Yellowstone Fishing Report and Update!

Fishing Report

The Yellowstone River jumped from 2000 cfs to about 7500 cfs last week. We have been blessed with very nice Spring weather- last week our temps almost rose to almost 80 degrees. Although the warmth has been great for outside activities, it is a double edged sword for fishing the Yellowstone River. When it gets warm, our snow melts and the Yellowstone gets high and muddy. This is our Spring runoff. We did a fun float from 89 to Springdale on Saturday. The River was totally chocolate milk…… BUT there were Caddis everywhere. With the cooler temps projected tonight and tomorrow, we could get a one or two day window of incredible Mother’s Day Caddis fishing. We just need the River to drop a little bit and give us a couple feet of visibility. That is all the fish need to see literally thousands of Caddis floating down the river. Keep your eyes on the weather, and give us a call if you need a river report!

Great Places to Fish Right Now

Depuy’s and Armstrong’s Spring Creeks here in Livingston. There are a lot of fish in there right now, and they are hungry. Nymphing has been the most consistant method for success, but there can be some good dry-fly options if the wind cooperates. Red and black midges have been the ticket as off late. We have taken several Local’s Trips to the Creeks this past week. It has been good!
Our Paradise Valley secluded lakes are also fishing very well this time of year. If you like targeting big fish from a drift boat, this is a great experience. Also, the views are amazing.
The Missouri River is a great Spring fishery. Reports have been very good from Craig. These trips require at least a 2 day booking.
Potential Great Options dependent on a Little Cooler Weather
The Yellowstone River- If we get some clarity, this will be awesome fishing. If we don’t, we will be back on the Yellowstone probably around June 25th or so.
The Boulder River- The flows are good to float. The clarity was OK today….. cool weather will help big time.
Madison River- Same as above.

Yellowstone National Park Update

We were on a conference call with the Park Superintendent, Cam Sholly, last Thursday discussing when and how Yellowstone will reopen. He said that the Park will open “sooner rather than later” with a skeleton crew. There will be no dining halls open in the Park, no open stores or visitor centers, and no tour busses. In short, this is going to be one of the best years to fish in Yellowstone! The Park is communicating with its’ neighboring states to solidify a start date. It could be open for opening weekend of the fishing season which is May 23rd this year……… but we will see.

COVID-19 and 2020 Season Update

Montana still currently has a 14 day quarantine for out of state travelers, but we have had ZERO new COVID cases reported three of the last five days! We are all working hard here in Montana to stay healthy and kick this thing. We are running our LOCAL SPECIAL’s trips through May. If you are a local Montanan or have already quarantined for 14 days or more…… you just saved yourself 100 bucks!

Fish a full day for the price of a half day fishing trip. That’s $395.00 for one or two anglers.

Are you home with your kids? Book a fishing trip during the week to give them some quality outdoor education!

Technical dry-fly fishing on lower Depuy’s

We will keep you updated as soon as anything changes out there. Give us a call with any questions or to book your trip for this season! The phone has started to ring again this past week, and we are excited to get people on the books. Stay safe, smile, and we will see you on the water.

Tight Lines,

Yellowstone River Outfitters

Brogan BallardMay 4, 2020