Montana
Upper Madison: Fishing has been really fun on the Madison. Fishing dry flies in t-shirts over the past few days is making it feel like spring has finally sprung. Because we can always count on a few more days of nasty spring weather, we are enjoying this stretch of nice days while it lasts. This warmer weather has also started to kick off some runoff from Cabin, Beaver and West Fork which has added some color to the river. Nymphing will be the most consistent and effective way to get fish to the net right now. Larger stonefly nymphs, smaller mayfly nymphs and nymphs with hot-spots such as Frenchies and Red Necks have all been good producers. With the water running a little high and fast right now, make sure you are using enough weight to get down and try to focus your drifts on soft pockets and drop-offs. Fishing a dry-dropper rig has been good using a darker colored #10-14 Chubby with a rubber legs dropper. Your best bet when using this tactic is to cast tight to the banks and target the fish holding there. We have been seeing a few baetis in the afternoons, but it hasn’t been consistent enough yet to count on every day.
Flies: #8-10 Sili-legs, #12-14 Biot Golden Stone, #16 Frenchie, #16 Red Neck, #16-18 Black Lightning Bug, #16 Guide Dip/$3 Dip, #12-14 Royal Chubby, #12-14 Peacock Chubby, #16-18 DOA Baetis Cripple
Hebgen: Hebgen has been fishing well and we have had some really beautiful and calm mornings lately. We have mostly been fishing the bays along the north shore as water levels in the arms are all very low right now. You can find a few fish rising sporadically to midges, but your most effective methods will be fishing chironomids under an indicator or slowly stripping some small streamers.
Gallatin: The YNP stretch is still closed until the Saturday of Memorial Day. The Taylors Fork is pumping a good amount of color into the river at this point. Nymphing with large stonefly nymphs, worms, and mayfly nymphs will be your best bet.
Yellowstone National Park - Closed to fishing until the Saturday of Memorial Day weekend
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Tom Forsberg
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