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Book a TripThis NO BS Livingston Montana fishing report is valid from September 30 until October 10 or the next fall storm system that brings rain to all elevations, snow to higher elevations, and heavy freezes overnight even in the valleys, whichever comes first.
(Note: Pardon our mess. We’re revising how this page is organized. Full reports will be up by evening on the 30th.)
General Comments
After a brief cooldown over the weekend, but not much moisture, we’re full into Indian summer right now. We’re looking at sunny skies and highs between 65 and 80F here in Livingston for the next week. Not exactly ideal when we want 50s and drizzle for the best hatches and streamer fishing, which typically bring the best fishing this time of year (and also help the archery hunters).
Because of the warm/dry, we’re still in “early fall” mode for the foreseeable future: typical summer/fall fisheries like the Yellowstone, Lamar System, and maybe even mountain creeks remain the best waters. Hoppers and nymphing will likely beat out the BWO and Hecuba most days, and streamer fishing has been quite inconsistent.
Consistency may be hard to find under the forecast weather conditions. Basically, the further you get from “normal” for the season, the weirder the fishing gets. Maybe the fish will still be eating hoppers because the afternoon temps are what they should be to get the hoppers hopping, but maybe they won’t because it’s still cold enough at night to slow them down. Maybe the fish will be looking for BWO and big baitfish, because that’s usually the ticket this time of year. Maybe not, because the weather isn’t conducive to these techniques. You catch my drift. Be prepared to try lots of things, and also be prepared for the fishing to be good, bad, or indifferent.
Except in the Madison System or when you’re chasing fall-run browns, the better fishing is likely to be from lunch to 5:00 or so even with the warmth, because it’s usually in the 20s-40s at night depending on elevation and things therefore get going slow in the mornings.
Here is the current list of hoot-owl and complete closures in the state of Montana. Note that this list lags by a few hours.
Here are YNP news releases. Closures will be noted in new or updated releases.
Montana Fisheries Reports
Waters are first organized by approximate distance from Livingston, with fishery categories (such as “small creeks”) coming after.
Yellowstone River Fishing Report
The Yellowstone has been inconsistent. Definitely not terrible, but no single tactic has been dependable. In general the better dry bite will be up by Gardiner. In Paradise Valley, through Livingston, and out east, you should expect to have to nymph or drag a midsize naturalistic or flashy baitfish imitation under an indicator. Stripping streamers has not been as productive as usual for this time of year. That said, all of the above tactics have worked for our guides to a greater or lesser degree on all sections over the past week or so.
- Hatches: T. hecuba aka Tan Drake or Drake Mackeral, Epeorus aka Western Cahill, Heptagenia aka Mahogany, Baetis aka BWO, occasional midges and Tricos. The BWO and Tan Drakes are most important.
- Dries: Small hoppers like #14 Bob Hoppers (yellow over brown and peach have been top colors), #12 Brindle Chute and similar, #16-18 copper or purple Hazy Cripple, #18 Hi-Viz Gray Baetis
- Nymphs & Wets: #16-18 silver, red, or PT Spankers, #18 Radiation Baetis, #18 Little Green Machine, #20 Lightning Bug, #12-14 soft hackle Hare’s Ears and similar, hot bead “Turds with a Tail,” the latter especially out east of Springdale.
- Streamers: Naturalistic baitfish patterns like small Double Bunnies or Mini Llamas in olive, olive and white, white, and other semi-natural colors. If cloudy, black is worth a shot. Sparkle Minnows or Kreelex are also worth a shot if you believe for some reason the trout are in a chasing mood.
Boulder River Fishing Report
The Boulder River: is very low and will be cold up high. Afternoons will probably be best top to bottom. Use similar flies as mentioned for the Yellowstone. If you can get on the lower river, there’s some potential to nymph up some fall-run browns.
Madison River Fishing Report
The Upper Madison has generally not liked the warm/dry weather of late. One of our guides reported consecutive two-fish guide days while working for other outfitters last week. Now if you can hit it when the first cloudy day and mass BWO hatch occur…
The Lower Madison has been fishing fairly well. Lightly-weighted crayfish and Perdigons fished shallow have been the top options, but this water is shallow enough that it’s not a bad idea to fish an attractor dry or small hopper instead of a bobber; the water is shallow enough that there’s no reason a fish couldn’t tilt up a foot instead of down a foot. The weeds will be obnoxious, so fishing shallow and doing the “Bighorn Snap” (jerking your flies straight up out of the water when re-casting so they don’t drag over drifting weeds, and windmill-casting if needed) to keep some weeds off your flies or pop them off if you do get them will be helpful.
Madison @ Ennis Dam (Beartrap Canyon) Gauge
Stillwater River Fishing Report
The Stillwater River has ticked back up over 400cfs of late, probably since the irrigation pumps have been turned off for the season. This level is still not for the faint-of-heart. You will need to drag your rafts over many shallow areas, and passengers may have to get out and walk in some of these spots.
