Fall Fishing in the Yellowstone Area

Fall Fishing in Yellowstone Country

Walter Wiese, Head Guide

Introduction

While spring has its charms, fall is the best time to come to Yellowstone if you want uncrowded rivers and excellent fishing. While temperatures can be frigid and good wading jackets are a requirement, late September and October bring excellent hatches to many Yellowstone Park rivers and are the only months when the Lamar drainage, Gardner River, Yellowstone River, and Madison drainage all offer dry fly fishing. Under the surface, the streamer fishing is superb on most rivers as trout prepare for the hard winter ahead, while in some rivers the best big fish fishing of the year occurs as fall-run brown trout prepare for their spawn in late October and November. If you want to chase trout averaging 16-20 inches on average, with some much larger fish possible, fall is the time to come. Fishing for these brutes continues right up to the close of the Yellowstone National Park season on the first Sunday in November, and on the Yellowstone outside the Park boundary for perhaps another two weeks.

The Conditions: Weather

Fall is not a time for fair weather fishermen. Air temperatures might range from the twenties to the seventies in autumn, with daytime temperatures averaging from 65 in September in Gardiner down to 40 on the Firehole right at the close of the Park season. Rain and snow are equally common, with the first winter storm usually occurring right around the equinox. This first storm brings cold rain and perhaps a little snow to Gardiner, with a few slushy inches possible at high elevations. It usually melts in a few days. According to long-time Gardiner resident Matt Minch, snow that falls in October will melt in a few days, but snow in November stays until the spring. While you might encounter beautiful sunny days when a tee-shirt and jeans are all that are necessary for comfort, beautiful sunny days become progressively less common as autumn deepens. High-quality breathable waders and jackets, fleece, and layers need to be in your luggage, even if it turns out you don't need to wear them.

The Conditions: The Rivers and the Fishing

River conditions vary wildly through the fall, and since temperatures often drop and rebound suddenly (it is not uncommon for a snowy week to be followed by a week in the 70s), it is difficult to describe river conditions in a general sense. Each river system reacts differently, so here's a rundown of how the season affects the fishing on all important waterways in our area:

Yellowstone River Downstream of Yellowstone Park: The Yellowstone downstream of the Park typically fishes well all the way until mid-November. The only exceptions are extraordinarily cold days, when the temperature may not break freezing, and warm days following rain/snow storms, when the river may be muddy. Early in the fall, from mid-September until early October, small attractor dry flies and various terrestrials can continue to work, but the best draws are Blue-winged Olive hatches. Early in the fall the best hatches occur on cloudy, cool days, while by early October days with average temperatures have the best hatches. The Olive hatches can continue until mid-November, but the best hatches gradually shift to warm, sunny days. Other than the BWO hatches, the prime draw on the Yellowstone outside the Park is the streamer fishing, particularly for big browns. Every year fish close to ten pounds are taken in the fall, though 16-20 inches with a few to 22-24 is far more likely. Typically, we have clients bring two rods on our fall float trips, one suitable for fishing small dries and another for chucking large streamers.

Yellowstone River inside Yellowstone Park: In September and the first week of October, BWO are the prime draw in the Black and Grand Canyons of the Yellowstone. The roaring torrent of June, where stoneflies would only draw strikes if placed a few inches off the bank, is now replaced by a river with a great deal of "classic" trout stream structure: riffles, runs, and pools. Early on, snowfalls typically trigger some of the best BWO fishing in the area, with terrestrial/dropper combinations still producing on bright days. After the Blue-winged Olives begin to peter out, our focus turns to streamers. The trout in the Yellowstone inside the Park are primarily cutthroats, which in the Yellowstone seldom crack 18 inches, but there are huge numbers of them and they are aggressive. Typically, medium-sized Woolly Buggers are your best bets, and we often fish two at a time to allow the possibility of a "double," an exciting event anytime but even better when two fish slam streamers at once. The fishing here holds up well into mid-October, becoming streaky thereafter. Another key benefit of this stretch is its utter lack of crowds. After the fall equinox, I seldom see anyone else on this water.

