09-08-2004, 02:32 PM
Yellowstone River - September 5th, 2004
supplied by: [url "http://www.fisheyesoup.com/redir.php?recKey=91,re"]Yellowstone Angler[/url]
FISHING: Great
Stream Flow Information [[url "http://waterdata.usgs.gov/mt/nwis/current?type=flow&group_key=NONE&search_site_no_station_nm=yellowstone&format=html_table"]click here[/url]]
[/url]Yellowstone River We had more rain in Yellowstone Park last week, and we suffered through a few days of off-color water, but the river came back in shape early this week. Today, the river is in great shape around Livingston, but looking at the hydrograph, it does appear that the flows on the Lamar jumped up a bit over the last couple of days, so we will be on the lookout for any change in water conditions. Anglers should be aware that some of the mud that comes out of the Lamar never makes it as far as Livingston. In the lower flows of late summer, some of the mud actually settles out, and we sometimes hear that the Lamar is very muddy, yet the off-color water never makes it to the stretches near town. As always, be sure to call or e-mail us for updates on weather and water conditions.
Anglers should match their tactics to the weather and water conditions they encounter. On warm, bright days, the best approach is to fish attractor dry flies and hopper patterns. The best attractor patterns include Tan and Royal Parachute Madam Xs and Convertibles, Stimulators, and Turck's Tarantulas in sizes 8-12. These attractors represent both grasshoppers and the mid-summer brown stones that we find on the Yellowstone at this time of year. Big black attractors have also produced well—our favorites in this category are the Black Magic and Card's Cicada.
Guide Brian Sienkowski and Tom Bailey with big Yellowstone rainbow Hopper fishing will continue to be a main focus for both anglers and the fish for the next couple of weeks, as long as the weather stays warm. We carry a wide variety of hopper patterns from traditional patterns like a Dave's Hopper, Whit's Hi-Vis Hopper, and the Parachute Hopper to some of the new foam patterns like the Grand Hopper and Red Legged Hopper. It is smart to carry a variety of sizes, as some days the fish seem to prefer a larger or smaller pattern.
Fishing these attractors and hoppers in tandem with a small bead head nymph has become a standard technique for most anglers on the Yellowstone. Pattern choice in the nymph is usually not critical. Popular choices include Princes, Pheasant Tails (including the variations with some extra flash in the body), Copper Johns, etc. Fish these in #14-16.
If we see the return of cool, cloudy conditions, streamers will produce well. Fishing Woolly Buggers and sculpin patterns from a drift boat is still a great way to take a big brown trout, even in late summer.
Cool, showery days have also triggered the first of the fall Baetis hatches on the Yellowstone. Reports from the cloudy days this last week were very good. Bright conditions will minimize these hatches, but in the right conditions, these bugs will appear around 1-3:00 pm. Look for rising fish in foam pockets, backeddies, and on the inside of riffle corners.
[/url]Private Lakes Burns Lake near Big Timber continues to fish very well. Anglers are enjoying good fishing with hoppers and cicada patterns on warm afternoons, but try stripping leeches or small Woolly Buggers if you get a cloudy day. The rod fee on Burns is $90 this season, and you can book rods through the shop or by calling Rasch Burns at 406-932-4150.
Buckingham Reservoir near White Sulphur Springs is a spectacular new lake that we have access to this year for our clients. Although it involves a bit of a drive, the setting in the Belt Mountains is beautiful and the fishing has been excellent. Anglers cannot expect to catch the numbers of fish that are available on Burns, but the quality and size of the fish makes this a very special place indeed! Nearly all of our clients that have been up to Buckingham have gotten cleaned out or have landed some big rainbows in the 5-8 pound category! There are a few very big brook trout also, up to 3 pounds. Access is limited to guided parties of 2 people per day, and the rod fee is $75/rod.
