SF&G Fishing Reports

July 19, 2010

Stillwater River

The Stillwater is very close to reaching that point I the year when it is truly on fire. Flows below the confluence need to drop a smidge more to get into that ideal range. The mid upper section from Cliff to Johnson’s should hold out a while longer as the flows are dropping slowly and establishing more definition to the river. Golden Stones and occasional caddis are coming off most days. Anglers I have fished with have had success fishing the big dry such as a Jack Cabes or Yellow Stimie along with a red, copper or green Copper John as a dropper. Nymphing the deeper runs, edges and pools has been successful as well. Stone flies, BH Prince, a rubber legged hares ear, or an olive bugger dead drifted seem to do the trick. On the overcast days with thunderstorms, look for some bug activity to fish to. If the fish are actively feeding on the surface, a smaller dry like a PMD or parachute adams might be a good choice. Always consider an emerger dropper of some sort too. They’re not quite on the hopper yet, but that time is close.

Yellowstone River

The Stone still needs to drop 1000cfs or so to start to get into that ideal range However, anglers are taking fish. Streamers have been productive, particularly early in the day up until around lunch time. Hopper activity is starting to pickup. Any of the foam body club sandwich type patterns are a good choice. They are extremely durable and visible. If it’s the first time on a section for the year, use caution as thing s have changed in some spots during runoff. What was once the main channel is now a side channel, etc.