Livingston Montana Fishing Report

Detailed Reports

This NO BS Livingston Montana fishing report is valid from August 24 until Labor Day, roughly, unless we see a substantial cooldown.

General Comments

Unfortunately, it has gotten hot again. Not the high 90s and 100s we had in late July and into early August, but high 80s and low 90s most days, under generally bright skies that give way to brief torrential thunderstorms for 45 minutes in late afternoon. This has led to a lot of off-color and warm water. Not exactly ideal conditions, even if the widespread 70+ water and “hoot owl” 2:00PM to midnight closures have mostly been lifted in our operations area.

The often-murky water mean you should have second and third options when you head out to fish, in case your preferred fishery or river section (if floating) is muddy. The high water temps mean you should plan to head to the high country after 2:00 or 3:00PM instead of fishing low-elevation waters like the Yellowstone or even the Madison immediately upstream from Hebgen Lake.

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.

The Details

The Yellowstone River: has been very hit or miss in the past ten days. Cloudy, cooler days with clear water have been best. Even so, the dry fly bite has been very so-so. We have had a few good hoppers days, mostly on small peach, burnt orange, or mustard-yellow patterns, but far less than usual for late August. Ants have also drawn some action. Otherwise, nymphs and smallish streamers such as jig Zirdles and Sparkle Minnows have been the flies. For nymphs, Frenchies and pearl Spankers have been most productive. Sometimes the fish have been really on these. Sometimes it has been a grind.

The Boulder River: is too low below Natural Bridge. Above, fish hopper-dropper combos. The upper Boulder in particular will fish better in the afternoons moving forward, as it comes down out of the high, cold mountains in a hurry and will get very cold at night.

The lower Madison River is under a complete fishing closure immediately below Ennis Dam and is under hoot owl restrictions further downstream. It should be completely closed, and even if you ignore that advice, your fly is more likely to hook a drunk floating along in an inner tube than a trout until the middle of September.

The upper Madison is now under hoot-owls from 8 Mile down to Ennis Lake. We are surprised these haven’t been lifted. One of our guides had a great day (before 2:00) fishing the Varney to Ennis stretch a few days ago. Terrestrials will be tops on the surface, but dragging a sculpin with a $3 Dip or similar dropper is also a good bet. Don’t hesitate to run later in the day on the upper end of this stretch. Putting in at 10:00AM instead of 8:15 on a float trip or fishing from 6:00PM until dark will put you out of sequence with the crowds.

The Stillwater River is running low, but the rain has meant flows have come back up over the 500cfs “magic” level where floating doesn’t require quite as much raft-dragging and rock-dodgine. under 500cfs now. Once flows drop back under 500, and especially under about 425, you will have to be up for dragging your raft or have an ultralight. Even then, only the lower river is still floatable, from Jeffrey’s Landing to the Yellowstone. Some fall mayflies are already possible here on cooler and grayer days, but hopper/dropper is the way to go most of the time. Run a #10-12 Bob Hopper or Morrish-style in pink, peach, or mottled tan/brown (which doubles as a Nocturnal Stonefly) with a gold, silver, or pearl Lightning Bug on the dropper. Early mornings are likely to be slow, as this water runs much colder than the Yellowstone.

The Missouri River is very far away and is in its weedy late summer doldrums. A few Tricos will still be around in the mornings. Hoppers and ants can bring some risers if there aren’t any Tricos. Otherwise, most fishing involves nymphing the holes in the weeds with Zirdles trailing sowbugs and midge pupae. One of the shops in Craig likes to complain about guides from elsewhere in Montana coming up there in late May and June, even those of us who were doing it before their shop opened. Well, right now is when I see guides from that shop in the Livingston area, sometimes guiding and sometimes fishing on their own. That shop doesn’t have anything to say about this.

Montana Small Streams: Steep mountain creeks with wooded courses (Hyalite, Mill, Big) are among the better bets in the region as long as you get upstream of their irrigation withdrawals, generally in the National Forests. Fish small-medium hoppers or something like a #12 Coachman Trude with a #16 flashy dropper nymph of your choice. Afternoons will be best moving forward.