Early mornings are not recommended, since water temps may dip below 50F first thing even in the morning even when afternoon air temps are in the 70s and water temps yo-yo up to the high 50s.
From late morning to late afternoon, use similar flies as mentioned for the Yellowstone. You might also try nymphing some of the big, deep runs downstream of heavy rapids in hope of seeing an early run-up brown.
Stillwater River Gauge, near Absarokee
Missouri River Fishing Report
Three Forks to Toston Lake and Toston Dam to Canyon Ferry Reservoir: The weather here isn’t right either for carp or for trout right now. Wait for November Nasties for your giant brown trout fix, or next summer for your carpin’.
Hauser Tailwater (aka “Land of the Giants” or “Land of Zero Ethics”): Nymphing with small sowbugs and BWO nymphs will be the top tactic right now, but be on the lookout for spawning kokanee. Fish pink eggs downstream of them for a “mini-Alaska” experience, or snag a few for the smoker. Streamers and heavy BWO hatches probably won’t happen with the current weather forecast, alas.
Holter Tailwater (The Famous Section): One of our guides was here last week working for another outfitter. He boated 4-5 fish per day and apparently outfished some of the local guides with those numbers. Yuck. This water really needs cooler, grayer weather to kick into any kind of consistent gear.
Montana Small Stream Fishing Report
Low Elevation Meadow Streams (Example: East Gallatin): These are still decent options, particularly on cloudy days. They might be real tough if it’s bright and sunny. There’s some chance of hatches, hoppers/ants/beetles, or streamer fishing, but small nymphs are likely to be the best bet until the weather gets worse.
Rough Mountain Streams (Example: Mill Creek): Stick to the warmer afternoons on these. Fish a big mayfly-type attractor (we like Royal Wulff Cripples) with a Flashback PT or similar #16 nymph on the dropper. The next cold snap will end things for the season on all creeks that hustle down from the mountains.
Paradise Valley Spring Creek Fishing Report
Gross weather is STRONGLY desired to kick out BWO hatches. Until then, you might see smatterings of several species of midges or cream Baetis, all of which will be TINY. Absent a hatch, nymph the riffles with Zebra Midges, Sawyer Pheasant Tails and similar skinny mayflies, etc. This weather is very not ideal on the creeks, especially if you want hatches and larger rising trout.
Local Lake & Reservoir Fishing Report
Dailey, Bair, Newlan Creek, Sutherlin, Cooney, Martinsdale, Deadman’s Basin: No recent reports, and TBH we probably won’t have reports until ice-fishing season.
Canyon Ferry, Hauser, Holter: A long way from here, and there are some better reports available online published by FWP. Google “Helena Area Reservoirs Fishing Report.”
Hebgen, Quake, Ennis: The inlet areas of all these lakes will be the hot spots, as browns will be staging and eager to head upstream as soon as a cooldown hits. Fish streamers and chironomids.
Beartooth Lakes: Now basically done for the year due to cold nights at high elevations.
Private Ranch Ponds: This is getting to be “silly season” on these ponds, when the fish go nuts for streamers and leeches in preparation for a long winter under the ice. Unfortunately, the weather isn’t quite right for “silly” yet. That said, we’d probably start with a #6 black or peacock Woolly Bugger with a #12 olive Mohair Leech behind it, then cycle through combinations of various colors of Pigpen Leeches and Mohair Leeches before sighing and putting on a chironomid.
Yellowstone Park Fishing Reports
Waters are first organized by approximate distance from Livingston, with fishery categories (such as “small creeks”) coming after.
Gardner River
Upper Gardner – Headwaters to Osprey Falls: Too late in the year for this water due to cold water temps.
Middle Gardner – Osprey Falls to Boiling River: A good bet in the afternoons if you’re looking for remnant hopper/dropper fishing or the occasional Tan Drake or BWO hatch. A better bet right at dawn if you are looking to nymph some deep pools with stonefly and attractor nymphs and eggs. All-day fishing will be best when the weather is gross prior to October 20. Access sucks: you have to hike down from the High Bridge near Mammoth or from the parking area near Mammoth Campground. You cannot park at the “Boneyard” down the hill any longer. Some people are doing it. I would lose my YNP outfitting privileges if I did. I sure wish there was more reinforcement of this rule, or that it was lifted…
Lower Gardner – Boiling River to Yellowstone Confluence: Warm weather is a bummer here. The lack of big cooldowns has kept the weed situation obnoxious, even if temps should now be fine except maybe on the warmest/brightest afternoons. This is primo Euro-nymphing water. Fish a midsize TJ Hooker with an attractor nymph, BWO nymph, or egg dropper. Be prepared to clear green nastiness off your flies every few casts. Either hike up from Gardiner, over from the pullout shortly after the road turns away from the entrance station, or down from Mammoth Campground.
Yellowstone River
Headwaters & Lake to Falls: Streamers or a BWO hatch might turn a fish or two, but it’s very late in the season for this water where most trout winter in Yellowstone Lake.
