Yellowstone National Park Fishing Report

Late spring showers and cool weather have been kind to the insect life as the PMDs have arrived and begun stealing the show for the summer. We are still looking at water levels and temperatures being a couple weeks ahead of the usual schedule as the last bits of snowmelt trickles down. That being said, things are starting to settle in, leading to more opportunities opening up every day.

Firehole River
Water temperatures continue to rise on the Firehole, making it paramount, as stewards of this ecosystem, to prioritize proper fish care and handling. Temps on the lower stretches of the river are often reaching the 70s, so start your days here early and consider fishing elsewhere after lunchtime on the sunny and warm days ahead.

That being said, the hatches lately have been superb. Soft hackles and small mayfly nymphs swung on lighter tippet continue to be productive until more consistent topwater activity is observed. Once the hatch sets in, throwing a small Missing Link or other PMD dries are hard to argue with.
With the bright and warm days on the horizon, expect hatch timing to shift earlier in the day, and the fish to congregate in cooler water near tributary confluences and also in the more riffley/aerated water.

Gibbon River
The water on the Gibbon is looking better and better each day. With dry fly action on the meadow stretches becoming more consistent with each day and the first signs of stoneflies appearing on the canyon sections, this river is well in play if you’re looking for more of a challenge.

Dry dropper rigs have been productive with small attractor dries on top in the absence of a good hatch, as well as prospecting with leeches and other small streamers in the deeper and slower pools and along cutbanks. If you find yourself in pocket water, small indicator rigs will still be productive as well.

Madison River
The baetis are still hanging on here with cooler water temps, but the PMDs are on the precipice of settling in for the bulk of the summer months. With the upcoming warm-up, look for more PMDs to emerge if you are looking for some more technical dry fly fishing. Expect to find the risers congregated on the soft edges sipping spinners in the mornings, then shift towards duns in the afternoons.

That being said, nymphing the deeper runs with caddis pupa and mayfly nymphs can dredge up some of the less active fish. Look for the Madison as a great option in the upcoming warm up if you want to get away from some of the crowd.

Gallatin River
The Upper Gallatin is slowly beginning to shape up, with the recent precipitation launching a bit more sediment into the water again. With the low temps and high flows, this on again – off again runoff will make this river tricky to time properly. I would give this drainage some time before it is worth spending a day on.

Gardner River
Not much to say here, the Gardner is in the midst of runoff. So while there may be periods of slightly clearer water, the river is very high and still quite cold so fish activity is going to be hard to find.

Yellowstone River
We may be over the hump as far as peak flows here, but it will likely be couple weeks before this becomes super viable. Focus on soft water on the banks with nymph rigs and streamers. Some PMDs and Caddis are being spotted, but expect fish to be hunkered down until flows drop a little more.

Northeast Corner
The Lamar is high and muddy still, with Slough Creek contributing most of the sediment. I would also give this some time as runoff continues. If you really want to give this area a shot, I would head far upstream on or near Soda Butte. It will likely be closer till July till the Cutthroat Corner becomes an option.