Mother's Day Caddis Update - May 7, 2022 - Yellowstone River and Livingston Area Fly Fishing Report
Happy weekend everyone! Our cooler and wetter patterns has continued off and on for the past week, and looking ahead it appears the weekend is going to be pretty wet again. The end of the week was glorious here in Livingston, with temps in the 60s and everything starting to get green. Spring is here!
This recent weather has helped our snowpack immensely. We aren’t out of the woods yet, but it’s very encouraging to see the snowpack numbers back in the 90s. 92% in the Upper Yellowstone drainage is a hell of a lot better than what it was a month ago! Keep your fingers crossed for more moisture in the coming weeks!
Continuing the good news - Sunday is Mother’s Day (we’ve got lots of stuff mom would love in the store, just saying) and you know what that means: caddis. The Mother’s Day Caddis hatch has started in full force.
The downside - the Yellowstone River is on the way up. As of this writing, flows are at 3,360 cfs which is up considerably. You can get real time flow data here. As you an see from the chart below, the trend is up. The clarity is chocolate milk this morning. HOWEVER - will this cooler weather this weekend slow things down and give us a fishable window early next week? Only time will tell. Follow our social media for updates or give the shop a call for the latest info.
If we do get a weather window, here’s some info on the Mother’s Day Caddis hatch:
You’ll get the best caddis action in the afternoons, perfect for an after-work float. If you’re seeing lots of splashy rises the fish are chasing emergers. Swinging a soft hackle type pattern or a caddis emerger down and across can be very effective. Once you start seeing more controlled eats, switch to an adult dry and have at it. Or cover both of your bases and fish a dry with an emerger trailing behind it.
We’ve got a few dedicated Mother’s Day Caddis patterns down at the shop, but any darker colored caddis pattern will do the trick. Most of the Mother’s Day Caddis are a size 16 or so, with a few of the egg laying females being a bit larger. Tan wing, black or dark olive body, and you’re in business.
One of the issues with the Mother’s Day Caddis hatch on the Yellowstone is it typically coincides with the start of our runoff. It’s always a crapshoot if the river is going to be fishable or not. Fingers crossed it stays decent through next week! The Mother’s Day Caddis is the start of our dry fly season here in Southwest Montana and it’s one of the best hatches of the year when you hit it right. There have been times when the hatch is so thick, the only thing you can do is put your rod down and enjoy the spectacle of millions of bugs on the water at once. It’s incredible.
The conditions and this hatch are going to be changing daily, so call the shop or stop in for the latest. Fingers crossed we get a chance to fish it next week! If not, time to call the spring creeks.
