Pro Tips

The Yellowstone is the classic western freestone river and the only major U.S. river to escape damming. It starts in the Teton Wilderness, a stones throw away from the Snake River, flows into Yellowstone Lake, through Yellowstone Park, and cuts through Montana before meeting the Missouri at the Montana - North Dakota border. Over much of its length, it offers great trout fishing. Many of us grew up reading about fishing this blue ribbon water from legendary outdoorsmen like Joe Brooks, Charlie Waterman, Dan Bailey and Lee Wulff, and when you fish it you may be standing in their footprints.
The section above the lake is native cutthroat water and is only accessible on foot, horseback or by boat. Fish from the lake run into the River to spawn and can be abundant during summer months. It is a July 15th opener to protect spawners, and it is a catch and release fishery. Streamer patterns and attractor dries will work well for the hungry post spawn fish. The lake itself offers some fine fishing and opens June 15th. The primary species here is cutthroat, but growing numbers of lake trout have been showing up. Both species can be caught on streamers and leech patterns, such as mohair leeches, Kiwi Muddlers and Buggers. The fish seem to travel in schools along shoreline structure and action can be hot and heavy with periods of lulls. At times of hatches and calm winds, the cutt’s can be caught on callibaetis mayflies and damsels. The lake trout or mackinaw are a non-native species and must to be killed, to prevent their expansion, but you never know if you will catch a fifteen-inch or fifteen-pound specimen.
Below the Lake and through Hayden Valley, the Yellowstone has the look and feel of a large spring creek. Here again many of the fish are lake fish, which have moved into the river to spawn, and it is a July 15th opener. The Fishing Bridge, LeHardy Rapids and Hayden Valley area are closed to fishing, but there is plenty of great water in the area. When it opens, the fish are on the feed to replace calories lost during spawning and most fish are in the fifteen to twenty inch range. Combine this with the abundant hatches of Pale Morning Duns, Yellow Sallies and a variety of caddis, and the angling can be outstanding. Much of the fishing involves spotting fish and casting to them. For a while they can easy, but the fishing will be technical. Match the hatch patterns and emergers or sight nymphing is necessary. At times, ants, beetles and hoppers are productive. Even when the fishing is slow, it’s hard to have a bad time in these beautiful surroundings.
Below Canyon, the backcountry angler can have some great fishing for naïve cutthroats, but some sweat equity is involved. Trails lead into the Grand Canyon and the Black Canyon of the Yellowstone and drop down 1500 to 2500 feet to the River. The hike in is much easier than the hike out. Salmon flies and golden stones will hatch during early to late July. Attractor patterns like Convertibles, Madam X and Chernobyl’s are good searching patterns for these sections of water. As you get down in the Black Canyon, a mix of cutthroats, rainbows, browns, brookies and whitefish can be found. The trip can be done as a long day hike or overnighter. Make sure you carry ample water and gear, and bear spray isn’t a bad idea. For a less vigorous adventure, the bridge near Tower Junction offers access.
The Yellowstone River leaves the Park at Gardner, Montana. From this point down the river can be floated, and except for Gardner whitewater section and Yankee Jim Canyon most of it can be floated in a drift boat. Montana has done a great job of purchasing fishing accesses, which can be used a boat launches or for wade fishing. Camping is available at Loch Leven and Mallards Rest. The section from Gardner through Yankee Jim Canyon is primarily one channel with fast, deep water and has a high proportion of cutthroats. As you move below here, the gradient drops as you enter upper Paradise Valley and you will get some braiding. This fish populations is an even mix of cutt’s, browns and rainbows, and a good portion of the rainbows will be rainbow/cutthroat hybrids. The lower section of Paradise Valley, from Mallard’s Rest down to Livingston, flows at a quicker pace than the upper Valley. The Paradise Valley section is the most popular area, and many of the photos seen in magazines and calendars show this area with its backdrop of the Absorka Mountains. The section through Livingston has the highest population fish in the River, and many of these are 12” to 14” rainbows. Below Livingston, the Yellowstone changes its northerly direction and flows east. Fish populations drop, but the chance for some larger fish is there, and the surroundings are rural ranchlands. The geography changes as well as you leave the mountains and enter the plains. Seventy downstream of Livingston is where the Yellowstone changes from a trout fishery to a warmwater one.
Like all rivers the Yellowstone has its idiosyncrasies. On this river depth is the primary cover and sometimes it seems as if the browns are allergic to wood. Part of the reason for this is the gradual concave bottom of the river with its bowling ball size rock. As fish feel threatened they recede to deeper water in the pool. What seems like subtle changes in depth can be critical to finding fish. Another character of this river is its love/hate personality. One day she is gracious and others a whitefish would be a bonus. Summer hatches on this river can be very regional and one riffle can be alive while others are dead. Never leave a spot with rising trout.
