I guess it’s officially Spring in Montana when the Yellowstone River blows out. It’s currently at 8,000 cfs, which pretty much means we won’t be fishing it for at least another six weeks.
We are starting to really get busy on the guiding scene starting this week however – a couple days on the spring creeks and then up to the Missouri River for a couple days toward the end of the week. It’s going to be another great fishing season in Montana this year and we are ready for it to start cranking, Literally. As of today we are at 160% of normal snow pack in the Upper Yellowstone River drainage. That means 1996 levels, and for those not around then it was our 100 year flood event – also known as scary! So let’s get that water moving and snow out of here so we can enjoy some good July fishing and maybe even see some Salmonflies again this year.
Yep - that's over 20 feet of snow!
Apparently Old Man Winter is clinging on to it’s final few weeks with an icy grip. Over the weekend Mammoth and Cooke City reported several feet of snow. This photo was taken yesterday in Hayden Valley in Yellowstone National Park, which is located on the Grand Canyon Loop a few miles north of Yellowstone Lake. WOW! That’s over 20 feet of snow along the roadside – crazy.
Our current snow pack in the Upper Yellowstone drainage is 162% of normal – those are similar numbers to 1997 when the Yellowstone River had a 100 year flood event (see flood photo). While it’s difficult to forecast, the weather National Weather Service has predicted a cooler and wetter June than average (see Forecast).
What does this mean for fly fishers coming to Montana this summer? First off the best time to come fishing is whenever you can – this isn’t a gloom and doom post. However, this summer plan for some high water and preferably push your fishing dates until at least until mid/late July – unless you’ve already planned your trip on the Missouri River or any of the private spring creeks of Armstrong, DePuy or Nelson. The Missouri is a tailwater (dam controlled flows) and still fishes quite well at higher water levels. The spring creeks are not effected by heavy snow melt as they are feed from ground water springs. As one of our seasoned guides always likes to say, “full rivers fish best”. Those of you coming in August and September could see some fantastic fishing this season. Another bonus is the low probability of forest fires this season if you want to look at the bright side of things.
If you have any questions or concerns about water levels and conditions make sure to give us a shout and we’ll get you the latest updated info.
Hatch Update 05/04/11
Yep, those are all Caddis
At 3PM today we saw a number of Mother’s Day Caddis on the Yellowstone River just below Carter’s Bridge. While this looks like the begininning of the hatch it could progress quickly and go from zero to sixty in a hurry.
If you’re unfamiliar with the Mother’s Day Caddis hatch it’s one of the great hatches anywhere in the western United States. These medium sized tannish/olive insects can hatch in such vast numbers that the river appears to have an orangish hugh. One of our guides several years ago stated that, “if you had snowshoes you could walk across the river.” Not too far of an exaggeration in our opinion – just look at the mats of adult caddis in the photo to the right.
If you get the opportunity the next few days could be very good fishing. Stay tuned and we’ll keep you posted as we’ll be on the river the next several days.
Eryka with a nice 15" Yellowstone River Rainbow
Our fishing…
A fishing guide bitching about the weather – that’s strange… Today has us sidelined with 50 mph winds, so we are catching up on some blogging and paperwork. We did manage to get out yesterday afternoon for a bit on the Yellowstone River. Fishing was fair at best. The bright sunny skies had the baetis and midges holding tight and the hatch was light at best. We did however find a number of trout stacked in the foam holes. Until the hatches of baetis, March Browns and Mother’s Day Caddis hatches really start rolling that’s where we suggest you concentrate your time.
Our best technique is still shallow nymphing between 2 and 4 feet with small nymphs.
The Highlights:
Yellowstone River:
It’s all weather dependent right now, with some warmer weather and increased water temperatures we’ll start to see stronger baetis hatches and the March Browns. Obviously the word on every anglers mind is Caddis. The Mother’s Day Caddis is nearing it’s emergence date. The key is to keep your eye on the water temperatures – 52 to 54 degrees is the key the start of the major emergence. Currently there are sighting of March Browns on the lower river toward Big Timber. Caddis have also been sighted on the lower river and up river near Pine Creek.
