Montana Fish Report

The big news is the Yellowstone River is now open on July 1 instead of July 15. The flow from Yellowstone Lake is average. There are good numbers of Yellow Sallies coming off. Look for Salmonflies, Golden Stones, PMDs, and caddisflies over the coming weeks. The Firehole is on its last legs as fishing here is close to coming to an end and there are better places to spend your time in the park. The story is the same on the Gibbon as dry fly fishing has been very productive here. Flavs, caddis, and PMDs, all can be seen hatching there and fish rising to them. #16 cripple PMD patterns should work as well as a larger caddis pattern like a Spruce Almighty too. For the Flavs I always like a #14 No Hackle. The Gallatin and Madison are extremely close to really firing up and fishing very well as well once the salmonflies reveal themselves. Very productive days can be had in the park. I’ve heard dry dropping a soft hackle off a yellow sally or a small #16 golden stone pattern has been very effective as well. Another beautiful place that has a very bright future if you’re looking for a sabbatical from your home waters.