Fly Tying Tutorial of the Week: Purple Hazy Cripple
Posted on October 15th, 2024 in Fly Tying Tutorials, Fly Tying Videos
The Purple Hazy Cripple is our top dry fly on the Yellowstone River and in the Yellowstone region in general. While it’s most effective in sizes #16 through #18 as an attractor pattern and during sparse mayfly hatches from late August through April, it is also effective in larger sizes earlier in the summer, especially on rougher mountain streams.
We often fish this pattern in preference to “imitative” mayfly patterns, especially on rougher water like the Yellowstone River and its tributary the Stillwater, but it can also work even on gentle meadow streams such as Slough Creek.
The Purple Hazy Cripple is one of our top flies, and definitely our most productive dry fly overall. In fact it’s our go-to fly from late August through early October, period.
Read More…
Snowpack, Runoff, and Predicted Summer Fishing Conditions Update for May 1, 2024
Posted on May 1st, 2024 in Season Forecasts, Weather & Water Conditions
Winter and early spring 2023-2024 have been warm and dry in Yellowstone Country, just like it has just about everywhere except California through Colorado. For a while we were flirting with record-low snowpack and the potential for a very short fishing season. After strong improvement from mid-January through March, April saw warm and dry weather with an accompanying sharp decline in snowpack and an early pulse of spring runoff (weeks early). We are unfortunately now looking at tough conditions again in late summer and early fall.
Because of anticipated low and warm streamflows and a forecast for a hot, dry summer, we encourage anglers to visit sometime between June 15 and July 15 if you’re looking for consistent summer-type fishing with dry-dropper combos, fast, cold flows, etc. July 20 through August are likely to see very low water and widespread 2:00PM mandatory closures. Early September will see better conditions, but low, clear water will still make for difficult fishing on sunny days. Only in October and November can we be sure of aggressive fish again.
Current United States drought conditions. Our area of SW Montana and NW Wyoming ranges from abnormally dry (yellow) to severe drought (orange).
Snowpack Update and Summer Streamflow and Fishing Forecast for April 19, 2024
Posted on April 19th, 2024 in Season Forecasts, Weather & Water Conditions
Winter and early spring 2023-2024 has been warm and dry in Yellowstone Country, just like it has just about everywhere except California through Colorado. For a while we were flirting with record-low snowpack and the potential for a very short fishing season. After strong improvement from mid-January through March, April has seen a decline in snowpack and we’re looking at tough conditions again in late summer and early fall.
Because of anticipated low and warm streamflows and a forecast for a hot, dry summer, we encourage anglers to visit sometime between June 20 and July 20 if you’re looking for consistent summer-type fishing with dry-dropper combos, fast, cold flows, etc. July 20 through August 20 are likely to see very low water and widespread 2:00PM mandatory closures. August 20 through September will see better conditions, but low, clear water will still make for difficult fishing on sunny days. Only in October and November will we be sure of aggressive fish again.
With Yellowstone Park opening portions of the Gardner and Madison Rivers to year-round fishing beginning November 1, this may be a year to skip August and come in early November instead, especially if you’re an angler who likes to walk-wade and doesn’t mind cold weather fishing.
Anglers who visit in late summer and early fall are strongly advised to be flexible as far as destinations, tactics, trip start times (we will likely want to meet before dawn) and durations (morning half-days might be the way to go in August) and even target species. Anglers here on August 15 up for doing oddball stuff like throwing grasshoppers for carp might be a lot happier than anglers who insist on trying to fish the same flies on the mellowest stretches of Paradise Valley on the Yellowstone on the same date…
Read More…