[/url]Yellowstone National Park Fishing in the north end of the Park will depend on local weather and water conditions. These streams have been clear most of the last week or so, but we did hear the Lamar was dirty for at least a short period a couple of days ago. However, these streams often fish very well just as they drop and clear after a high water period, so it sometimes pays to be adventurous and make the drive to check on water conditions.
As long as they clear, all of the streams in the northern end of the Park, including Slough Creek, the Lamar River, and Soda Butte Creek, will offer good dry fly fishing on terrestrials through most of September. These meadow streams support a wide variety of terrestrial insects, including ants, beetles, crickets, grasshoppers, etc. While most anglers prefer to fish hoppers, as they are easy to see, the smaller terrestrials will often be more productive, especially on the easily accessed areas of these waters, where the fish see quite a bit of angling pressure.
If you stay into the evening, the Lamar and Soda Butte also get good hatches of caddis. On Slough Creek, look for hatches of caddis, but there are also often good midge hatches that will require smaller flies and lighter tippets.
Park regulars are also starting to think about the hatches of "fall drakes". These hatches usually start about the second week of September, but with the recent cool, cloudy weather, we have heard that the hatches have already started. A March Brown Parachute or Hare's Ear Parachute in #12-14 are ideal dry flies for this hatch.
[/url]Missouri River The Missouri River is fishing well right now, with good hatches of trico mayflies in the early mornings and caddis close to dark. The PMD's are pretty much over now but there is some good hopper fishing during mid-day, especially on the lower stretches through the canyon and all the way down to Cascade.
The Trico hatches seem to be the most intense up closer to Holter Dam and in the Wolf Creek to Craig stretch. This is some of the best dry fly fishing of the year, and the Tricos bring up all the big fish as long as the wind cooperates and doesn't blow too hard in the mornings.
There are still lots of big rainbows and browns in the Mo, and dry fly purists are having a great time up there. The word is out though, so expect a lot of fishing pressure. Still, this is a big river, running around 2500-3000 CFS, and it can support a lot of anglers in that 30 miles of river between Holter Dam near Wolf Creek and Cascade.
supplied by: [url "http://www.fisheyesoup.com/redir.php?recKey=91,re"]Yellowstone Angler[/url]
FISHING: Great
Stream Flow Information [[url "http://waterdata.usgs.gov/mt/nwis/current?type=flow&group_key=NONE&search_site_no_station_nm=yellowstone&format=html_table"]click here[/url]]
[/url]Yellowstone River We had more rain in Yellowstone Park last week, and we suffered through a few days of off-color water, but the river came back in shape early this week. Today, the river is in great shape around Livingston, but looking at the hydrograph, it does appear that the flows on the Lamar jumped up a bit over the last couple of days, so we will be on the lookout for any change in water conditions. Anglers should be aware that some of the mud that comes out of the Lamar never makes it as far as Livingston. In the lower flows of late summer, some of the mud actually settles out, and we sometimes hear that the Lamar is very muddy, yet the off-color water never makes it to the stretches near town. As always, be sure to call or e-mail us for updates on weather and water conditions.
Anglers should match their tactics to the weather and water conditions they encounter. On warm, bright days, the best approach is to fish attractor dry flies and hopper patterns. The best attractor patterns include Tan and Royal Parachute Madam Xs and Convertibles, Stimulators, and Turck's Tarantulas in sizes 8-12. These attractors represent both grasshoppers and the mid-summer brown stones that we find on the Yellowstone at this time of year. Big black attractors have also produced well—our favorites in this category are the Black Magic and Card's Cicada.
Guide Brian Sienkowski and Tom Bailey with big Yellowstone rainbow Hopper fishing will continue to be a main focus for both anglers and the fish for the next couple of weeks, as long as the weather stays warm. We carry a wide variety of hopper patterns from traditional patterns like a Dave's Hopper, Whit's Hi-Vis Hopper, and the Parachute Hopper to some of the new foam patterns like the Grand Hopper and Red Legged Hopper. It is smart to carry a variety of sizes, as some days the fish seem to prefer a larger or smaller pattern.
