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White men first noted the Yellowstone
River in 1743 when an explorer named La Verendrye reached the area
of the South Dakota's
Mandan Villages. Later
David Thompson of Canada's Northwest Company is credited with the first writing of the name in English, in 1798. But David Thompson did not explore beyond the Yellowstone River's mouth on the Missouri. Indians before La Verendrye named the Yellowstone River and David Thompson came into the area. It was on the Yellowstone around Billings in 1806 when Lewis and Clark ran into Manual Lisa who was setting up a trading post when Manual Lisa recruited Lewis and Clark expedition member John Colter to go scout out the snake river and Yellowstone country for possible Indian traders for Lisa's
trading post.
The Yellowstone River drainage hosts exceptional scenery and some of the most diverse wildlife on earth. You can see elk, bison, grizzlies, moose, majestic mountains, canyons and waterfalls. And is a world-renowned trout-fishing destination.
It begins in the Teton Wilderness
in northwest Wyoming's
rugged Absoraka Mountains 671 miles upstream from the confluence with
the Missouri, from here the Yellowstone winds unencumbered by dams
all the way to South Dakota's rolling prairies,
The upper Yellowstone is pretty much as it always has been, and is being managed by Yellowstone Park and Montana Game and Fish for the welfare of the fish and wildlife that live around it. This has preserved one of the best trout rivers, outside of Alaska or Canada. Winding through Yellowstone Park and into Montana to the town of Big Timber, the famous trout water of the Yellowstone flows for nearly 250 miles. This is the topic of this of this page.
The Yellowstone's Headwaters
The river upstream from Yellowstone
Lake presents a true wilderness fishing opportunity. This stretch of
the Yellowstone runs
through perhaps the most
isolated area in the lower 48 states and can only be reached by hiking,
horseback or crossing Yellowstone Lake. This is the Thorofare region and
is the Yellowstone's 30 miles of headwater; The Yellowstone here is a meandering,
braided stream with a clean gravel or sand-silt bottom. It is in a broad
mountain valley, one to three miles across, which is often marshy or boggy.
Where the headwaters enter the Yellowstone Lake is known as the Yellowstone
Delta.
If you want to fish an almost untouched
trout stream the headwaters of the Yellowstone is the best place in
the lower forty-eight
states to do so. Its remoteness
has preserved a fly-fishing treasure. In these headwaters, fishing is permitted
before July 15 for those who enter the river from outside the park. But
the best time to fish is after runoff in august or later. The Yellowstone
cutthroat average 16 inches and there are plenty of them. The water itself
is a meandering meadow stream, with many riffles, runs and pools. Watch
out for the mosquitoes and grizzlies and carry a new can of pepper spray.
Pepper spray has a shelf life so don't go up there without a fresh can.
This area is as wild now as it was 200 years ago and it remains one of
the most
difficult spots in the west to reach. If this is ever your destination plan
on a minimum of three days three days to visit and fish it
Early July hatches include golden stones, little yellow sallies and caddis. From mid-July through August you'll find green drakes and pale morning duns. When the weather cools in September the blue-wing olive hatches keep you going till the fall snows chase you out of the mountains. Trout spawn in this section from June till the end of July so some egg patterns may be a good choice also.
Fishing Bridge to the Gardiner Montana.
The Upper Yellowstone from Yellowstone
Lake to Gardner Montana stretches115 miles, carving it's way through
two beautiful canyons, The Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone and Black
Canyon, These
canyons reach as high as 1,200
feet above the river. From Yellowstone Lake at Fishing Bridge the river
emerges as one of the largest trout streams in the nation, Just below the
lake outlet, the river is very wide at 300 to 400 feet across. This water
is mostly broad and flat and broken by riffles, braids and pools. The first
mile below the outlet is closed to fishing. From the end of this closed
area to the start of the next closed area at Sulfur Caldron, is a stretch
about six miles long that is so prolific that hundreds of anglers may be
found fishing it's waters and it still remains a legendary fishery. The
fishing here is catch-and-release fishing only and is restricted to flies
and single-hook lures. Only a small portion of the water can be covered
by wading and flotation devices of any kind are not allowed. The most popular
water is the nine miles below Fishing Bridge, including Buffalo Ford. Due
to the sheer power of the river, crossing the river by wading is dangerous
if not impossible in all but a few spots, such as Buffalo Ford, which can
only be traversed during low water.
A couple of miles below the outlet the road winds along close to this awesome stretch of fishing providing good access. The river here is a large, deep, and smooth looking river but this is deceiving, this is a very powerful river so use all due caution.