Local Trout Lakes and Reservoirs: If you have a boat and the wind is calm, the lakes are a surprisingly decent option right now. We actually guided Dailey Lake one day a couple weeks ago and put rookies into a dozen trout running from 12 to 17 inches. The key is to get out to the sharpest drop-offs and run your flies just below the thermocline. Damsel nymphs and chironomid pupae/larvae are top choices. The Beartooth and other high alpine lakes require a much more aggressive commitment (all-day hikes at least for the good ones), but they will still be cool.

The Paradise Valley spring creeks may see Sulphur or midge hatches, with calm/cloudy days generally best. More of the fishing will be subsurface, with sight-nymphing or nymphing the riffles the most likely prospects. Midge pupae and tiny mayfly nymphs are best.

Yellowstone Park: NOTE: Complete fishing closures are in place on the Firehole, Madison, and Gibbon downstream of Norris Geyser Basin, as well as on all tributaries of these waters in these sections.

  • Gardner: Too warm and weedy below Boiling River. The best fishing will be from lower Sheepeater Canyon to Boiling River. Fish a Chubby/dropper combo or straight nymph with a stonefly/attractor combo. The brookie headwaters start getting very shaky this time of year. The best “beginner brookie” water will be below Sheepeater Cascade.
  • Yellowstone River from the Lake to the Falls: Fish numbers are declining fast, since most of the fish in this stretch spend their winters in Yellowstone Lake. If you encounter a hatch and rising fish, match the hatch. Various sizes of Green Drake are probably most likely now. A more likely tactic is swinging streamers. Trout spey fishing a big ‘Bugger is a good tactic.
  • Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone: Hopper-dropper rigs are the name of the game right now. Go big on your hopper until the fish tell you otherwise. This is a place a #8 Pink Pookie still works. On the coolest, cloudiest days, you might see a BWO hatch. Yep, even in August. More likely are Epeorus or Heptagenia, which are big and cream or slightly smaller and yellow, respectively. The hatches will be scattered. Streamers are also a really good idea sometimes…
  • Black Canyon of the Yellowstone: Rapidly improving as water temps cool. Fish similar flies as in the Grand Canyon.
  • Lamar River: Little Green Drake and PMD hatches are possible and will draw the best action. Absent a hatch, nymph the heads of the pools in the morning or hunt heads with hoppers, beetles, and ants.
  • Soda Butte Creek: Similar to Lamar, though temps will be slightly cooler. Some #12 Drakes will still be hatching upstream from Ice Box Canyon in particular. Also try spruce moths in that area. The water in the trees will fish best after noon. The meadows may fish best in the afternoons, but are more likely to fish well from around 10:00 until 1:00. Similar hatches as the Lamar. As we get into late August, a #18 Zebra Midge with a copper bead and rib can really work, and there may be Tricos in the AM.
  • Slough Creek: Similar to Lamar. Ants are generally far more effective terrestrials than hoppers here. Beetles are also a good choice.
  • Gibbon River: Closed to fishing below the bridge adjacent to Norris Campground due to high water temps. Above, fish attractor dry/dropper combos in the rougher areas or match hatches in the Norris Meadow. The choppier water further from the road will offer better opportunities for decent numbers of cutthroat or grayling.
  • Firehole River: Closed due to high water temps.
  • Madison River: Closed due to high water temps.
  • Lakes: We generally don’t fish lakes in the park for the remainder of the season, but the grayling lakes will turn out some fish on leeches, small soft hackles and nymphs, and occasionally offer up a Callibaetis or damsel hatch. Mornings before the wind kicks up are best.
  • Small Creeks: Steep mountain creeks should still be nice and cold, with the possible exception of tiny trickles like [[[NAME REDACTED]]]. Afternoons will be best. Fish some flavor of hopper/dropper combo. The smaller the creek, the smaller the flies. The gentle meadow streams are going to be awfully skinny to offer productive fishing. Do you really want to chase spooky 8-inchers in low, clear water? On the other hand, most other people say “no” to that question, too…

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