Yellowstone Park
YELLOWSTONE PARK
ReportThe Madison River drainage now has a hoot owl restriction meaning no fishing after 2 PM daily. The Firehole River offers great early-in-the-day dry fly fishing with tricos, BWOs, midge life cycle, and soft hackle patterns producing action.
Slough Creek remains clear with a Hecuba emergence taking place along with tiny BWOs, tricos, and an abundant bankside terrestrial insect population. A stealthy approach, precise casts, and fine leaders are necessary. Early in the day and during evenings remain the best time to fish all park streams.
Cooler weather has resulted in a tiny BWO hatch on the Gallatin River. Here a precise drag-free drift into pockets and near undercuts brings trout up. Tricos are beginning to show during mornings on Fall River Basin streams.
Beula Lake continues with some of the fastest still water fishing in the park, with cutthroat trout feeding on speckled dun, cinnamon caddis, and damselflies. Best fishing is through packing in and using a flotation device. Riddle Lake, with a shorter walk (a bit more than a mile), has good shoreline fishing and is not far behind Beula with respect to fly fishing action.
| Insect | Size | Activity | Prime Time |
|---|---|---|---|
| Trico | #22-24 | Active — Firehole, Slough Creek, Fall River Basin | Early morning |
| Blue-Winged Olive (BWO) | #22 | Active — Firehole, Slough Creek, Gallatin | Morning & evening |
| Midge (life cycle) | #20-22 | Active — Firehole | All day, best early |
| Hecuba | #10-12 | Active — Slough Creek | Morning & evening |
| Cinnamon Caddis | #14-16 | Active — Beula Lake | Midday to evening |
| Damselfly | #10-12 | Active — Beula Lake, Riddle Lake | Midday |
- FIRST LIGHT TO 10 AM: Prime dry fly window for tricos, BWOs, and midges on the Firehole, Slough Creek, and Gallatin — get on the water before the frost burns off.
- 10 AM TO 2 PM: Fish the Madison drainage before the hoot owl cutoff; terrestrials and soft hackles remain effective on Slough Creek through midday.
- EVENING (after 6 PM): Dry fly action picks back up on non-restricted waters as temperatures drop; BWOs and tricos can resurface on the Firehole and Gallatin.
