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Gardner River

1. Introduction

2. Description and Access

3. Angling

    Hatch and Pattern Chart

    Top Flies

Introduction

        The Gardner is the closest river to the town which took its name (the river's name is spelled right, well-meaning cartographers added the "i" in the name of the town).  It is fishable over its entire length, from the headwater meadows stuffed with brook trout to the endless pocket water in the canyon between Osprey Falls to Gardiner, where it meets the Yellowstone.  It runs along the road for much of its distance, but due to its character (steep and rugged) it is seldom crowded.  The Gardner has something for everyone, from brookies and rainbows at high summer to huge browns in late autumn.

        Like the Lamar drainage and the Yellowstone in its canyons, we consider the Gardner our home water.  Some of the information I have seen elsewhere for this river is just flat out wrong, especially concerning fall fishing, big fish season.  For the best information on fishing this river, rely on us.  In addition, many of our custom fly patterns were created and are tied by Matt Minch of Gardiner, who fishes the Gardner almost to the exclusion of other waters.  He puts in 100 days on the Gardner every season, and though his fly patterns work well elsewhere, most were designed specifically for the Gardner.  Our shop is the only place you can get them.  If you'd like targeting the fall runner browns up from the Yellowstone, our guides are your best resource, since many of the prime holding areas are less than ten minutes from our door, making it possible for our guides to fish them before and after work. 

        One final note about the Gardner that I wish to put here rather than lower down, so as to be sure I have my readers' attention: if you see an ancient, faded red Subaru coupe at any of the access points, go fish elsewhere.  This is Matt Minch's car, and he is a fish vacuum.  Ten fish an hour is slightly below average for Matt, and on some days just prior to the Salmonfly and Golden Stone emergences he catches more like fifty an hour by fishing his stonefly nymph patterns in tandem.  These are real numbers, not hyperbole.  You will not catch fish if Matt has already gone through the stretch you wish to fish.  He typically fishes in mid-afternoon.

Description and Access

        The Gardner is best divided into three sections of which two are closely related.  The upper river consists of meadows reminiscent of Slough Creek or Soda Butte, but stuffed with brook trout instead of cutts.  Originally fishless, fisheries managers made a grave error by stocking Eastern brook trout instead of Slough Creek cutts early in the 20th century, but such is life.  Below the first point where it crosses the road, near the Sheepeater Picnic Area, the Gardner dives into a canyon and begins to pick up speed.  It stays fast, with long runs of pocket water interspersed here and there with pools and runs, all the way to the Yellowstone.  The upper river ends at Osprey Falls, which serves as a barrier to fish populations and, to a large degree, to insect types.  It is below Osprey where the riffles all but end, save for two brief stretches, and though there remain a few small pools, the stream largely flows through pocket water in a canyon filled with boulders the size of basketballs.  The same water character continues below Boiling River, but this hot spring warms the water considerably, effectively increasing the fishable season on either side while sometimes reducing fishing quality in late summer. 

        Access is varied.  The headwaters are accessible by hiking a fairly short distance over several trails or by bushwhacking down into the top of Sheepeater Canyon.  The second section can be accessed by hiking to Osprey Falls, dropping off the so-called "High Bridge" between Mammoth and Tower, or on the Lava Creek Trail.  The third section of the river is right beside the Mammoth-Gardiner road for most of its distance, while the top can easily be reached by taking the Boiling River Trail and the bottom can be reached by taking the trail to the river's mouth, where whitewater companies put in their rafts to float the Yellowstone.  The Park boundary runs right through the Gardner's mouth, meaning the river is entirely within the Park.

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Angling

        The Gardner can be divided into two or perhaps two and a half sections for angling purposes.  The third section noted above fishes identically to the second save that the season starts a bit earlier due to warmer water and things may slow in late summer due to high water temperatures.  It is wise to carry a stream thermometer here.  If temps are over 68 degrees, you should go elsewhere.

        The upper river is populated by small brook and rainbow trout that aren't at all choosy about what they eat, making it an ideal choice for a place to take children or other beginners.  An ultralight rod and dry flies like the Trude are all you need here, though you may add a small beadhead Prince if you wish.  The meadows upstream of the road, in Gardner's Hole, are also extraordinarily lovely and remote, which make the short hike a good one for anyone who likes to fish in solitude in a beautiful place.  Once in a blue moon someone will get a fourteen-inch brookie in this area, but more commonly the best fish of the day will be a ten-incher, with most of the rest between six and eight inches.  The season gets started here in late June or early July, after runoff recedes, and ends in early September, when almost all the brook trout head far up tiny tributaries to spawn.

        The second and third sections of river are quite different.  While the average fish size remains fairly small, at probably eight to twelve inches, there are always some larger rainbows, cutts, and whitefish present.  Many of the latter exceed two pounds and can really cause some excitement in fast water.  Through most of the season, you can expect some catches of sixteen to eighteen inches here, with fourteen inches about average for the day's best fish.  The pocket water here calls for short, precise casts and good short-distance line control, but otherwise this is good water for novices who are capable of casting 15-20 feet accurately.  Early in the season stonefly and attractor nymphs are the best and really only bet, as the river is still very, very high even after it clears sufficiently.  More importantly, the Gardner below Osprey Falls sees the best Salmonfly and Golden Stone emergence of any river in the Park except arguably the Yellowstone, so the fish are really keying on the larvae of these insects as they move towards the bank.  The last week of June and first ten days of July mean adult stoneflies, and accomplished anglers can literally catch fish until their arms get tired.  An important tactic here is to fish a fur and feather Salmonfly like the Parks' Salmonfly slightly wet, since the roughness of the water's surface means Salmonflies which hit the water, either on accident or to lay eggs, are never getting up again.  Instead they get sucked under from half an inch to six inches, making them easy prey.

        Later in the summer, caddis and attractors are the tickets on top, shading gradually into attractors and terrestrials, especially moderate-sized hoppers and hopper/terrestrials like Turck's Tarantulas.  All should be paired with small- to medium-sized attractor nymphs.  Of prime importance on the Gardner are Matt's Bead, Hare, and Copper nymphs.  The originator of this pattern fishes the Gardner approximately 100 days a season.  Need I say more?

        Late in the season, brown and some rainbow trout move into the Gardner from the Yellowstone.  Most of these runners range from sixteen to twenty inches, but they get much larger.  The river record is close to thirty inches, and 24 to 26-inch fish are caught every year.  These are powerful fish, and even when hooked in a pool they offer a nip and tuck fight, requiring a six- or seven-weight rod and 3X tippets.  In fast water you will lose as many as you land, because if a fish gets downstream of you, it's gone.  Important flies for these runners run from moderate-sized and nondescript nymphs like the aforementioned Bead, Hare, and Copper up through standard stonefly nymphs.  As spawning season approaches in late October, larger and stranger irritators like Matt's Creep, a flashy rubberleg nymph, and streamers begin to work as well as the smaller irritators.  Holding water for runner browns changes from year to year, so your best option on getting a handle on where to look for these sizable trout is to hire a guide from our shop for at least a half day.  If I remember correctly, none of the clients who fished the Gardner with us last fall (fall of 2007) failed to catch at least one runner, and most tied into several.

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