The Yellowstone River had a great past week of fly fishing near Bozeman after some heavy rains last weekend. This weekend on the Yellowstone River is going to require some up to the minute local knowledge. A cold front is slated to move into southwest Montana Saturday night so if you plan to float, local knowledge will be key. Once the cold front is in on Sunday the overcast and rainy and drizzly weather looks like ideal Blue Winged Olive and streamer weather. The dry fly fishing could be good on Sunday if the forecast holds--it is supposed to be rainy and drizzly. The best patterns will be small mayfly style patterns from size 18-12 like grey Wulffs and Adams patterns are the best bets. Trout are also moving into the slower tail out slicks and the big foam eddies looking for BWO mayflies and larger mahogany duns and spinners.
Nymphing is still producing – try a rig with a very long indicator with no weight and make sure not to over mend. Big trailed by small is still the way to go so a wooly bugger, sculpin, rubber lets etc. on top trailed by a smaller attractor or mayfly nymph is a good choice. Streamer fishing is slowly improving and should get better as we move farther into the fall and see more inclement weather.
This past summer was one of the best summers in recent memory for consistently big fish on the Yellowstone. Many of our longtime guides lamented how no matter the method, the big fish were definitely coming out to play. Check out our Instagram feed for all the great fish pics from the summer!
Best Flies for the Yellowstone River Right Now:
Lil Spankers in various colors #12-18
Mega Prince #10-12
Pat's Rubberlegs #8-12
FKA prince #12-16
Foam run caddis #14-18
Sparkle Minnow #4-8
The Month Ahead:
Fishing should remain very good for the next few weeks on the Yellowstone. Blue Winged Olive hatches will continue to grow stronger by the day, especially with cloud cover. Streamer fishing will also improve. As water temps drop try a sinking head like a 200 grain line. The shorter “streamer tip” lines aren’t much better than a floating line so if you are going to go big you may as well do it right.
Long Term Fishing Forecast:
The Yellowstone can still be productive in November with continued Blue Winged Olive hatches, but begins to turn off in December as winter settles in for good and ice shelves develop.
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