Northwest Fishing Reports

I am heading to the Yellowstone with my wife and son of 13, I have not been there since I was probably his age. Thought it might be fun to do some fly fishing while I was there. Does anyone have any suggestions to which streams to visit?
Anything would help in starting my research. We will be there mid July.

All those waters are great just try to find areas that are off the hard beaten path! Stone flys work great!:-$

I am jealous! I have never been to Yellowstone, but would love to go some day. I don't have any idea of what waters to hit first, other than what I have read about. I found a handful of sites that may be of some use. Good luck, be safe and have a good time!

http://www.flyfishwestyellowstone.com/
http://www.yellowstone.ws/yellowstoneflyfishing.html
http://www.bestflyfishingyellowstone.com/
http://www.gyflyfishers.com/
http://www.yellowstonenationalpark.com/flyfishing.htm
http://www.yellowstoneflyfishing.com/index.htm

Most any stream with any amount of water will be holding fish. I think the one I fished the most was the Gibbons, a short walk from the campground.

Most of my fish were caught on caddis nymphs fished close to the surface. Don't be bashful about using an indicator as it also tells you the general location of your fly. Useful in fast water or....if there are tons of fish feeding at the surface. I never once saw the indicator move but did strike if I saw a swirl within 2 feet of it.

Take along a good hook remover, preferrably a slip-on one. The whitefish there have very small mouths and finding the fly and using a set of forceps to remove it is hard on fish that have the fly deep. A slip-on one would slide down fast and pop the fly out quickly.

Mid-July is stonefly time where the Yellowstone comes out of the lake. I think the opener is the 16th.

Be prepared for buffalo poo.

zen leecher aka Bill W wrote: Be prepared for buffalo poo.

I, for one, Bill try to always be prepared for buffalo poo.



Or elephant...



I found the regs confusing, but I am sure they would make more sense if I had a map of the river.

Click Here for Regs

And Here

It also seems the limits change depending which of the three districts you are in.

I envy you being able to go there to fish. I have three brothers who live in Montana, but I can not afford the trip and the out of state license together.

I lived in that country for over 10 years and fished it very hard. I would recommend searching " fly fishing the yellowstone" and start reading because I could type for hours to answer your question. To name a few are the firehole, gibbon, lamar, lewis, yellowstone and so forth. If you go through Bozeman MT stop by FinsandFeathers at FourCorners and ask them what is good right now, great guys who will share vast knowledge. Good luck. I cannot wait, I leave next Tuesday to Bozeman for 5 days.

I honestly can't remember the names of the streams/rivers I fished in Yellowstone, but I do remember one thing....

Watch were you are going, and what is around you. I was fishing away, catching Cuts with a dry in a small stream, when I heard a cow elk bark at me. I had, like a great big FOOL, walked between the cow and her calf.

Did you know that elk will follow you into the water, and that I will still go deeper than my waders if a cow is chasing me?:-"

I'm sure it was a funny sight. My Scout Troop sure got a laugh out of it.

Boy, you brought back some awesome memories. I remember shadow casting a fly near the nose of a bull elk while on the Yellowstone. Hum, I have a picture of it laying around here somewhere! I didn’t catch the fish in the pool he was drinking from but it was a plus 10 memory.

I grew up in MT and used to fish in the park and the rivers just outside the park. I hadn't been there since high school and took my wife for her first trip a few years ago. I didn't get to fish then, we were too pressed for time (we wanted to make it to Jackson Hole, which I HIGHLY recommend -- absolutely beautiful drive alongside the Tetons and fun town), but I do remember being surprised that you had to have a license (that you bought inside the park). As I remember it, back in the day you didn't have to have a license inside (any?) national park to fish. Maybe I just remember it that way because I was young enough not to need one. I was also disappointed that you could no longer fish from "Fishing Bridge". Go figure.

Anyway, the only reason I bring that up is because you'll probably want to buy your license at your earliest opportunity once inside the park so you can stop any point along the way and fish some beautiful spot you come across.

I'll echo a few other guys' comments... I envy you! Have a great trip!

I remember the "no license needed" also, Troutcowboy. In the 70's, I wanted to go to Glacier so I ordered some info from the park department and remember reading that a license was not needed.

Thanks to all - great info and all of you have helped in reasearching the trip. There is a nominal fee, very reasonable, my son also has to apply for a permit to fish, no fee as long as I am with him. Time will be a major factor as we are not sure of what or how much we can see in a day.We have divided the sights into four days, so hopefully, traffic, crowds and mother nature will cooperate with some fishing time.
We are all looking forward to this trip.
Will let you know how it went later.

David

Via Con Dios Buddy. Bring back lots of pictures.