Keep Fishing!

The Yellowstone River continues to fish well. Yes, there have been tougher days, but most of our guided clients are coming home with smiles on their faces. If you’re headed out, you might want to try and get an early start, as the best action has been in the mornings, before the bright sun is directly overhead. Evenings have been good, as well. And a bit of cloud cover doesn’t hurt either.

It’s been a little bit of everything out there. Chubby Chernobyls are still bringing fish to the surface, especially in smaller sizes (10s or 12s). No one color has been the champion, so try switching it up until you find one that the trout like. We haven’t been seeing a ton of grasshoppers on the banks yet, but have had a couple of reports of decent hopper fishing, with the fish holding tight to the banks. The Morrish Hopper is a great fly, of course, and well worth a try. But you might also try the More-or-Less Hopper, Stalcup’s Hopper, Kingfisher’s Red-Legged Hopper, or one of the myriad of other great hopper patterns that we have in stock here at Sweetwater Fly Shop. And don’t forget the other, smaller terrestrials. Ants and beetles are great flies to drop off of your Chubby or hopper. Smaller attractor dries will also produce this time of year. Why not throw a Yeager’s 409, Hippy Stomper, or Neversink Trude?

Nymphs are also catching fish, either as a dropper off of a dry, or under an indicator. You will almost certainly catch some whitefish, maybe a lot, but the trout will eat them too. The Rubberlegs continues to produce; light tan has been a hot color. Or try blue or purple, maybe a Holo Prince, Psycho Prince, or soft-hackle Copper John. And don’t give up on the old favorites – we just got a good report of trout eating the Gold-Ribbed Hare’s Ear.

Without any major hatches, it’s a mix-and-match time of year. The only real mistake you can make is staying home.