Livingston Montana Fishing Report

Detailed Reports

This Livingston Montana fishing report is valid from April 13 until the Mother’s Day Caddis hatch begins or the spring runoff begins on the Yellowstone River in earnest, whichever comes first.. Many of our individual fishing reports pages were updated today.

The next two weeks are basically the peak of the early spring fishing. All waters that are open except for small creeks can fish well for the next few weeks. Crowds will be lower than summer. That said, on those nice sunny weekends you might have trouble finding good spots to wade fish. The other possible caveat is runoff. We’re toasty-warm right now (mid-70s and sunny in Livingston, near the record high), which will bring some melt into the Yellowstone, Lower Madison below Cherry Creek, and really most other rivers. By midweek, temperatures will moderate and things will clear again.

The Yellowstone River is great this time of year, especially if you are looking to target larger rainbow and cutt-bow trout. Fish a stonefly nymph with an egg or attractor nymph dropper (or a San Juan or Squirmie if the water is a bit off-color), or swing large, dark streamers. The water is becoming to warm, so it’s starting to make sense to strip your streamers as well as to swing them, and as the water starts to inch higher, fish will begin moving into slightly faster water, versus the 4ft runs at midriver where they have spent the past 5–6 months. Hatches are likely on cloudy, calm afternoons. BWO and March Browns are most likely, but there might be midges or even smatterings of Mother’s Day Caddis near hot springs or immediately downstream of the Gardner River, which comes in warm. Afternoons will offer better fishing than mornings, though as long as it’s warm and sunny, it may be worth starting as early as 9:00AM if you’re looking to huck streamers.

The Boulder River and Stillwater River now begin coming into play. Fish the larger pools using similar tactics as described for the Yellowstone. The Lower Stillwater in particular can see some big run-up rainbows this time of year.

The lower Madison River will fish similarly to the Yellowstone, but you might see more hatches and should fish streamers on the swing a bit more often due to this river’s shallower and more homogenous nature. Crayfish are also good choices here.

The Paradise Valley spring creeks probably produce more fish now through April than they do at any other point in the season. Why? Spawning rainbows up from the Yellowstone. While it’s totally unethical to directly target spawners over shallow gravel, there will be plenty of fish in the deeper water downstream feeding on eggs and insects disturbed by spawning activity. Stick to the dark-bottomed water that’s at least waist-deep and you won’t hurt those making the next generation. Keep an eye out for BWO hatches after lunch. Eggs, San Juan Worms, pink scuds, WD-40 and similar midge/BWO crossover bugs, and modest-sized streamers are the best subsurface flies. Rod fees jump to spring levels tomorrow, which will actually reduce the crowds slightly for a week or two. Everybody comes in early April to take advantage of the waning days of the winter rates.

The Missouri River is a great bet now. Below Holter Dam you should avoid areas of shallow gravel, as the trout are spawning. Rising water temperatures have prompted good midge hatches on cloudy days. BWO are much heavier in early May here. Nymphing is centered on pink “junk flies” like the Rainbow or AMEX Czech, firebead scuds and sowbugs, pink Lightning Bugs, and similar. Also try midge pupae, worms, and BWO nymphs. The fish are still mostly in the deep inside bends, but particularly on warm afternoons, they will begin moving into slightly faster and shallower water. Streamers are good choices now, too. Either swing or strip. The area below Hauser Dam (aka Land of Giants aka Land of No Ethics) relies on trout stocked in Holter Reservoir for most of its population, so fishing shallow redds is not as dirty a tactic. Expect combat fishing here on nice weekends. Even 15yr ago, we didn’t fish this stretch on foot except during the week, and preferably during bad weather. Similar flies as below Holter, but much smaller shots at midge fishing on top.

Area Lakes and Reservoirs at low elevations are now ice-free. For now, look for fish on shallow, sunny, rocky areas exposed to the wind. Here the water is a bit warmer and the stocked trout may be attempting to spawn (they don’t succeed). Sight-casting is a great choice. Also look for warmer inflows such as springs. This is a particularly good tactic on the private lakes. Leeches and large San Juan Worms are the stars of the show right now, but egg patterns can also work well.

Yellowstone Park is closed to fishing. The park season has officially been switched to a year-round open season on the lower Gardner and a small portion of the Madison. This change takes place November 1, but in reality on May 25 this year when the general season opens parkwide (unless stated otherwise in the regulations). Here is the Park Service announcement. This is going to revolutionize winter and early spring fishing in Yellowstone Park; the Gardner River in particular might be the best fishery in the Rocky Mountains in March and April next year, and it’ll be great whenever it’s warm enough to tolerate even in the dead of winter. We are stoked!

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