters develop slush and big ice shelves. If you find icy conditions just keep driving upstream towards Big Sky. Upstream of Big Sky ice is also a problem so the 15-20 miles from Big Sky down is the best on the coldest days. Nymphing smaller patterns and eggs is the big producer.
Long Term Fishing Forecast:
The info above will hold through most of March. April will produce a little more variety as the baeits mayflies become active again.
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