Author: Bruce_Staples

Yellowstone Park 8-22-17

Yesterday park fisheries personnel began treating the Gibbon River to remove all salmonids above Virginia Cascades including Ice, Grebe and Wolf Lakes. Their plan is to eventually introduce fluvial grayling (those now present are adfluvial) and westslope cutts in that section of the drainage including the lakes.   View more details of this action visit the Yellowstone Park Fisheries and Aquatic Science Program web site.

Currently for most of the rivers worth a visit in the park, presenting terrestrial insect patterns brings the best responses from trout.

This time of the season most sources relate that park still water fishing slacks off. This may be true of such as Heart, Lewis, Shoshone, Trout, and Yellowstone Lakes, but it is not the case with Beula Lake. Right now it offers the fastest still water fishing in the park, and likely in the immediate surroundings. To enjoy Beula Lake you must be willing to drive the somewhat rough Ashton-Flagg Road, walk 2.5 miles to the lake, and either wade the shoreline or carry in a flotation device to fish the entire lake.  Cinnamon caddis, speckled dun, and damselfly life cycle and small leech patterns are the best for getting responses from resident Yellowstone cutthroat trout.  Not many regional fly shops tout this serene lake in the Fall River drainage, but we have “the goods” on it, so get in touch if you are considering a visit to this 107 acre lake.

Yellowstone Park 8-19-17

For sure such great but easily approached park waters such as the Gibbon, Lamar and Madison Rivers, Slough and Soda Butte Creeks have as many fly-fishing visitors as resident trout. Fall River Basin features streams where the sames strategies apply (current emphasis on presenting terrestrial insect patterns daytime, and trico spinner patterns in the AM, caddis life cycle patterns in later PM) but much fewer fly-fishing visitors.  But Fall River Basin also features Beula Lake which this time of year offers perhaps the fastest fly-fishing in the park.  It is only a 2.5 mile walk off the Ashton-Flagg Road and can be fished from shore to enjoy a Yellowstone cutthroat trout population with individuals ranging to trophy size. Before usual PM breezes kick in, dry fly action through presenting  cinnamon caddis, speckled dun and damsel fly adult patterns around the shoreline can be excellent. Afterwards small leech, and nymph patterns bring the best action.  The Ashton-Flagg road is rough but with care can be traveled by such as sedans.   Like much of the park Fall River Basin is bear country and PM thundershowers are frequent. Other than these for which standard precautions apply, no big dangers exist. Contact us for more information on fishing not only Beula Lake but other Fall River Basin waters whether Beula Lake or the other quality waters within.

Yellowstone Park 8-12-17

If you enjoy presenting terrestrial insect patterns on meadow streams, this time of year the park offers an unmatched variety of quality waters for doing so. Starting in the southwest corner, all Fall River Basin (Bechler, & Fall Rivers, Boundary & Mountain Ash Creeks) streams have meadow reaches full of ants, beetles, crane flies, and grasshoppers and not many fly-fishing visitors. The same insects prevail in the meadow stretches on Duck Creek and the Gibbon River, and the “Grasshopper Bank” on the Madison River was named for good reason.  Do Firehole River trout a favor and try elsewhere until late September cools waters to their comfort. Now that the big stonefly events have moved through the Black Canyon of the Yellowstone River, terrestrial insect patterns bring the big interest from trout as they do on the Gardner River meadow sections. Not to be outdone, the northeast corner of the park offers almost a many quality meadow streams as Fall River Basin, but in a more crowded manner. Lamar River and Slough and Soda Butte Creek offer roadside convenience as well as upstream isolation.  To the south, Lewis River meadow sections and the Snake River around and above the south entrance offer the same.

Certainly aquatic insect activity attracts trout on all these waters with such as AM spinner falls,  daytime PMD & speckled dun emergences and some afternoon caddis activity. But you can bet on those big fish lurking in undercuts and beneath well-vegetated banks waiting for that unfortunate terrestrial guy drifting by and a resulting take!