Grand Canyon – Silver Cord Cascade to Lamar Confluence: The Grand Canyon can fish very well during Indian Summer, and chances are the crowds will be low even on warm days. Fish streamers for the most action, but you might encounter Tan Drake and BWO hatches. The BWO hatches are often best when the weather is horrific – I’ve had guide days here during driving snowstorms where every rock turns into a trout eating BWO. Shame no driving snowstorms are in the forecast…
Black Canyon – Lamar Confluence to Gardner Confluence/Park Boundary: Similar to Grand Canyon, but as you progress downstream it is more likely that nymphs and terrestrial dries will be more important than hatches and streamers. On bright days in particular, this water can be kind of tough this time of year.
Lamar River, Soda Butte Creek, and Slough Creek
Lamar River: No point in getting out early. The best fishing will be in the PM. You may encounter some Drake Mackeral and BWO hatches in late afternoon, and maybe even some full-size bright green Green Drakes (Drunella grandis) or remnant Little Green Drakes (D. flavilinea). That said, this water is very low and clear and may be very tough if there are no hatches. Absent a hatch, fish Zebra Midges, skinny BWO nymphs, and maybe terrestrials.
Soda Butte Creek: No point in fishing upstream from Round Prairie, and maybe not even above the Lower Meadow. Same as Lamar, but you might encounter fish in the tailouts eating midges in the AM, and it’s conceivable the Lower Meadow will still be crowded. If you find fish clustered up like cordwood in one or two pools, leave them be. They’re trying to find deep water for winter already.
Slough Creek: To be honest, we would not fish Slough this late in the season under any circumstances. It’s just too likely not to produce, sometimes even when the same bugs mentioned above are hatching.
Madison River System – Madison River in YNP, Firehole River, Gibbon River
Madison River in YNP: The fall run of browns and rainbows from Hebgen is the main show for the remainder of the season, but it has been a bit slow to get rip-roaring due to the warm, dry weather. This weather makes the hour after dawn or before dusk your best bet. The classic thing to do is to swing streamers like Spruces or “new classic” wet flies like those sold by Blue Ribbon Flies in West Yellowstone, but a stonefly nymph trailing an egg or attractor like the Bead, Hare, and Copper will produce more fish.
Firehole River: Below Firehole Falls might turn out a fall runner with lower crowds than the Madison. In the classic meadow water from the Old Faithful closure that ends at Biscuit Basin down to Firehole Cascades, look for remnant White Miller caddis hatches and Blue Wing Olives confused about the warm weather. The BWO here are tiny. #22 is not too big.
Gibbon River – Grebe Lake to Norris Hot Springs: Too low and cold.
Gibbon River – Norris Hot Springs to Madison Jct: In the meadows, hope for BWO or maybe Tan Drake hatches. In the rough water above Gibbon Falls, attractor dry/dropper combos might produce, but to be honest we don’t like this water in the fall. Below the falls, nymph with stonefly and attractor nymphs (or eggs, San Juan Worms, etc.) hoping for an early runner.
Other Rivers in YNP
The Gallatin will fish similarly to the Gardner or Yellowstone in the Grand Canyon in the afternoons. Too cold in the AM. If you are adventurous, the Bechler Meadows (very far from here) may turn out big fish on ants and BWO, but are very challenging due to their spooky fish. Streamers in the lower Lewis Channel may work for lakers and early browns starting to nose in. Some BWO and other hatches are possible on the Snake just inside the park boundary.
YNP Small Streams:
Brook Trout Streams (All): Basically too low and cold now. You might do something on Lava Creek in the middle of the afternoon.
Non-Brookie Streams Draining the Central Plateau: Those with some geyser water like Nez Perce might still turn out a fish or two on nymphs in the PM, but there are many better places to fish.
Mountain Creeks Containing Trout Other Than Brookies: Lower Hellroaring or Lava might have some spillover fishing from the rivers they feed into within a few hundred yards of the mouth.
YNP Lakes:
Yellowstone Lake: Generally tough in the fall. Fish gray/white Double Bunnies or similar in the West Thumb area if you’re trying for lake trout.
Lewis & Shoshone Lakes: The inlet/outlet areas can produce lake trout on streamers and eggs now. The brown trout probably are not moving in earnest yet. Also try stripping Buggers and Bunnies under Lewis Falls – some lakers screw up and swim too far downstream and drop over the falls.
Grebe, Wolf, Ice, and Cascade Lakes: If you need your grayling fix, twitch leeches under indicators on calm days. It is very late in the season for these waters.
Trout Lake: Honestly too late in the year for consistent fishing.
Other Lakes: The brook trout lakes in the northern part of the park can turn out some colored-up fish this time of year on scuds and leeches. They can also turn out some really tough fishing on bright days. Keep that in mind before you hike into Fawn Lake…
Do you find these reports helpful? We don't sell flies or otherwise make money off of them, so we humbly ask that you consider Buying Us a Coffee. Also, if you've got the funds, you can...
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