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Montana
Flows/Temperatures (as of September 10th; click the name for real-time numbers)
Hebgen Outflow - 759.9 CFS
Kirby - 864 CFS
Kirby High/Low Temps - 62°/52°F
Cameron - 938 CFS
Cameron High/Low Temps - 61°/53° F
This Week's Weather Forecast in the Valley
Upper Madison
Although the colder weather did widen out the time slots fish are eating in, fishing is still a little tricky. A dry dropper setup has been doing well, especially in the afternoons after the air warms up a little bit and fish start looking for a bite to eat. I've found that red/brown ants with enough foam to hold up the dropper are working the best, but beetles with a bit of flash also have done the trick. On the dropper side of things, small attractor patterns in darker colors are working the best, especially if they've got a good amount of flash. Mayfly patterns are also doing pretty well. We're in a weird transition period right now; it will get better as fish settle into the fall weather and cooler water temps!
Dry Flies - Winna Spinna, Ant Acid, Arricks Flying Ant, Parachute Adams, Longhorn Beetle
Nymphs - Olive Hot Spot, Sunburst Perdigon, BBQ Baetis, Red Neck
Hebgen/Quake Lake
The dry fly fishing on the lakes has slowed down a fair bit as this cold front settles in, but they can still be found in the arms. As these cold nights and mild days continue, the transition into stripping streamers or nymphs begins.
As of 9/4; The edges of weed mats are still the most productive places to target fish if you're throwing drys, and the deeper stretches between them are a great spot to strip a bugger through. If you are throwing streamers, I'd recommend having them on a longer leader (~9 ft) as that's been working best for me!
Quake is fishing similarly, although risers are a bit more spaced out and keyed into spruce moths as well!
Dry Flies - Parawulff Adams, Nyman's Flying Ant, Long-Tailed Spinner Callibaetis
Nymphs - Turkey Callibaetis, Ice Cream Cone, Pheasant Tail
Streamers - Hot Bead Leech, Simi-seal Leech, Montana Mouthwash
Yellowstone National Park
Gallatin - Terrestrials are still the way to go on the Gallatin. A smaller hopper or ant would do the trick, especially on the sunny afternoons. When those fish aren't looking up, a flashy nymph like a rainbow warrior has been doing well!
Madison, Firehole, Gibbon - It is still quite early to start hunting for those lake fish coming out of Hebgen, and the Madison, Firehole, and Gibbon are still reaching temperatures where fishing is simply unethical. By the middle of September, it should be down to a more comfortable level, and we will start seeing those big browns.
Yellowstone River - As of 8/21; Above the falls, fish are rising pretty well, mainly in golden or natural colors. The river is quite busy, though, so once you find a riser, throw the rotation of different flies at it until it eats. Heavier droppers like a stonefly nymph are a good option as well if that's your thing.
Northeast Corner - As of 8/21; Soda Butte, Lamar, and Slough were fishing really well before the rain, but definitely got hit by a good amount of water and dirt. From the gauge, it looks to be on course to return to pre-rain levels within the next day or two, but more rain is forecasted, so... might be back to where we started on that front.
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Nina Lett
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