Yellowstone National Park
Inside of Yellowstone the road between Madison Junction and Norris is closed for construction. Fishing the Gibbon, Gardiner, Lamar and its tributaries requires a very long drive from West Yellowstone.
Madison River (Yellowstone National Park) 10-19-09
Fishing on the Madison in the Park continues to be very good this season. There are a few more anglers out this week than there were during the chilly weather we had at the beginning of the month, but it seems that everyone is finding their fair share of fish. The Madison just came up and this should move some more fish through the river. Every pool and run in the Park seems to be holding fish this season, so cover water fast and look for aggressive fish. Soft hackle fishing has been very productive, especially in the lower river where the fish have seen less pressure.
Firehole River 10-19-09
Fishing on the Firehole has been fantastic this October. Good hatches of Baetis are a daily occurance and they are often joined by Caddis on the nicer days. Soft hackle fishing, as usual, is a pretty easy way to hook fish, but the dry fly fishing can be very challenging, especially in the slower pools. Long and light leaders help to get good drifts in the varying currents of the river. We’ve had our best fishing with emergers and crippled duns throughout the hatch of Baetis, but these flies can be terribly difficult to see on the water. Rising trout won’t let anglers approach as closely this time of year as they do in the spring, so casts have to be longer and just as accurate. Dropping a small Pheasant Tail off a dry can be deadly when fish are feeding on emergers.
Gallatin River 10-19-2009
Baetis fishing on the Gallatin can be a lot of fun this time of year, but we often find ourselves headed to the Firehole instead as it tends to have thicker hatches. There are plenty of fish to be found on the Gallatin feeding not only on the surface insects, but on the small nymphs as well.