Yellowstone River and Livingston Area Fly Fishing Report - June 13, 2025

While our local rivers dropped substantially last week, consistent 80-degree days this week have caused many to spike for the time being. An overall warm, dry start to summer left the land drier than normal, and rivers are dropping earlier. We obviously love to hang onto our snowpack as long as we can, but many rivers are already starting to come into fishing shape and the Yellowstone River is not far off. In the meantime, the Paradise Valley Spring Creeks, Madison River, and Yellowstone National Park are all offering exceptional fishing.

Salmonflies are also starting to appear in parts of western Montana, and we will keep you up to speed on their arrival around Park County.

As the fishing on our rivers and creeks improves, anglers are advised to wade and boat with extreme caution. Spring runoff can leave dangerous trees (strainers) across the river, and strong currents are still present across Southwest Montana. Swift currents are of particular concern for wade fishermen. Please don’t hesitate to contact us at the shop with questions or for up-to-date conditions: (406) 222-1673

YELLOWSTONE RIVER

11,500 CFS in Livingston on 6/13/25

The Stone spiked at 20,500 cubic feet per second (CFS) on June 2 and has been steadily dropping since. It tried to plane out around 10,000 CFS on the 7th but jumped back up after our current warm spell. While it’s still high and muddy, the river is not far off. We will be trying our luck here soon, so stay tuned.

NOTE: The Yellowstone River is always to be respected, but it can be especially dangerous with this much water. Use extreme caution when floating at these high levels as we come to terms with what the high water cycle has done to structure and how the river may have changed. Changes — combined with things that just happen fast at these levels — can lead to trouble. Please beware out there, and stay safe.

YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK

Conditions are ahead of schedule in the park, and the angling has been excellent. Rising fish can be found consistently on the Firehole, Gibbon and upper Madison rivers. The middle of the day has tended to produce the most activity. If afternoon storms continue, look for even more action when it’s overcast. PMDs and caddis are producing the most fish, but don’t hesitate to throw a larger fly like a drake.

Flows are still too high in the northeast side of the park with the Lamar River running around 3,250 CFS as of today, but it is dropping overall. Both the Lamar and Soda Butte Creek should be coming into shape this month, and we will keep you posted. Until then, anglers should focus on the west side OR the park’s many exceptional lakes. With ice off across many of the lower-elevation lakes, now is a great time to trek in and try your luck at these hungry trout with leeches or small nymphs like chironomids and scuds.

PARADISE VALLEY SPRING CREEKS

The Paradise Valley spring creeks (Depuy's, Nelson's, Armstrongs) are fishing very well these days, and we have a detailed report from our friend and guide Jan Axtell. If you’re looking for a day on the water that you’ll never forget, we have guided spots available on DePuy’s and Armstrong’s. Book a trip!

“We have been eagerly awaiting the PMD hatch to begin in earnest, and it ramped up this week. Additionally, we are seeing some sucker spawning activity that is putting trout on eggs once again.

The last few days of bright sunshine and warm afternoon temperatures have made morning fishing the most productive. Fish are feeding on midge pupae and dries in the early mid-morning. Fish midge larvae on 5-6x tippet below a sensitive indicator to detect light strikes. If there is surface feeding activity, pair a midge larva 6-8" below a midge dry. We have also been getting a few fish on Pale Morning Dun nymphs, which have been very active on the rocks in riffles. Consider pairing a pheasant tail nymph, scud, or sow bug with a midge larva in a 2-nymph rig. Adjust your weight appropriately for depth and speed of current. We found a number of fish feeding in fast moving water above plunge pools during the heat of the day. Getting down to their level was essential to catching them. If you find spawning suckers over gravel, there is a very good chance you will find trout behind them feeding on eggs. A hot bead sow bug paired with a red midge larvae was the ticket for catching some very nice rainbows in the mornings this week.

While the PMD hatch has not been consistent, we have been seeing some emergence throughout the late morning hours and today had excellent activity from 10:30 a.m. to 1:40 p.m. We expect to see heavier concentrations of emerging duns each day going forward. The wise angler should have each of the life stages (nymph, emerger, dun, and spinner) covered in their fly box to fish the hatch effectively. Based on the numbers of PMDs we saw hatching at the noon hour on 6/10, I think it's safe to say that for the next six weeks we can expect to see a daily hatch. This will bring the fish to the surface to feed, and then the spring creek angler's salad days are upon us. Fish a dry/dropper PMD combo with an adult paired with an emerger or nymph behind it on 10-12' 5x leader. Your dropper should be 6-8" below the dry. Watch your target fish's rise form for clues on where to fish. If you see their mouth open above the surface of the water, they are eating duns. If the rise form is created by the target fish's dorsal and tail fin, they are feeding just below the surface.

Get ready for some of the best dry fly fishing of the season. Feed the fish where, how and when they want the fly. And remember, a dry hook never caught a fish." -Jan Axtell

Nymphs: Zebra midge 20-22 (red, olive, black), Mercury Midge 20-22,  String Thing Midge 20-22, Scuds ( gray, olive) 18-12, Sow bug 18-12, Hot bead sow bug, egg pattern., Crack back PMD 18-16,  Sawyer Pheasant Tail 20-16,  PT Perdigon 18-16, Partidge and yellow soft hackle, PT soft hackle

Dries: CDC Biot Compara Dun - 18-16 Harroup's Last Chance cripple 18-16,  PMD spinner 20-16, Rusty Spinner 20-16, Hi Vis Ant, PMD Comparadun, Transition midge, Hanging midge 20-22, Foam beetle.  X- caddis 18-16

Streamers: leech patterns, sparkle minnow

MADISON RIVER

Upper Madison

385 CFS near West Yellowstone on 6/13/25

The upper Madison River is fishing really well right now, and clarity is improving the farther up the river you go. Nymphing is producing the most fish with stonefly nymphs and worms doing the heavy lifting. Caddis, blue wing olives and midges are making appearances as the day warms up, offering action on dries. Overall though, nymphs like pheasant tails, zebra midges and large rubber legs are seeing the most consistent action.

Lower Madison

1,840 CFS near McCallister on 6/13/25

Flows dropped and leveled on the lower Madison, and the fish are looking up. A smorgasbord of PMDs, caddis, and yellow Sallies are all bringing fish to the surface here and there throughout the day with evenings, mornings and overcast windows producing the best activity. Nymphing caddis, PMDs and yellow Sallies as well as crayfish and worms all produced fish. A dry/dropper rig thrown tight to the bank is another good bet right now. Chubbies with either a worm or a small beadhead should do the trick. If you’re not picking up fish on your dropper, make sure you try different depths to meet the fish where they are.

GALLATIN RIVER

2,670 CFS near Gallatin Gateway on 6/13/25

Water clarity on the Gallatin is starting to clear from the canyon up, but the lower river is still muddy. The water temperature remains on the low end, but anglers have been seeing success with streamers. Nymphing is also producing consistent fish. Try woolly buggers or sparkle minnows on the strip and a chubby Chernobyl with a stone fly or rubber leg dropper on the banks or in pocket water. The river is still moving at a good clip, so make sure you have plenty of weight and line to get your dropper down to the fish.