Lamar River, Soda Butte Creek, and Slough Creek: Spooky trout and low water are the order of the day on these streams in the fall. On the other hand, virtually all fishing on these streams from mid-fall onward is sight-fishing. Depending on time of day and weather conditions this may entail sight-nymphing with small Pheasant Tails or even midges, targeting spooky risers with downstream casts, or targeting aggressive risers eating fall Green Drakes. For anglers looking for technical dry fly angling, the Lamar drainage from 9/15 until around 10/10 is the best easily-accessible option in the Park, exceeded in quality only by the remote Bechler area. Snowstorms may make these streams poor bets since they are so close to the mountains, with Soda Butte being the first to turn off. A slow drizzle and temperatures in the 40s means Blue-winged Olives in droves, however, and after mid-September you can usually have a lot of river to yourself.

Gibbon, Firehole, and Madison Rivers: Fall hatches return with a bang on the Firehole and Madison around the autumnal equinox. Depending on weather conditions you may see Pale Morning Duns, Blue-Winged Olives, or two species of caddis, of which Nectopsyche is the most important. The fish are eager after a hot summer spent sweltering in the weed beds, and you can frequently find solitude and match the hatch fishing, a combination that isn't possible in June, the other prime period on these rivers. A bigger draw is the fall run of brown trout and winter-spawning rainbows out of Hebgen Lake. Pre-spawn fish are found throughout the Madison, the lower Gibbon up to Gibbon Falls, and in the Firehole Canyon. Some of these fish can get quite large, with an occasional 30-incher taken. Most run from 16-20 inches, and they are fat and strong. Streamers, suggestive nymphs, and even steelhead flies all work well for these aggressive migratory trout. While you won't be alone when targeting them in the Firehole/Gibbon/Madison drainage, you'll seldom see large crowds, either.

Gardner River: Fall is when the Gardner River becomes a truly world-class fishery. While the Salmonfly hatch and the period leading up to it can produce large numbers of fish and the summer dry fly fishing is fun, nothing tops the fall brown trout run. The trout seldom get quite as large as the top end of the Hebgen Lake run and there are fewer fish overall, but their average size is roughly the same and there are far fewer people fishing the Gardner. By mid-October, you can often fish all day and only run into a few other anglers, and sometimes none at all. This is never possible on the Firehole, Gibbon, or Madison. While we do not guide over and do not recommend fishing for actively spawning trout anywhere, the prespawn fish in the Gardner like to hold in certain easy-to-miss pools and foamy pockets, and the best pools change from year to year. In general, the better fishing before the fifteenth of October is above Boiling River, while afterwards runners can be found from just below the "Chinese Gardens" on up. The best way to maximize your chances of tying into these trout is to link up with a Parks' Fly Shop guide, if only to give you ideas on where to go on your own. Two of our guides (myself and Brett Matula) live for the fall brown trout run. Last year my most successful client landed eleven runners on a full-day trip and lost several others, and he freely admitted he was inexperienced. An experienced angler might have got twenty, all but one over sixteen inches. For a break from the runners, or if you dearly love dry flies, the Gardner has excellent Blue-winged Olive hatches all the way to the end of the season, primarily above Boiling River until early October and primarily below afterwards.

Other Waters:

The Lewis River Channel and the Lewis River above Lewis Falls sees good runs of fall browns and since the fish are lake-run they can approach ten pounds on occasion. Again, most are 16-20 inches on average, however. Yellowstone Lake offers the chance to catch truly enormous trout while helping the native cutthroat. Lake trout spawn in fairly shallow water in late September and early October, and can be caught with sinking lines and large streamers in the West Thumb area. To see some utterly gorgeous brook trout, fish the spawning runs into the inlet of Joffe Lake and the west shore of Fawn Lake. Please release any of these beautiful fish you catch that are over twelve inches in length, as they are vital for spawning purposes.

Summary

While it may lack the finesse and the comfortable weather of summer, fall is an excellent time to fish the Yellowstone Park area. Big fish are available and the crowds are gone.

Contact Information
Phone:	(406) 848-7314
Address:	PO Box 196 202 Second Street South (US-89) Gardiner, MT 59030
E-Mail	Richard Parks, Owner Walter Wiese, Head Guide