Evening Fishing at its Finest

Yellowstone National Park Firehole River- This river is too warm for fishing, and we are not recommending anyone to fish it. Gibbon River- Being a cooler running river, the Gibbon fishes well around 10:00 in the morning as well as 8:00 in the evening. Caddis and rusty spinners work well during these feeding times. Also, grasshoppers might just bring up some bigger browns in the meadow stretch along the river's deep undercut banks. Madison River- The warm water from the Firehole River has been heating up the Madison river's temperature, but trout are still being caught on cool mornings. Reports of PMD hatches are occurring from 9:30-11:00am. When mid day or early evening rolls around, ants and caddis seem to fool the river's hungry trout. Lamar River- The water should have almost 100% clarity by now, so the trout are looking up. Size 10-14 stimulators in yellow and orange are working well up against the grassy banks in the evenings. Ants and beetles are always a good choice on the Lamar when casting to a choosey trout. Slough Creek- The main hatch of green drakes is just about finished, but some fish are still looking for the bug. PMD hatches generally occur in the morning at 10:00, and is arguably the best time to fish the river. So, it might be worth it to wake up early and make the drive to the Lamar Valley. Yellowstone Lake- It seems almost everyday someone comes into the shop and shows us the pictures of the cutthroat he caught off shore on Yellowstone Lake. Keep in mind when fishing the lake, you are fishing for one or two cutthroat. It is tough to have a multiple fish day on Yellowstone Lake. The nice side to this is, when you hook a fish, chances are it is big. Stripping black and orange woolly buggers in a size 6 or 8 slowly are attracting the lake's famous healthy cutthroat. Yellowstone River- The salmonfly hatch is just about over, but many big cuts are still looking for the big bug. PMDs currently seem to be the best way to fish this memorable river in the morning around 9:30. Ants and possibly hoppers are good to have as a secondary option. A lot of time is spent on shore trying to spot the trout, but once he is spotted, it is game on! Montana Gallatin River- Caddis hatches start around 6:30-7:00pm and buzz around until you can't see your hand in the dark. It is recommended to fish this river during the caddis hatch in the evening. Although, mid-day has proven productive because the Gallatin is one of the coolest running river in the region. Common nymph patterns always work well in the river's fast water behind big boulders. Hebgen Lake- Calibaetis hatches are increasing in numbers each passing day. It won't peak until mid to late August, but many gulpers are still being caught each day on drys. Woolly buggers are always wise to carry along in case the drys aren't enough to entice the elusive browns and rainbows. Between the Lakes- Caddis hatches have been great in the evenings. Sporatic yellow sallys are throughout the stretch mid day to early evening. Nymphing usually produces fish when nothing else seems to work. Copper johns, pheasant tails, and CDC emerging pheasant tails are usually good patterns. Madison River Below Quake- Whether it is either drys or nymphs, caddis seems to be the ticket for fishing this stretch of the Madison. The trout mainly rise in the evenings, but some can been seen mid day sipping mayflies. After a rainstorm, look out for different hatches of mayflies like PMDs, trout may key in on them for 30 minutes to an hour. Idaho Henry's Lake- With the recent wind and rainstorms, fishing has been a little bit slower. Fish are still near many of the inlates of the lake, but aren't as packed as they should be. The water temperature is in the 66-68 degree range. Fishing usually picks up once the temperature reaches 70. Brown and olive woolly buggers continue to be the most productive when the sun is rising. Later on in the day, a size 12 bead head pheasant tail or a henry's lake renegade are common choices among the regulars. -Dillon Given < Tylar Diamond with a healthy 23" cutthroat on the Yellowstone River