Today's Read
Yellowstone River is fishing around blue-winged olives and midges. Start with the patterns below and adjust only after fish show you something different.
Paradise Valley, Montana
Best Flies For Yellowstone River
Fish the softer banks, side channels, and gravel transitions with stoneflies, worms, and baetis nymphs until you see consistent heads.
Bugs & Best Matches
What's active
Fish this
Blue-winged olives, size 18-20, midday to afternoon
Parachute BWO, size 18-20, dry
Midges, size 18-22, sheltered water in the morning
Pat's Rubber Legs, size 6-8, nymph
March Browns, size 12-14, sporadic midday in softer runs
Worm pattern red or pink, size 8-12, nymph
General subsurface
Lightning Bug, size 16-18, nymph; Pheasant Tail, size 16-18, nymph; March Brown Cripple, size 12-14, dry
How To Fish These Flies
- Cover inside bends, seams behind gravel bars, and the slow edge beside heavier center-river current.
- A bigger lead fly with a smaller mayfly trailer is the simplest way to find fish before surface activity starts.
- If bugs appear, move to protected slicks and side channels where trout can rise without fighting the main current.
Current Conditions
FlowMainstem volume is higher than the trout rivers around it, but side channels and softer inside bends stay very workable in spring.
Water TempWater is still cold enough that feeding windows tighten around the warmest part of the day.
WeatherWind changes the whole river. Stable clouds are better than bright sun or hard gusts.
Rating6/10
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