9 September, 2021 - Yellowstone River and Livingston Area Fly Fishing Map
Happy Friday! We hope everyone had a good Labor Day weekend and was able to get out and enjoy the day off work. It’s been a pretty smoky week, with a lot of days of air quality in the “Unhealthy” range. Now that we’re into September, we can hope for the end of smoke season on the horizon but it’s still a ways off. If you haven’t already seen it, here’s a handy smoke and air quality map.
We don’t have a lot of updates from our last report. Fishing has been ok in our neck of the woods with some much better fishing coming up later this fall. The weather has been pretty hot this week, but we do have some cooler temps coming up over the weekend. There’s even a bit of rain in the forecast! Flows on the Yellowstone remain near record lows, but water temps have stabilized even with several days in the 90s this week. Get live info on the USGS Waterdata site here.
We’ve heard the Paradise Valley stretch is fishing a bit better than below town, but both are reasonable options right now. You might see a few random caddis here and there, but it’s still a bit early for our fall hatches to have started. Terrestrials and attractors are the name of the game for on top, with flashy beadheads and pheasant tail jigs leading the charge for droppers.
Hopper fishing has been a bit slow this past week, and the cooler weather this weekend likely isn’t going to help. Still though, they should be a part of your on the water strategy. Concentrate near grassy banks and ag fields, and hope for a bit of wind to blow them into the water. The technique hasn’t changed much since our last report - and be sure to have some variations in color, profile and size available.
More and more people are fishing streamers, and it can be successful! Rob was out on the Upper Madison fishing an olive streamer when his friend caught the fish pictured above. As we get more into fall, streamers will continue to get more and more effective. The cloudy, cooler weather this weekend? Break out the streamer rod…
Our report on other waters in the nearby area and Yellowstone Park remains largely unchanged from last week. Fishing has been decent, there’s a lot of people out and about, and we’re just waiting on the fall hatches. Our window of opportunity to fish the high country is closing soon, so if you’ve been itching to hike into a mountain lake or check out that high country stream now is the time! (It’s well worth the effort, trust us)
We’re getting more and more fall gear, clothing and more as the season approaches and are ready for your fall fishing needs. Many of us are looking toward breaking the waders out after a summer of wet wading, and we’ve got a good stock right now. Come down for the flies you need and the latest up to date info! Good luck and tight lines.