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Fishing Reports |
Yellowstone National Park Fishing Report
August 12, 2007
Yellowstone National Park
July was a trying time for fishing in the Park. Low water conditions and extremely warm weather brought pretty tough fishing to this national treasure. Yellowstone Lake recorded unheard of water temperatures in the mid-sixties. The Firehole had water temps tickling the 80 degree mark and suffering a fish kill. Park Officials instituted fishing closures from 2:00pm to 5:00am on most streams under 7000ft. in elevation. As of right now, August 12th, this closure is still in place.
Even with all of this, there has been some good news. Fires in the Park have been minimal, which is surprising for the high fire danger the Park has been in most of the summer. While late-June and July’s extreme heat was exactly the opposite of what we needed for low-water conditions, August has been the light at the end of the tunnel. August has come in with much cooler temps and much needed moisture. Nighttime temperatures have dipped into the 30’s and daytime temps have been in the 70’s, which is more realistic than the 90’s that July had brought. Rain is always a godsend in these kinds of years and the Park has been receiving timely rains. Park Officials are meeting this week to discuss the time closures and we are expecting that on some of rivers they will be lifted.
The fish population in the Yellowstone River section below the Lake and above the Falls is still on the down side. There just aren’t the numbers of fish that there once were, but the fish that are there, are big. 20 inch plus fish are fairly common. Look for morning and evening spinner falls. There are a smattering of PMD’s and Caddis, and even a few evening Flavilineas still lingering around. Mid-day will bring on hopper activity. The river is low, so spotting fish and sight nymphing can be a very effective method of fishing. This also applies to streamers. You can do well by spotting inactive fish and running a streamer by them. I have found that this technique works especially with a Gartside Soft-Hackle Streamer in brown and yellow.
Due to the rains the Park has been receiving, water clarity in the Lamar Valley has been going in and out. So, your timing will be critical. The Lamar and its tributaries are great Hopper and Attractor Dry-Fly fisheries. Try Rainy’s Grand Hopper or the always reliable Schroeder’s Parachute Hopper. Fat Albert’s, Bugmeister’s, and natural, black, or red Turck’s Tarantula’s in sizes 6, 8, and 10’s are typically killer patterns for this valley.
There are many, many other waters to fish in Yellowstone National Park and to cover all of them would take a book. If you have questions on particular water don’t hesitate to contact us here at the shop. I will ask you to for-go the Firehole until fall conditions bring the water temperature back inline. Also, please be consciences of playing your fish. If a long hard battle seems to be in sight, you might consider breaking him off. Even though we may be releasing fish, an over-stressed, exhausted fish that is put back into high water temperatures is a perfect scenario for mortality. This goes for everywhere this summer in the Northern Rockies, not just Yellowstone National Park.
Until next time, good
fishing,
Howard Cole
High Country Flies
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