Yellowstone River Fishing Report – 6/29/20

The Yellowstone River is flowing at 11, 400 CFS in Livingston with at least two feet of visibility. This past weekend we saw some amazing fishing on the Stone- both wading and from the boat. Streamers, dries or nymphs, these days you have plenty of options so get out there and go fishing!

Salmonflies and Golden Stonefly adults have finally been spotted in the valley and fish do seem to be responding to larger dry flies. If you are looking for the big bugs, keep an eye on the willows on the bank and maybe take a drive above yankee Jim canyon. If you see shucks, you can bet that the fish have seen some adults and may give a big chubby a look. We haven’t heard of any lights out big dry fly fishing, but it’s worth a shot at this point- and the nymph bite on big rubber legs has been very consistent this past weekend.

One of the most amazing things about the Yellowstone river is the insect diversity we have here, and this is a great time of the year to see it for yourself. Everyone is all freaking out about big stoneflies, but we have to remember that there is a lot more going on than just that in the river. Yesterday between Emigrant and Grey Owl, we didn’t see one adult stonefly. We did see a very good Green Drake, and PMD hatch in the afternoon, and quality trout immediately moving into slack water and feeding on top. Also, we have been seeing big chocolate caddis out in the evenings and fish up on them too. If you find yourself in a pod of rising fish try a bigger drake or stonefly dry up front, and a small Adams behind and you should pick up some fish. And for nymphing, a dark hares ear, CDC pheasant tail or soft hackle have all been great droppers for your rig as well.

If you like streamer fishing like we do, than you might want to leave all the bugs behind and try a big mess of feathers along the bank. We have seen a noticeable increase in the streamer bite the past few days and the fish are getting pretty grabby. Black and white have been the top colors as of late for us.