Yellowstone is fishing great!

Dave got lucky and beat Margaret on the ‘Stone! Dry fly fishing was excellent.

The hopper bite is on! Fish are looking for the big dry. The water temperatures have come way down due to the cool weather, so the fish are ready to eat.

Stillwater fishing great, Yellowstone improving!

First nice Yellowstone brown of the season ate a rubber leg stone dry.

Ruth and Andy hit a double! Beginner’s luck or raw talent?

Ruth killed it on her first fly fishing trip!

Dry fly fishing with big rubber leg stone fly patters has worked well this last week. Some action on PMD’s in the morning. The Yellowstone cleared up for a couple of days. Fish were eating the big dry there, too. I don’t trust the clarity of the ‘Stone yet. It got dirty again the day after we fished it. Should be clear again by now and will probably stabilize this week.

Great fishing on the Stillwater!

Margaret’s Brown beats her dad’s rainbow, no contest!

Dave caught a nice Rainbow on the Stilly.

The Stilly is dropping fast. Perfect flows for boat fishing below the Rosebud convergence, good flow for wading above it. Fish are eating any beadhead dropped off a dry. Madam X, Stimulators, Jack Cabes, etc. are working on top. Still some PMD’s around and fish are eating a Yellow Humpy or parachute in the quieter water.

Stillwater River Turning On

The Stilly is dropping and very clear above the Rosebud convergence. Fish are starting to eat the big bug on top. Golden Stone patterns produced well in the afternoon today. Any beadhead I tried as a dropper got eaten. Slow in the morning, good fishing in the afternoon. Goodbye bobbers, it’s stonefly time. Good numbers of PMD’s around, but still too high and fast to effectively fish them. Try a yellow stimulator with a beadhead zug bug dropper.

Be warned that wade fishing is very tough and boat fishing is very fast. Not a good idea for novice boaters to attempt yet.

Stillwater River turning on!

Stillwater River is fishing! Yellowstone not far off.

The upper Stilly is high and clear. Wade fishing will be difficult, if not impossible. Boat fishing is good. The water is high and very fast, as it always is this time of year. Look for it to drop daily. Nymphing with golden stone patterns is working well and streamer fishing is fair. The ‘Stone is also dropping, but dirty due to rain in the Shields River drainage. It should clear in the next few days. Time to get off your a– and go fishing!