The Yellowstone is open to fishing all year, and except for the dead of winter and runoff offers good options for the angler. In February, as days lengthen and warm, fish will become more active. Nymph fishing is generally the best bet. Look for deep, slow water adjacent to riffles. Trout are still using the insulation of the deeper water and saving energy. Midges will start to appear during this time frame, and with it the chance for dry fly activity. Midge clusters, midge emergers and small parachutes can work well. A midge pupae just a few inches below a dry are good for “bulging” fish. Foam lines and backeddies can get filled with bugs pushed into them by Livingston’s infamous winds. Around this time, rainbows will get more active prior to spawning and can be caught in riffles and runs with attractor nymphs.
March through runoff, which is around the first of May, is one of the best times on the Yellowstone. The midges and nymph fishing continue, but around the end of March and first of April, baetis will show up. These are good size blue wing olives in the #16 - # 18 range. The hatch seems to spread throughout most of the River. With the silver glare on the river, parachute Adams or BWOs with black or hot pink wings help the angler follow the fly. When floating a #14 dry with a smaller beadhead baetis or pheasant tails is a good bet. When wade fishing to a pod of fish, smaller, imitative flies, such as Sparkle Duns, Everything Emergers can be useful. Soft hackles to imitate the active nymphs are also good. Larger March Browns can also be found locally on the River, and look like sailboats compared to the smaller insects.
Around the end of April, the famous Mother’s Day Caddis Hatch will occur. Actually if you are there Mother’s Day, take Mom to dinner because you are too late. This hatch of brachycentrus cased caddis can be amazing. It is usually a mad race between runoff and the hatch. You want it to warm up enough for the bugs to hatch but not so much that the river floods. The number of bugs is astounding, and the fish notice them. The best dry fly fishing is during egg laying, and patterns like Dennis Sparkle Caddis, Peacock Caddis and Sanchez Foam Wing Caddis in #14 or #16 are good flies. At times a Coachman Trude or Midge Convertible are good hi-vis flies that you can pick out from the rafts of naturals. In the mornings a Glass House Caddis pupae of Prince Nymph will fool fish feeding of drifting larvae. Everything Emergers or X-Caddis are perfect for emerging pupae.
Runoff usually ends around mid-July, and depending on the year salmonflies coincide with the rivers clearing. Around Livingston and Paradise Valley fishing rubber leg nymphs is the most productive fishing, while on the upper Valley to Gardner there is more dry fly fishing. Accurate casts into the willows can be more important than the exact fly. Mystery Meat Salmonflies and Rubber Legs Stimulators are good adult imitations. At this same time, golden stones, Yellow Sallies (small golden stones) and caddis are common. In some sections of river the smaller flies will work better, and these hatches will be there long after the salmonflies are gone. Golden StoneX, Sally Stones and Elk Hair Caddis are good patterns. Convertibles can be good attractors as they have many of the attributes of a variety of the assorted bugs. A variety of mayflies hatch on the Yellowstone inn the summer. Overall these are localized hatches and can range from Pale Morning Duns to large Grey and Green Drakes. Parachutes or Wulffs in #16 - #12 are good searching flies.
One of the biggest summer hatches are hoppers. This will start in late July and go through September. With the structure of the River, you need to fish hoppers in different places than you would on other rivers. Two inches from the bank might have the flies in two inches of water. Look at inside corners, tailouts are troughs. Basically, look for holding water with an irregular depth. Sometimes, the best water is nondescript straight-aways and runs, and the best water can be fifteen feet from the bank. Large brown stones, classenia, are also found on the Yellowstone at this time and this may account for some of the midriver fishing. A Foam Wing Hopper or a Parachute Hopper are good imitations of both. Fishing Yuk Bugs, Buggers and Double Bunnies are good for early morning fishing and can bring out some larger specimens.
Fall fishing starts around the middle of September. Baetis perform an encore of the spring hatches, and pools, banks and riffles can be alive the small mayflies. The same patterns and techniques used in the spring will. Brown trout start to become active prior to spawning and the other species seem to put on the feedbag before winter starts. The Brown trout streamer fishing is similar to steelhead fishing. Rig a seven or eight weight rod with a running line and quick sinking shooting head, wade as deep as you dare and throw it as far as you can and cover the water. You will pay your dues, but you have a chance to catch some nice browns. There seems to be a bump in activity around the first of October and the end of the month. Feather streamers, such as Spruce Flies, are the most common patterns. When float fishing, rig a five weight for Blue wings and an eight weight for the junk. Cover the pool first with a dry and then streamer fish it. This is a great time of year with a mix of Indian Summer, snow storms, fall colors and snow covered vistas of the Absorkas.
Around November, fishing becomes tough not because of temperatures, but from wind. Thirty mile an hour winds with seventy-mile gust is a tough fly fishing gig. However, on calmer days midge dry fly fishing and nymphing can be great. Basically, the year ends the way it began.
The Yellowstone offers some varied and great fishing opportunities on the last major undammed river in the US.

Scott Sanchez
PO Box 3738
Jackson WY 83001
307 733 2041
scottsanchezflies@hotmail.com