Angling The Yellowstone
The Yellowstone River is considered to be one of the greatest trout streams of the world and is officially classed as a blue ribbon stream in Montana from the park to the confluence with the Boulder river east of Livingston and from the mouth of Rosebud creek near Rosebud, Montana to the North Dakota border. The lack of dams along the river provides for excellent trout habitat from high inside Yellowstone Park, downstream through Gardiner, the Paradise Valley, Livingston, and to Big Timber, a stretch of nearly 200 miles (320 km). The Yellowstone varies in width from 74 feet (23 m) to 300 feet (91 m), so fishing is normally done by boat. The most productive stretch of water is through Paradise Valley in Montana, especially near Livingston which produces brown trout, rainbow trout and native cutthroat trout as well as Rocky Mountain whitefish. From Billings downstream to the North Dakota border, anglers seek Burbot, Channel catfish, Paddlefish, Sauger, Smallmouth bass, and Walleye.
| Yellowstone Lake to Yellowstone Falls | |
|---|---|
| The river inside Yellowstone National Park provides accessible flat water fishing and abundant Yellowstone cutthroat trout. The portion of the river through the Hayden Valley is closed all year long, but the rest is accessible and easily wadable. No floating is allowed. Numerous insect hatches occur following the opening of the river on July 15 providing anglers the opportunity to try numerous artificial flies including Pale Morning Duns, Green Drakes, Gray Drakes, Caddis and salmonflies. | |
| Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone and Black Canyon of the Yellowstone | |
| The canyon reaches inside Yellowstone National Park are accessible only by hiking or horseback. The river here is usually quite swift, with sheer canyon walls in spots. Below Knowles Falls, about four miles upstream from Gardiner, anglers will find browns and whitefish in addition to the rainbows and cutthroat trout. | |
| Gardiner to Yankee Jim Canyon | |
| This section of the Yellowstone holds a good population of medium-sized rainbow and cutthroat trout, with a few big browns as well. The first half of this section from Gardiner to the bridge at Corwin Springs is mostly fast water, with some class II and III white water. From Corwin Springs to Yankee Jim Canyon, the river flattens out substantially and gives the angler more time to cast to fish along the banks. | |
| Yankee Jim Canyon | |
| Yankee Jim Canyon is the Yellowstone's best white water, with several major rapids. Steep canyon walls make it a difficult stretch to fish. Because of the potential danger floating the Canyon many commercial fishing guides do not float this stretch, though recreational floaters are common. | |
| Tom Miner Bridge to Emigrant | |
| From the Tom Miner Bridge (or the Carbella access just downstream) down to Point of Rocks, there is some excellent water, lots of fast pocket water with several nice pools. Once the river reaches the Point of Rocks, the gradient decreases substantially and the river turns into slower, longer pools. | |
| Emigrant to Mallard's Rest | |
| Just downstream from Emigrant is Grey Owl, one of the best fishing access points on the river. From here down to Mallard's Rest there is a pleasant mix of big pools and large browns and rainbows. | |
| Mallard's Rest to Carter's Bridge | |
| This section of river known as Paradise Valley provides some of the most spectacular scenery on the Yellowstone, along with some of the best fishing. The scenery is dominated by the Absaroka Mountains to the east and the Gallatin Mountains to the west. Along this stretch numerous spring creeks flow into the river, many of which are blue ribbon trout streams in their own right, such as DePuy Spring Creek. Rainbows dominate this part of the river, but browns can be found here also. | |
| Carter's Bridge to Highway 89 Bridge | |
| Because the Yellowstone flows right through Livingston between these points, this is known as the "town stretch". Given the presence of the upstream spring creeks for spawning, this reach of fast water is ideal habitat for rainbows which make up most of the population here. The use of a drift boat is the best way to access this stretch, though there are some good access points for walking and wading as well. | |
| Highway 89 Bridge to Big Timber | |
| This section starts about five miles to the east of Livingston, just off Interstate 90, where Highway 89 turns north, toward White Sulphur Springs. This lower river, from here on down through Big Timber is similar to the water around Livingston, but the riffles and pools are farther apart so there is more unproductive water. The fish populations are not as high as in the upper river and water through town, but there are some very large rainbows and browns to be caught in this stretch. In late summer, wind gusting across hayfields blows a lot of grasshoppers in the river which creates explosive reactions from big fish. |
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Famous quotes containing the word angling:
“Fly fishing may be a very pleasant amusement; but angling or float fishing I can only compare to a stick and a string, with a worm at one end and a fool at the other.”
—Samuel Johnson (1709–1784)