Spring Creeks (Armstrong, DePuy, Nelson):
Midges and baetis have been very good on the cloudy days especially when the breeze is light. Take advantage while you can with the early season discounted rates until June 14th.
Madison River:
The Lower Madison River is off color from Ennis Lake and Cherry Creek spilling in off colored water. There are baetis, midges and caddis are right around the corner. The trout aren’t consistently keying on the dry flies so it’s a nymphing and stream thing right now. The streamer fishing, dragging a Bow River Buggers and small baetis nymphs dropped below are the best ticket right now. Look for the fishing to pick up with the increased hatch activity.
Missouri River:
The Missouri is much like the rest of the waters around the state, inconsistent. The nymphing is getting better, but the water is still higher than normal for this time of the year – 7,140 cfs (2,000 cfs higher than normal). Nymphing is a daily puzzle between flies and water depth – seems it’s between sow bugs and bright flies or baetis and midges. The streamer guys are hit and miss, but a few nice fish are a pretty sweet day, right?
Got any good fishing reports from the area? Then make sure to leave a comment and let us know.
Report Date April 24
Summary:
This weekend spring finally showed up in Montana and it is glorious! Today was almost 60 degrees with no wind, a remarkable
Bo looking for the next good spot
thing for this season so far. While we could have done with a few clouds we won’t complain. Our guides and fellow anglers have been giving us great reports from the Yellowstone, spring creeks, Madison and the Missouri Rivers. There are good hatches of midges and baetis on most of these rivers, and even a few March Browns are starting to show up on the lower Yellowstone River.
Today Eric Adams from Montana Fly Fishing Guides, Jeff Pavlovich from Angler’s West, and our favorite bartender from Montana Rib & Chop House Bo fished the Yellowstone River. As expected with the bright sun, the fishing was a bit slow, but we got them to eat in the right spots – foam holes are about the only consistent places right now. We didn’t put forth a huge effort, but small shallow beads worked best.
PREDICTION:
This week assuming the weather forecast is correct we should see some good to very good fishing so stay tuned!
Hatches:
Midges, baetis on the cloudy days and we are starting to see a few March Browns. The lighter the wind the better the hatches will be and the more risers you’ll start seeing. As the water temperature starts to rise the March Browns and Mother’s Day Caddis will be starting in earnest – at the earliest look for steady hatches by next weekend.
Weather & Water Conditions:
The water has that usual green color for this time of the year with a couple feet of visibility. Partly cloudy and nice temperatures in the middle fifties with variable SW winds.
Best Technique:
Shallow water nymphing with small baetis and midge nymphs – concentrate on the foam holes along the rip/rap. We preferred pinch on indicators 2.5 – 3 feet above the flies. If you’re looking for risers check the tail-outs of the long runs or the inside corners of the riffles.
Best Bugs:
Midge Hatch: Olive & Copper Brassies, Zebra Midges, Miracle Midges sizes 16 – 20
Baetis Hatch: B.H. Pheasant Tail Nymphs, Olive & Black Copper John’s Micro May size 16 – 18.
March Browns: CDC Bead Head Pheasant Tails size 14 – no dries yet.
Montana Fly Fishing in the Spring
Mayra & a Yellowstone River Brown
Spring is trying to emerge, but winter has a tight grasp and won’t let go. We’ve managed to sneak a few days of spring-like weather in so far, but we are starting to get twitchy. As the fishing report below indicates we’ve had some good fishing when the weather’s been nice enough to cooperate. We are looking forward to some good baetis, midge and March Brown fishing. Oh yeah, almost forgot that little bug called the Mother’s Day Caddis should be getting ready to pop in the next couple weeks. We’ll keep you posted.
In the mean time fellow guide Zach Pleshar and Sweetwater Fly Shop’er Marya had a great afternoon of fishing yesterday. Here’s the grab & grin to prove it.
Wanna learn more about Spring Fishing in Montana?
