Yellowstone River Fishing Report by Anglers West Fly Fishing 8.15.20
By angelamontana

Posted: August 17, 2020

I know that I am a little behind on getting you all an updated report but it doesn’t take a rocket scientist to catch fish on the Yellowstone this time of year! The buzz in the grass is still happening and hoppers are still the main course for trout in the Yellowstone River. We have had excellent fishing in all sections of the river. We are grateful for lower temps in the evenings and early mornings to keep our water temperature at a much more stable place than it was 2 weeks ago. Flows are holding on which is also great, 2840 cfs at Corwin Springs and 2740 cfs in Livingston. Water temps are right around 64 degrees between Corwin Springs and Springdale. Good temps for this tome of year.

Morning bite has been focused more on nocturnal golden stoneflies and nymphs subsurface. #12-10 Chubbies in gold or tan are a great place to start. Water Walkers and Circus Peanuts will work as well. As the day progresses and the sun is high in the sky, start to focus more on hoppers. There are plenty of big boys(#4-8) out there but be sure to look for them on the water and in the grass. Here in the valley you should still rely more on the smaller stuff(#14-10). To that point, if you head out east, the bigger bugs will move some fish. Pink or Yellow have been good colors while fishing the gravel bars and buckets out east.

Run your standard set ups for nymphing. With the nocturnals out and about running a #10 Pat’s rubber leg or another golden stonefly nymph as an anchor is a great start. Trail something that covers a lot of bugs if you can. We’ve got caddis pupae, baetis nymphs, PMD nymphs, drank nymphs and yellow Sally nymphs in the river so think about imitating those bugs when possible. A lot of guys are running the jigger Prince Nymphs, Pheasant Tails, Frenchy or Copper John this time of year.

Water temps may be back where we want them to be but the air temps are still high. Be sure to handle fish properly and KEEP THEM WET! This is an incredibly stressful time of year for a trout so please be respectful when handling fish. If you need to snap a picture, keep the fish in the net to keep it happy.

Lastly, as usual, be sure to use river and boat ramp etiquette. Poor etiquette on boat ramps and in the river continues to be a trend this season. We all want things to go smoothly and need to do our parts. If you run into someone doing something wrong, respectfully let them know how to do so properly. There are a lot of first time to novice boaters out there and we were all there at one point.

Have fun out there and be safe.

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