Pre-Runoff Fishing on the Yellowstone!
Get out there!
One of our favorite times of year to fish is the windows of clear fishing before runoff starts fully on the Yellowstone River in early May. The crowds are quiet, the bugs are out, and the fish are feeding.
They are hungry in the rain!
Yellowstone Brown Trout
This time of year sees lots of hatches- Blue Wing Olives- followed by March Browns- and then the prolific Mothers day Caddis hatch. The combo of lots of bugs, hungry fish, and less picky fish after a winter of anglers leaving them alone can make for some epic dry fly days. Water clarity is the key to what type of fishing will be most productive.
If its sunny and 75 for a few days in a row, expect flows to jump and the river to lose clarity. If you have a foot or two of visibility the fish still eat though! Time to fish a big stonefly under a bobber or strip a streamer. Great chance at catching a big rainbow or brown in these conditions.
The past few weeks, however, has been more like winter than our actual winter. Much needed cooler temps and snow in the mountains means the fish will be happier this summer. It also means the river cleared after a few days close to 80. Our trips over the weekend were amazing and LOTS of fish were caught. In the afternoons plenty of fish were eating March Browns and BWO on the surface.Nymphing was just as productive with a stonefly and your choice of mayfly/caddis nymph. The fish are not too picky this time of year, get a bug in front of them and they will usually eat it.
Campfire Lunch!
Nice Rainbow!
Catching a dropping/clearing river at this time of year is what you are looking for!
If you are willing to put some layers on and brave the cold rain and snow, the worse the weather the better the fishing in April and May! Our forecast this week looks much warmer, so get out there!
The Firehole, Gibbon, Madison, and Gardiner Rivers are open to fish in Yellowstone National Park right now! Float trips on the Yellowstone and Madison River are heading out daily, so give us a call to get on the water! Our Yellowstone Fishing Guides love teaching the sport of fly-fishing and are excited to get you out on the River!
See you in Montana!
Yellowstone River OUtfitters