Yellowstone Fishing Report

The latest rain has affected most rivers and tributaries and river conditions on the Fire hole have changed drastically as well. The Fire hole is currently flowing at 309CFS. Only a week ago the river is running at about 100CFS, so the river just about tripled in size the past week. From the reports we got the past weekend fishing was very tough and the river is as high as some people have seen it in some time. So for now the Fire hole is a bit tough to fish but keep checking our fishing reports for the latest river conditions. If you want to keep checking the current water flows on the Fire Hole near Old Faithful here is the link to this site(http://http://waterdata.usgs.gov/nwis/uv?06036805) Good Fishin Matt Elliott ... more...

The Firehole is OPEN!!!  Fishing season has officially arrived to Yellowstone Nation Park.  The Firehole River is a terrific early season river that can provide some consistant dry fly activity at this time of year.  On Saturday, opening day, the water was starting to come up a bit and has a hint of tea color to it, but it is definately fishable.  The water came up significantly on the 28th, from 85 cfs at the Old Faithful site, too just over 110 CFS. Firehole River Flows  Keep an eye on the flows as this will affect fishing the most.  Baetis, accasional PMD's and Caddis should hatch throughout the afternoon starting around 11:00 AM.  We also like to swing soft hackles in the morning and throughout the day for that matter.  Have fun on this little treasure, it is one of the most special and unique rivers in the park if not the world.  We will give you another update when our guys get back from fishing it this weekend!more...

The days are counting down to Yellowstone opening many of its rivers to fishing. It is important that if you are venturing up to Yellowstone Memorial Day weekend to be aware of which rivers are open. Of course one of everyone’s favorite (the Firehole) opens memorial day weekend and is always a great place to spend a day fishing when other local rivers and tributaries are in run-off mode. One great technique that works well on the firehole is swinging soft hackle flies. This is an old traditional approach that most people don’t use much of anymore. Flies like the soft hackle royal coachman or the soft hackle caddis in a size 14 or 16 can produce some quality fishing. Also, if heading up north to the Firehole, Gibbons or upper Madison make sure you have a few caddis patterns because if this hatch pops it can be an amazing sight. There are no major fishing regulation changes this year in Yellowstone but there are two temporary closures for fishing that you should be aware of. There is a fishing closure from 5-19-10 to 7-5-10 one-half mile above Gibbons Falls to one mile south of Gibbons falls to all anglers for road construction. The second closer will take place starting 7-6-20 and lasting until 10-20-10 from two miles above Gibbon Falls to one mile south of Gibbon Falls. If you have any questions about fishing Yellowstone or any other water please contact us here at the shop (307-733-6483 or info@westbank.com). Good Fishin Matt Elliott ... more...

  The Yellowstone area still continues to be one of the better places to fish this time of year. The hatches on the Fire hole have been great with PMD’s and caddis hatching off over the course of the day. We have some cool new PMD and caddis patterns here at the shop that you might want to check out before heading north. With weather analyst predicting cloudy weather for the next week, you might also want to take some smaller streamers to Yellowstone. The streamer fishing can very productive during these over cast days (which we have seen a lot of lately). For you lake fisherman, remember Yellowstone Lake opens June 15. This can be a great opportunity to catch some huge Yellowstone Cutthroat. The ice is also off Lewis Lake, which can be a great fishing opportunity and is also a bit shorter of a drive from Jackson. If you have any questions check in with us here at the shop (307-733-6483/email: info@westbank.com). Good Fishing Matt Elliott... more...

    The river below fishing bridge opened this past Wednesday(15th). The reports we got back from the opener was that the water levels were very very high. In most spots on the river it was also impossible to take more then 2 steps off the bank because the water was just to high.  This high water should help multiple aspects of the river system for years to come, it just was not helpful for this years opener. However, it might not be bad idea to wait a week or two and then head back up to Yellowstone and check if wading is a bit more manageable. Check back with us and hopefully we will get a few more reports about bug activity and river flows in the upcoming weeks. Good fishing Matt Elliott ... more...

The voluntary closures from noon to 6:00PM have now been made mandatory.  The warm water temps have prompted the Park Service to issue mandatory closures on many of the popular rivers from 2:00 PM to 5:00 PM.  I recommend not fishing past Noon, so get up early, take a walk - be sure to have bear spray and make noise - and go fishing.  There are great opportunities in the Park you just have to get out there early - the adventerous angler gets the fish!!!!!!more...