A GORP Content Partner
Adapted from
Fishing Montana
by Michael S. Sample
Catching Wild Cutthroats
Fishing the Yellowstone
In Yellowstone National Park
Fishing the Park Every year, anglers from around the country and abroad converge on the banks of the Yellowstone River to pay homage to this revered river. The Yellowstone commands respect and inspires devotion, with a veritable "Who's Who" of the Fishing Establishment among its list of admirers. Ray Hurley, a fishing guide who moved to Livingston, Montana, in order to live only a cast away from the river, calls the Yellowstone "the Yankee Stadium of trout fishing."
What makes the Yellowstone so special? For starters, it drains an extraordinary watershed, including some of America's wildest scenery. The river rises just south of incomparable Yellowstone National Park in the Shoshone National Forest of Wyoming. From its beginnings until the river leaves the park at Gardiner, the Yellowstone has a pristine background rivaled by few rivers. Even after it forges its way past Gardiner, the Yellowstone draws additional water from the congressionally-mandated Absaroka-Beartooth Wilderness. Most trout waters can only wish for such impeccable sources.
Yellowstone Lake
The river actually begins in wilderness to the south of the park and flows down to Yellowstone Lake through the Thoroughfare, a wild section of the park far removed from civilization. When it flows into the Southeast Arm of the lake, it is already a river of substantial size. People who value wilderness experiences trek to the Thoroughfare to enjoy these trout-laden waters in the solitude they treasure.
Yellowstone Lake is the most popular fishery in the park, and with good reason. Whether fishing from the shore or by boat, anglers enjoy amazingly consistent results.
The pure native cutthroat fishery in the lake has had its ups and downs over the years. In 1975, the park service established a regulation which allows anglers to keep trout only up to a maximum of 13 inches. Since the advent of this rules, the fishery has responded magnificently. The average cutthroat now measures 14.6 inches and, for the first time in many years, a few over 20 inches.
The latest threat to the native cutthroat population is an introduced strain of lake trout, which competes heavily for available food. While park biologists are studying the problem, they have enlisted anglers' help by asking folks to keep any lake trout they catch. The fish make good eating, and any reductions in their numbers is good for the cutthroat.
A huge body of water with a surface encompassing 88,000 acres surrounded by over a hundred miles of sandy beaches, rocky breaks, and forested shorelines, Yellowstone Lake has a general weather pattern anglers should heed. The early morning hours usually find the lake's surface wonderfully smooth, but by late morning, the breezes have started up at least a light chop. Afternoons often see violent thunderstorms and sudden high winds with large waves that can swamp small craft. Even during the hottest days of summer, these bone-chilling waters pose the immediate threat of hypothermia -- survival time is short. Anglers should keep constant watch on the weather and stay within easy reach of shore. And be sure to check boating regulations.
Virtually the whole lake offers excellent fishing. The south and southeast arms have reputations for even better angling, but they are miles from the nearest road and have some restrictions on boat motors. The whole north shore parallels park roads, while hiking trails reach remote sections on the east and south. Public boat launches and marinas at West Thumb and Bridge Bay offer convenient services.
As for what lure or fly to use, Richard Parks, who operates Parks Fly Shop in Gardiner, says that "almost anything catches fish -- the standard brands and patterns all work." Flies work well early in the season when cast to rising fish. Spoons and spinners brings results almost any time. Parks notes that the most popular lure is Jake's Spin-a-Lure, a heavy metal lure about the size of a domino with red spots on its side. Small to medium sizes work best. Lures with more than one cluster of hooks are illegal.
The Yellowstone River The river becomes much more available to anglers as it gently flows out of Yellowstone Lake through several miles of pines and meadows, past the Sulphur Cauldron, and across the tranquil, wildlife-rich Hayden Valley before cascading violently into the picturesque Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone.
The Hayden Valley portion is closed to all fishing, but anglers can ply the waters at either end provided they release any fish they catch. The upper end, between Fishing Bridge and the Sulphur Cauldron, draws the most anglers and has been called the most intensively fished reach of wild trout population in the United States.
The fishing begins spectacularly on opening day (July 1) when the resident river cutthroat and some of their lake cousins are just concluding their spawning. Stacked along the banks, behind logs and rocks and across the gravel bars, the thousands of fish are readily visible to even casual observers. Although not in the best condition after their recent strenuous activity, these beautifully colored fish readily take flies and lures in the first days after opening. Landing rates are sometimes fantastic; some anglers consider this cutthroat fishing at its finest.
As the weeks pass, the fishing becomes progressively more difficult. Parks suggests that the lake's cutthroat have moved back to the lake, leaving the resident river fish more room and less urgency about feeding. He also thinks the fish get smarter after being caught several times. "There's a learning curve situation here," Parks says. "They are in much better shape and much more wary by the end of the summer." Parks caught one fish which had plainly been caught seven times before. This is recycling at its finest.
Except briefly at LeHardy Rapids, the river is one smooth glide from the lake outlet to the bridge just above the Upper Falls. Bank-fishing is very good along this stretch; wading is even better. Floating is prohibited.
Spinners and spoons and such do catch fish here, but most anglers tie on flies, even if they have only a spinning rod and reel. With a bobber and a little lead, spin anglers who have never used a fly before often surprise themselves by catching plenty of fish.
This section of the river has an inconsequential salmon fly hatch about July 15, mostly in the LeHardy Rapids. Plentiful mayflies and some caddis and baetis round out the hatches. Experienced angler Mike Brady watches especially for a big grey mayfly, the grey drake. He also notes that some fine hatches of small mayflies come off the water during and after stormy weather. And for attractor flies, Brady singles out the house and lot fly, sometimes known as the hair wing variant, as a must to keep on hand.
From the Lower Falls down through the Grand Canyon, past Tower Junction, through the Black Canyon, and on to Gardiner, the river continues to offer outstanding fishing. Except at a bridge near Tower Junction, anglers must be willing to hike several miles down to river, then climb steep trails back out. Parks points out that this is not appropriate for cardiac patients.
Still, there are several attractions to the fishing here. Because the river is more remote and anglers must expend considerable effort just to reach it, the crowds do not fish here. Incredible as it may seem to some, an angler could walk an hour to the river, fish all day in one of the finest trout fisheries in the country, and hike out without seeing a single angler.
This section of the river has some of the best fast-water fishing in the park. For example, anglers can fish Seven Mile Hole ("Seven miles down and a hundred back up," in the words of Maury Leach, author of The Yellowstone Angler), or the bottom three miles of the canyon. The remainder of the Grand Canyon is off limits due both to the dangers of climbing in the canyon and bear closures.
Then, too, this river section has the attraction of a late and often very good salmon fly hatch. In Parks's experience, fishing salmon fly patterns produces excellent results in July and sometimes early August, even after the hatch is over. Thereafter, the fishing "holds up very well through the season," the best bets for success being caddis imitations, attractors, grasshoppers, and little streamers.
From Gardiner to Knowles Falls, the river has a more varied population of game fish. In addition to the predominant cutthroat, anglers can also find a few brookies, good numbers of browns and rainbow, and some rainbow/cutthroat hybrids with interesting color variations. Since the trout are not fished much, they tend to be less selective and sophisticated than most, but Parks observes that, once on the hook, they are scrappy fighters.
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