30 dregrees at the moment, calm and overcast - absolutely primo conditions for an afternoon on the river. It's been an unusual one to say the least - very little snow in the Bozeman area (though the Yellowstone and Madison snowpacks are looking pretty good) and fairly warm temps. As a result, fishing has been excellent. The Madison, both upper and lower have been good when the wind has been down. I've had some wind myself which simply means nymphing instead of throwing dries though I know there's been some calm days and good midge fishing. Reports coming from the Reynolds Pass area on the upper Madison have been really good.
Really the story is much the same everywhere else - when the wind is down, fishing has been terrific. The Bighorn is experiencing great dry fly fishing with baetis and midges and NO people and I've heard from the Trout Shop in Craig that the streamer fishing below the dam is red hot. I'm sure the nymphing is good up there too - it usually is.
And while I haven't hit the Yellowstone in recent weeks due to the wind which blows down there most days during the winter, I'm sure the midge fishing would be good if you hit the right day. And there's the spring creeks - always a great option this time of year.
If there was ever a winter to fish, this is it. Often times our options are limited due to ice and other obstacles routine with a hard winter. This year however, those obstacles don't exist - at least not so far. Like most folks who live here - I feel that we're still gonna get it - just hope it's not in May and June.
I plan to be on water later this week, my son has the itch and he won't let it drop until we make the trip - most likely to the Madison or Gallatin which suit a 5 yr olds wading ability and patience level well.
Until then, I'll keep restocking the boxes and working on my winter order for Blue Ribbon Flies up in West Yellowstone. Still have Green Drake Emergers, Flav Sparkle Duns, Improved Zelon Midges and a host of others on the list. I cheated today and tied a bunch of PMD cripples, Callibaetis and March Brown Comparaduns for my box.
I'll be checking back in soon.
