Livingston Montana Fishing Report

Detailed Reports

This NO BS Livingston Montana fishing report is valid from February 15 2026 until mid-March.

General Comments

Except during cold spells, things will get gradually better on a day-by-day basis, particularly if you’re looking for bigger fish. Early March in particular is a very good period to look for big pre-spawn rainbows. For now, afternoons remain the best option. By March 1, this might stretch into late morning.

Low and slow is still the name of the game. The flies vary a bit from river to river, but except on the Paradise Valley spring creeks and maybe the lower Gardner River, the fish will be in the big, slow, walking pace pools. You want to bump bottom with nymphs and slowly-swung streamers. Look for chest-deep water or so. Some hatches are possible on all open rivers in the afternoons, especially on warm, calm, cloudy days.

The Details

The Yellowstone River: Fish a stonefly or streamer trailing a San Juan Worm, egg, midge pupa, small mayfly nymph. The best water will be near warmer inputs, such as the Gardner River or Depuy Spring Creek. In these areas you may see some midge or tiny winter BWO activity on calm days. The best widespread water will be the big walking-pace runs where there’s a hint of current more or less down the middle of the river. The fast, shallow water is worthless and will be until at least late March and more likely early April.

The Boulder River is too low and cold for us.

The lower Madison River is a good winter bet. Crayfish trailing eggs or BWO nymphs and midge pupae are good options. So is swinging a light but very flowy and mobile streamer on an intermediate or floating tip.

The Stillwater River is similar to the Yellowstone, but has less slow water. When you find the right pools, expect them to be jammed up with fish.

The Missouri River is definitely the best winter public water option within about 3.5 hours. Both the Hauser (Land of Giants) and Holter tailwaters are worth hitting. Some BWO or midge hatches are possible, and swinging streamers can work, but the best option until late March is fishing pink Lightning Bugs, pink sowbugs, pink scuds, and pink junk flies like AMEX in combination, maybe with a Zebra Midge or WD-40 trailer. The lowest crowds of the year await, though it’ll be cold here, too.

Montana Small Streams are too low and cold now.

Local Lakes and Reservoirs are generally slushy but not frozen enough to be safe for ice-fishing. Some of the larger reservoirs like Holter aren’t frozen at all. On these, look for rainbows cruising the shorelines on warm days.

The Paradise Valley spring creeks will probably see the widest window of good fishing, provided the wind isn’t blowing 40mph like it has been some days lately. Nymphing is now the best option. Eggs might work, but skinny floss San Juan Worms, midge pupae and larvae, and maybe some tiny mayfly nymphs are the most likely bets. Absent a midge hatch (possible but fairly unlikely), the fish will be in the pools rather than the riffles.

Yellowstone Park fishing is closed except on the Gardner River below Osprey Falls and on the Madison downstream of the MT/WY boundary near the Barns Pools. Note that the park interior roads are also closed, so you’re looking at a 3hr plus drive to get to the Madison via Bozeman and Big Sky from our base in Livingston.

  • The Gardner will fish best below Boiling River. Either hike down from Mammoth or up from Gardiner. The passage through the Chutes where the road was wrecked in 2022’s floods is only for mountain goats, so you really can’t fish the “Gardiner Beat” and “Boiling River Beat” from the same access point. Trust us here; for most people, getting through the heart of the Gardner Canyon will be impossible, and it’s dangerous for everybody.
  • The Gardner will fish best on stonefly nymphs or multi-role flies like TJ Hookers trailing eggs, midge pupae, or skinny mayfly nymphs. Midge or winter BWO hatches are possible on warmer days, but will be fragmentary. While the spawn is done, beware of brown trout redds. The eggs are just now hatching, and the fry will still be in the gravel. Also note that the rainbow spawn starts early here as well, so while there’s good fishing in the deeper, boulder-bottomed runs, it’s basically best to avoid any patches of conspicuously clean gravel, whether you’re sure they’re redds or not.

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