Madison, Hebgen, Gallatin and YNP Fishing Report from Blue Ribbon Flies 8.12.21
By angelamontana

Posted: August 13, 2021

The Madison River: Hoppers, beetles and ants, oh my! The terrestrial bite has really been hitting on all cylinders lately. Starting about 11am we would strongly suggest tying on size #14 Tan Thunder Thighs trailed by a #16 Arrick’s Parachute Ant. If you find that you are getting some refusals just go to a single dry as that should do the trick. A #14 or #16 Gulp Beetle can also be a code breaker on those tricky fish so be sure to have a few of those on hand as well. For nymphs smaller has been the name of the game lately. Zebra Midges in red or purple, #18 Black Perdigons and even #18 Juju Baetis have been hooking their fair share of fish lately. The water temperatures have been good on the Madison but the “Hoot Owl restrictions are still in play so you’ll have to end your day of fishing at 2:00pm.

Hebgen Lake has been a little on and off with the cooler weather we had last week. As the weather becomes more consistent over the next few days you can expect the Callibaetis emergences to be good. The lake level is currently at 79% so some of the areas that we are used to fishing have changed quite a bit. Also keep an eye out for ant activity as we have been seeing a good number of them on the lake and the fish love to eat these guys! Have with you #16-18 Deer hair Callibaetis spinners, #16 Callibaetis Sparkle duns, #16 Callibaetis foam spinners and #16 Arrick’s Parachute Ant.

The Gallatin continues to fish and remember that the Park sections of the Gallatin are still under “Hoot Owl” restrictions, so you can only fish this area of the Park until 2:00pm. Outside of the Park boundaries the Gallatin is open to fishing all day from highway 84 south to the Yellowstone Park boundary. The fishing on the Gallatin has been good. You can expect to find these fish in the deeper, faster runs. Ants, Beetle and Hoppers have worked well on the surface and during the first half of the day nymping has been the way to go. For flies have with you Morrish Hoppers #12-14, Arrick’s Parachute Ant #16-14, Jake’s Gulp Beetle #16-14 and a #12 Killer Bee for dries. For Nymphs have #16 silver Lightning bugs, #16 Green Machine’s, # 16 Spanish Perdigone and #16 Prince.

Water conditions in the Northeast corner of the Park are low and if your heading to Slough, Lamar or Soda Butte you can expect that portions of these river that are right along the road will have several folks in them. Our advice is to take a bit of a hike and get away from roadways where you’ll find a some solitude and some good fishing. Terrestrials are the name of the game here so have Morrish hopper in tan and yellow #14, Arrick’s Parachute #14-16, Killer Bees #12 and Jake’s Gulp Beetle #16-14. If you like throwing droppers off of your dry flies a #16-18 Zebra midge, #18-16 Spanish Bullet or a Brown Napoleon Jig #16 should do the trick. “Hoot Owl” restrictions do apply on all rivers and streams in Yellowstone so remember to stop fishing by 2:00pm.

For more information on Blue Ribbon Flies, click HERE.

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