Yellowstone Fishing Report- Firehole and Gibbon Rivers

Both Yellowstone National Park and the State of Montana have now been open for one week, and things are CONTINUING to look up. We had several trips in the PArk this week where we focused on the Firehole and Gibbon Rivers. there are significantly fewer overall people in the PArk than “normal” for this time of year. The Bison are getting used to seeing cars on THE road, again-slowly MEANDERING. The road between Tower junction and Canyon over Dunraven PAss is closed all season. The fishing is open, and it is GOOD!

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Firehole River Fishing REport

We are seeing a lot of caddis and PMDs on the water. WE were luckily enough to fish it on Saturday when it was cloudy, and we had windows without much wind. During the windless windows, the fish were rising literally everywhere. They ate some small size 16 caddis, but definitely preferred a size 16 Sparkle Dunn on top.
When the trout were not consistently rising, swung soft hackles were very effective. Please see below for pictures of Caddis soft hackles.
The water below Grand Prismatic Thermal Feature got pretty warm (around 67 degrees) by the afternoon. The water above Grand Prismatic was cooler.
Remember to bring your bear Spray!
As of today, flows are 443cfs near West Yellowstone. The water is clear with a little tint.
The entire Firehole River is fly-fishing only.

Gibbon River Fishing report

The Gibbon River is on the Drop flowing at 410cfs. Be sure to look at the gages. Yesterday it rained and the Gibbon spiked.
The River below the falls has a little brownish stain and is running a tad bit high.
Fish medium sized Chubbies toward structure. This River holds primarily Brown Trout, so it is best if you make a good cast the first time. One client did catch a cutthroat on Saturday out of the Gibbon. That was pretty cool.
There are also a lot of Caddis hatching in the canyon sections. Fish a single caddis in the really slick water next to the rocks.
The Gibbon River above the falls was still spilling over the banks a little bit last weekend, so it is almost ready to go in the meadow sections if you want to stalk some bigger fish. In these sections it is crucial to have long leaders and ACCURATE casts!
The Gibbon River is fly-fishing only from the Gibbon Falls down stream.

STOMACH food from the Firehole- Photo by Zach Petrich

CAddis soft hackle- Photo by Zach Petrich

COVID-19 Update

Not much new information here, but we are constantly thinking about this ever evolving situation. We are sanitizing trucks, rods, and waders daily.
When possible, clients are welcome to drive themselves to fishing locations to maximize social distancing while “indoors.”
Montana Bars and restaurants are open to 75% capacity with proper social distancing.
Our trip lunches are all prepared in commercial kitchens. If you want to bring your own lunch on your trip, just tell your guide the night before!
More flights are being scheduled to fly into Bozeman… and Montana is a great state for a road trip!
You can now buy your Yellowstone National Park enterance passses on line before you get to the gate!

Zach on a private lake with a nice Brookie!

WE are currently taking bookings for the summer season! June is an amazing time to fish in Yellowstone. Give us a call to talk fishing or to reserve your dates with one of our expert Yellowstone Fishing Guides! As our water levels drop, there will be more and more locations to fish. In the next 3 weeks the Gardiner River should fall into shape! We expect to start floating the Yellowstone River potentially as soon as June 25.

Projected fishing area time-line

The Yellowstone From Gardiner to Emigrant should be float-fishable around June 25ish.
The Gardiner River and Yellowstone above the Lamar confluence should be fishable June 20th or so.
Slough Creek will start to open up June 25ish.
The Boulder should be fishable potentially around June 20 assuming the log Jams got washed down stream during run-off.
This is a great season to come fish! there are way fewer people here, we have lots of space, and the views are more gorgeous than ever!