Fishing these attractors and hoppers in tandem with a small bead head nymph has become a standard technique for most anglers on the Yellowstone. Pattern choice in the nymph is usually not critical. Popular choices include Princes, Pheasant Tails (including the variations with some extra flash in the body), Copper Johns, etc. Fish these in #14-16.
If we see the return of cool, cloudy conditions, streamers will produce well. Fishing Woolly Buggers and sculpin patterns from a drift boat is still a great way to take a big brown trout, even in late summer.
Cool, showery days have also triggered the first of the fall Baetis hatches on the Yellowstone. Reports from the cloudy days this last week were very good. Bright conditions will minimize these hatches, but in the right conditions, these bugs will appear around 1-3:00 pm. Look for rising fish in foam pockets, backeddies, and on the inside of riffle corners.
[/url]Private Lakes Burns Lake near Big Timber continues to fish very well. Anglers are enjoying good fishing with hoppers and cicada patterns on warm afternoons, but try stripping leeches or small Woolly Buggers if you get a cloudy day. The rod fee on Burns is $90 this season, and you can book rods through the shop or by calling Rasch Burns at 406-932-4150.
Buckingham Reservoir near White Sulphur Springs is a spectacular new lake that we have access to this year for our clients. Although it involves a bit of a drive, the setting in the Belt Mountains is beautiful and the fishing has been excellent. Anglers cannot expect to catch the numbers of fish that are available on Burns, but the quality and size of the fish makes this a very special place indeed! Nearly all of our clients that have been up to Buckingham have gotten cleaned out or have landed some big rainbows in the 5-8 pound category! There are a few very big brook trout also, up to 3 pounds. Access is limited to guided parties of 2 people per day, and the rod fee is $75/rod.
[/url]Yellowstone National Park Fishing in the north end of the Park will depend on local weather and water conditions. These streams have been clear most of the last week or so, but we did hear the Lamar was dirty for at least a short period a couple of days ago. However, these streams often fish very well just as they drop and clear after a high water period, so it sometimes pays to be adventurous and make the drive to check on water conditions.
As long as they clear, all of the streams in the northern end of the Park, including Slough Creek, the Lamar River, and Soda Butte Creek, will offer good dry fly fishing on terrestrials through most of September. These meadow streams support a wide variety of terrestrial insects, including ants, beetles, crickets, grasshoppers, etc. While most anglers prefer to fish hoppers, as they are easy to see, the smaller terrestrials will often be more productive, especially on the easily accessed areas of these waters, where the fish see quite a bit of angling pressure.
If you stay into the evening, the Lamar and Soda Butte also get good hatches of caddis. On Slough Creek, look for hatches of caddis, but there are also often good midge hatches that will require smaller flies and lighter tippets.
Park regulars are also starting to think about the hatches of "fall drakes". These hatches usually start about the second week of September, but with the recent cool, cloudy weather, we have heard that the hatches have already started. A March Brown Parachute or Hare's Ear Parachute in #12-14 are ideal dry flies for this hatch.
[/url]Missouri River The Missouri River is fishing well right now, with good hatches of trico mayflies in the early mornings and caddis close to dark. The PMD's are pretty much over now but there is some good hopper fishing during mid-day, especially on the lower stretches through the canyon and all the way down to Cascade.
The Trico hatches seem to be the most intense up closer to Holter Dam and in the Wolf Creek to Craig stretch. This is some of the best dry fly fishing of the year, and the Tricos bring up all the big fish as long as the wind cooperates and doesn't blow too hard in the mornings.
There are still lots of big rainbows and browns in the Mo, and dry fly purists are having a great time up there. The word is out though, so expect a lot of fishing pressure. Still, this is a big river, running around 2500-3000 CFS, and it can support a lot of anglers in that 30 miles of river between Holter Dam near Wolf Creek and Cascade.