Caddis Season!

Yellowstone National Park Firehole River- The recent warm weather and geysers have made the firehole river extremely warm. The river is not recommended to fish because of the great amount of stress it presses on the trout. Gibbon River- Early mornings seems to be better than late evenings on the Gibbon River. This is a slightly cooler running river, so the fishing continues to be good even with our recent warm weather. Rusty spinners in a size 14 or a brown elk hair caddis work well. Be sure to sneak up on the banks because the skittish browns have a clear view of you in this slower moving stream. Madison River- Caddis hatches in the evenings have been the best way to fish this river. White caddis are hatching in numbers from 7:30 to dark. It is recommended to fish the river until you cannot see your fly anymore. Yellowstone Lake- The Lake trout have moved into deeper water and the cutthroat are cruising the dropoffs near shore. Halloween and christmas tree woolly buggers have been producing sizeable cuts. The best access continues to be by boat. Trollers are using large spoons in gold and deep diving rapalas. Yellowstone River- Opens July 15th for fishing. Lamar Valley- The water is still a little cloudy for all three rivers, but I would expect some green drakes to hatch soon. Stimulators like a royal wulf with a prince or copper john below it should do the trick. Montana Gallatin River- Salmonflys are just now reaching inside the park. Gallatin fishes best on a hot day mid day. Nymphs seem to be the best way to fish this river but hungry trout are still rising to Jacklin's salmonfly. Hebgen Lake- Calibaetis hatches are starting, just not in big numbers yet. Few trout are sipping the drys in the mornings around 11 o'clock. Woolly buggers in black and rusty continue to work great for those fun cruising trout. Trollers are using smaller spoons in silver and gold, along with large golden spinners. Between Hebgen and Quake- Fishing has been spotty between the lakes. Few fish are still rising to the salmonfly. Caddis hatches in the evenings seems to be the best time to fish this stretch of the Madison river. Spinner fisherman are having luck with silver and gold blue fox spinners. Below Quake Lake- Mid day has been rough at three dollar bridge and reynolds pass. The best time has been the last hour of light with a brown elk hair caddis in a size 14 or 16. The caddis hatches are quite abundant in the late evenings, attracting many fly fisherman to these streches. With this in mind, be prepared to fish alongside other fisherman. Idaho Henry's Lake- The fish are now near many of the inlets seeking cooler water. Woolly buggers in various colors are working well at daybreak, and smaller patterns in olive and brown attract the fish later in the day. The weeds are growing each day, making it harder for trollers to find weedless pockets to run over. -Dillon Given