At Le Hardy Rapids the character of the river changes to a fast-water stretch about halfway between the lake outlet and Sulfur Caldron. At times, for study and management purposes, this area is closed to fishing.
Buffalo Ford is the well-known spot where anglers compete for water by the tens of dozens. On some days, as many as 150 fishermen will visit this quarter-mile-long stretch and, incredibly, all will catch a few trout from two to three pounds.
The river below Sulfur Caldron down
to Alum Creek is closed to fishing and is a nature study area that
is loaded with wildlife.
This is a great place to visit even if you can't fish it because the
wildlife you may see here including bison, moose, mule deer, antelope,
coyotes, muskrat, marmots, wolves, and grizzly bear.
From Alum Creek to Chittenden Bridge the river bottom is a featureless affair of various silts, muds and clays over lava bedrock. The current is swift and becomes too deep to wade. Due to the character of the river bottom and the lack of gravel, hatches are poor here; fish are fewer, however it does hold a few surprises.
The Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone is jaw dropping beautiful. This canyon contains two magnificent waterfalls, the Upper Yellowstone Falls which is 110 foot tall and Lower Yellowstone Falls which is a drop of 310 feet to where the river courses below the 1200 foot yellow cliffs of the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone. There are several safe locations from which the falls and canyon may be viewed. Some are a long walk down stairways and they provide many photogenic vantage points if you are up for a hike.
There are trout in this stretch, but they are neither larger nor more plentiful than elsewhere although is seems like there should be. The Grand Canyon can only be reached by a steep 1,500-foot vertical climb into and out of the canyon. The river in the canyons is deep, turbulent, and runs over boulders that create powerful eddies and lots of pocket water. Wade fishing in the canyons is extremely dangerous, so you are better off fishing from bank. The river comes out of the Grand Canyon close to Tower Falls. There is a mile or two of good, fast, pocket water above and below the Cooke City Road Bridge that is great to fish.
Just down river from the Cooke City
Road Bridge is the start of Black Canyon which stretches for about
twenty miles to Gardiner
Montana. From the head of the canyon to Gardiner, the river can't
be seen from the road, and is a one to four miles hike from the
Mammoth-Tower
Junction Road depending on where you hike in from.
For those willing to make this relatively easy hike, they will be rewarded with solitude and good fishing. It is fished only by the hardcore. Yet it is not that difficult of access and is excellent fishing for large, abundant, and wild, cutthroat trout of one and two pounds,
Black Canyon provides fast water, runs, rapids and cascades. There are some very large pools, but they are pools with a powerful current. The pool bottoms are smooth bedrock and the rest of the river bottom is large freestone. Waders cannot generally be used, so wear your hiking boots to ease your hike.
The Upper Yellowstone opens for fishing on Memorial Day weekend on Grand Canyon and Black Canyon, but not until July 15 at Yellowstone Delta (just above the lake) and from Fishing Bridge to the Grand Canyon. All areas close on the first Sunday of November. The canyons typically do not provide much action until early July, with the Delta picking up shortly thereafter. The window of opportunity is brief, as trout begin returning to Yellowstone Lake in August.
Stoneflies, yellow stoneflies, green drakes, caddis, blue-winged olives and pale morning duns, and Caddis often produce blanket hatches during the summer. While some of the hatches carry over into September and into October, fishing in fall is much slower, because most of the trout above the falls return to the lake after the spawn. In the canyons, the optimal time to fly fish is late June through early July. There are several caddis species that generally are found along the current edges and in the quieter waters.
Gardiner to Livingston
This section of the Yellowstone flows through drop dead gorgeous scenery. The surrounding country is rugged, mountainous and breathtaking. Here the river flows through beautiful Paradise Valley under the towering Absaroka and Gallatin Mountains.
Access to the Middle Yellowstone is
fairly easy because of the highway to Livingston runs along the river
much of the way and
numerous state-run sportsmen's access points can be found. Bank fishing
here is popular because of the easy road access. Most of the Yellowstone
River after it leaves the Yellowstone Park north of Gardiner is best
fished from a drift boat though. Floating will allow you to cover more
water and see more of the scenery. The river is wide, and this upper
section flows very fast. The river is also too deep to wade across,
limiting a bank fisherman's ability to reach some of the better fishing
spots
Above Yankee Jim Canyon there are several miles of pool and drop rapids, twists and turns, deep swirling water, and rocky freestone river bottom characterize the stretch.
