MONTANA

[Jayg]

im heading out west on july 3rd. i will be fishing the yellowstone river and the madison, and ive never fished there before. Any tips or guidelines?

 

[jayL]

Jayg wrote:
im heading out west on july 3rd. i will be fishing the yellowstone river and the madison, and ive never fished there before. Any tips or guidelines?

Save me a few. I'll be there the 10th.

 

[tomgamber]

Walk a lot. You will be there over July 4th and it will be packed unless you made a deliberate effort to get away from the crowds. 9ft rod, 5 or 6 wt. Visit a shop as soon as you get there.

 

[Raff]

Hopefully I caught you in time.

Stop in at the Blue Ribbon Fly Shop up there (www.blueribbonflies.com). They are the best shop around, and have the best fly selection I've seen up there. And many of their flies are house made, including my Montana secret weapon: Royal Wulff Cripple.

It's like filet mignon on the water. It's my go-to fly up in Montana, Wyoming, and Idaho all summer long.

 

[pete41]

climb mountains-lol

 

[Spyder20oz]

You can be blind and dumb and still catch trout out there

 

[pete41]

gee-I lived there thirty years and seemed the trout,species for species,weren't any different than anywhere else-except bigger,on the average.

 

[afishinado]

Spyder20oz wrote:
You can be blind and dumb and still catch trout out there

Pete wrote:
gee-I lived there thirty years and seemed the trout,species for species,weren't any different than anywhere else-except bigger,on the average.

I brought my 14 year old nephew out-west (in Montana) on a FF trip a while back. He was a total noobie to FF, yet he caught a whole bunch of large wild trout on the trip each day. He thought that was the way FF was! When I brought him back to PA to FF, he was back to square one (fish)....if he was lucky, even though we fished some really good streams in PA holding a lot of fish. The same scenario was repeated with my cousin and several friends I brought with me out-west.

The fish are the same, but many of the streams and rivers hold so many fish out-west, and probably more important, they see a lot less flies and anglers out there too.

Many trout in PA hold a Phd, or at least a Masters in recognizing fly patterns and angler techniques. Out-west they rarely make it out of elementary or middle school. Therefore, while I believe their IQs are the same, they just lack the education.

 

[IceSky]

The Yellowstone is fishing well. The Upper Section of the river has fished better than below town. Better fishing has been with Buggers and Rubberleg Stones along the banks. Large Caddis nymphs have been working very well. The streamer fishing has also been really good as of late.
Whatever destination you choose, Yellowstone fly fishing experience is sure to live up to your expectations. Pack up your gear and set off for new fishing adventures and challenges that await you. I can't promise that you'll catch a monster trout or so many fish that you won't be able to take home, but I can assure you that the fish is there, the rest depends on you.

 

[GeneBeam]

I worked in Montana for about 3 ½ years in the early 80s, at Colestrip, and fished the Yellowstone almost every change I got. I fished mostly from about just below Crowin Springs to Pine Creek, as I has a friend who had a place just off 540 in Pine Creek. Don’t forget to stop at Chico Hot Spring for dinner and after fishing libations.

 

[gulfgreyhound]

Resurection? GG

 

[TrtnBux]

Chances are YNP and the surrounding areas will be packed. Head north and fish the Madison below Hebgen-Palisades. Nymphing and streamer fishing should be stellar. The YS might be a little high during that time of year.

 

[mt_flyfisher]

I spent 18 straight summers living on the Yellowstone River in Paradise Valley. (I was unable to be there last year). During that time I was there, I fished practically every day, on the Yellowstone, Madison or elsewhere in SE MT.

Depending on the year, and when the rivers clear after the snow melt, very early in July was often one of my favorite fishing seasons. Lots of bugs hatching, hungry fish, long days and decent weather.

Pay attention to the water levels. The Madison typically is very fishable in early July, while the Yellowstone may or may not be until a week or so later.

Don’t expect to be alone on those 2 rivers though as there are a gazillion other fishermen there now. (Perhaps they’ll be fewer this year though, if you’re lucky.)

Rather than get into exactly where to go, or what flies to use, the only other specific suggestion I’d make is to don’t miss fishing in the evening, right up to dark. Typically, 95% of the guides (and their clients) leave the river by 5:00pm, thankfully, and they leave 95% of the day’s best fishing for the rest of us.

John

 

[fishhead]

Im out there twice a year usually. My BIL guides on the Maddy and Henrys Fork. The big bugs will be somewhere on the Madison at that time. The past two years I have been there on or near that date. Last year I arrived on the 4th.(always a cheaper day to fly) The trick on the Madison is to get slightly ahead of the hordes chasing the hatch at its current location. There ARE salmonflies hatching ahead of the supposed main hatch location everyone is chasing. Had my 10 year old son with me last year, on the 5th we got way ahead of the masses and hit between the lakes while everyone was chasing them down between McAtee and Varney. We had the river almost to ourselves between the lakes, and we spent the day crushing fish in solitude. The other option is to drive across the pass to Idaho and fish the Henrys Fork. The big bugs are over on the HF by then and the fishing pressure is much lighter then, being folks are busy chasing them elsewhere. The golden stones, PMD's andGrey Drakes are coming off in earnest at that time and the fishing is phenomenal. Particularly the PMD hatch in the upper HF in Box Canyon at that time is just amazing. On the AM of 7/8 last year we put the boat in at the top of Box Canyon rowd 70 yards downstream and pulled off river right, just above the pumping station and anchored up. We sat on the edge of the large eddy there for two hours while my son caught as many willing bows as he wanted on split back PMD nymphs.What mt flyfisher said above about staying on OR just hitting the water in the early evening is VERY important. 90%of the guides and their clients will be at the Grizz or Driftwaters at the bar by that time if youare on the Maddy or at Trouthunter at the bar if you are on the HF. Enjoy. I will be out there at some point in early July and again in October depending how this virus shakes out. Shoot me a DM if I can answer any questions.

 

[fishhead]

Just realized the original post in this thread was from 2009...I hope he had a good time!!