Yellowstone Park 6-10-14

The Firehole River is living up to its reputation as an early season destination with fish responding to PMDs, BWOS, and caddis.  Some giant stoneflies are emerging in the lower Firehole River canyon with wind blown individuals flying above and below. If you visit the Madison Junction area waters in the next few days, consider having some adult stonefly patterns on board. Duck Creek is in prime fishing shape. Runoff is out of it, but leech and woolly bugger patterns work best because post spawning ‘bows and ever hungry brookies look for this source of easy protein so recently abundant.  Ice is off Lewis, Shoshone, and Yellowstone Lakes.

A Park policy which is causing some inconvenience is the necessary and suitable inspection of all boats for invasive species.  Fishing regulations state that float tubes are excluded from this inspection, but it might be best to ask at any entrance or facility what the Park considers to be a float tube. These inspections are performed only at Grant Village and Bridge Bay Marina, and therein lies the inconvenience for boaters coming in the west, north, and northeast entrances.  So for the remainder of this year, at least, put some extra time on the front of your boating-fishing trip into the Park and make sure that the Park agrees with you concept of what a float tube is.