Browns are the predominant fish in Yankee Jim Canyon, here you will find large browns and some class III whitewater. Below the canyon is several miles of smaller rapids and pools like those above the canyon then it changes to slower water until the Paradise access area, where the river picks up its pace again. Below the Yankee Jim Canyon you will find a mix of large brown trout, cutthroat and rainbows.
Many feeder creeks come into the Yellowstone River along this section; the fisherman who has a boat or is willing to hike to reach these creeks can be rewarded with excellent fishing. Some of these creeks will run clear when the river is blown out from a thunderstorm often saving the day for a guide.
As the Yellowstone nears Livingston, a number of braids and channels begin to occur in the river. These side channels often produce large fish and negligent fishermen tend to ignore these side channels and braids, so fishing pressure tends to be less. The most heavily fished section of this stretch of the Yellowstone River is from Carbella Access to Livingston. Cutthroat and rainbow trout dominate on this stretch of river.
Late winter and early spring hatches
are limited to midges before the spring runoff however excellent fishing
can be had by using
small nymphs such as
the beaded hare's ears and beaded Pheasant Tails, these weighted nymphs
get to the bottom in the quick current. Additionally, large streamers like
giant woolybuggers and double bunnies are effective on big browns and stoneflies
nymphs such as Anderson's Golden Stones and halfbacks, also work well when
fished in the deeper water along the bank.
A good stone fly hatch occurs from late May and lasts until early July, this
hatch includes salmon flies and golden stones, but as luck would have it the
hatch usually coincides with spring run-off, turning the water muddy, often
sidelining this great hatch. The silver lining is that without a fishable hatch
less fishermen show up and the fishing remains better later in the year because
the fish don't get stung by so much early
in the season. Nymphing is a good way to take advantage of these runoff
hatches. Nymphs should
be large (sizes 4-8), and should be floated in the slower sections
of river or right along the bank. As the water is muddy, darker colors
work best.
The Yellowstone River begins to clear
up in late June or early July during normal water years, bringing caddis
fly hatches.
These caddis hatches are
not as prolific as many of Montana's other fly-fishing rivers. Starting in July you will find hatches of pale morning duns, small western green drakes, and gray drakes. Late July ushers in hopper season, As the river flows through the Paradise Valley, the riverbanks are lined with hayfields and grassy banks, prime hopper areas. The fishing becomes excellent along this stretch of river. Size 4-8 Dave's
hoppers, para-hoppers and hare-wing hoppers are very effective floated right
along the banks. Hopper fishing is always an excellent choice lasting well
into the fall providing there is a good Indian summer. The cooler weather
of fall brings on the hatches of Blue Wing Olives.
Livingston to Big Timber
From Livingston to Big Timber the Yellowstone receives far less fishing pressure than the river in Paradise Valley. Below Livingston browns will be the predominate fish as the river begins to slow. This stretch of the Yellowstone enters high plains country. The landscape has fewer trees except for cottonwood groves along the raparian areas along the river. This high prairie is a series of scenic rolling hills and the Crazy Mountains and the Absaroka Mountains are all visible in the distance for your viewing pleasure.
The river here still runs cool enough for excellent trout fishing. Healthy populations of rainbow and brown trout are abundant on this stretch of the Yellowstone. These trout tend to run bigger here than in the more popular stretches above Livingston. Larger fish combined with reduced fishing pressure can result in some memorable fishing. The combination of distant mountains, cottonwood trees and the high plains and rolling hills all make for a distinctively different fishing experience.
The Yellowstone River here is big water and has a moderate to fast current so
except during very low water years wading can pose problems for the fisherman
hoping to wade to the best fishing spots. Drift boats once again are the
answer to ideal fishing. Large trout are found in the many deep holes and
the best way to coax them out of their lies are big streamers casted with
sinking tip line. Hatches and the hopper action and technique are much the
same here as they are on the Gardiner to Livingston section that flows through
Paradise Valley.
Big Timber to Billings
As the Yellowstone River approaches Billings, the mountains begin to fade into the distance as the river continues through the prairie.
This area of the Yellowstone receives the least amount of pressure; wade fishermen who are willing to hike away from the access sites and float fishermen will likely have this stretch of the Yellowstone to themselves. The Yellowstone is slow and meandering through here, with many deep holes. The mountains of the Yellowstone region can still be see on the southern horizon but fade into the distance as the river approaches Billings.
The upper half of this section of the Yellowstone has the best fly-fishing. The closer you get to Billings, the lower the quality of the fishing, however there some good surprises to be had in the brown trout category. Fishing this stretch is not much different than the stretch between Livingston and Big Timber.
Below Billings the Yellowstone turns into a warm water fishery of large walleye, catfish and sturgeon.
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