April 1 Spring Report

Yellowstone Flows:

Livingston- 1,590 CFS, Temps are around 44 Degrees.

Corwin Springs- 1,080 CFS, Temps around 42 Degrees.

Drift boats are like grizzly bears. It doesn’t take many days above 50 degrees before you start seeing a couple driving down the valley, heading to the river. They are slowly coming out of hibernation, emerging from the garage dusty and ready to fish. The long winter thaw is over and everyone seems eager to get out and fish..

Although temps on the river are still chilly, any day that sun is out warming things up, you can expect to find active trout. Blue wings and midges are hatching- so if you are nymphing the river, a rubber leg to a pheasant tail spanker #16, or a midge behind is a great place to start. We have lots of good bugs for the blue wings and midges at the shop! Hatches will still be best on cloudier days *. We should also be seeing some march browns soon and Caddis once the river warms up above 52 degrees.

It is also worth noting that there is definitely a good streamer window this time of year. Those big browns are hungry after a long cold winter. This time of year is one of our favorites to fish big streamers from the boat. An assortment of black, olive, yellows, or white streamers should get the job done.

SPRING CREEKS:

We have been spending a lot of time on the creeks recently, getting the last use of our winter pass. Rainbows are up in there spawning for sure. Please respect the spawning areas marked by red cones (by Eva’s hut and the fly shop). Having said that, fish are very active, and eating an assortment of nymphs. Small blue wings imitations and midges again is the name of the game right now. Whatever you do don’t fish a wire worm…

Look for the best hatches on cloudy days for the blue wings, and this time of year they can get pretty intense. One of our favorite spots to look for a hatch is below the big riffle by Buzz’s fly shop.

DAILY LAKE:

Daily is one people don’t talk about much. But early Spring can be some of the best fishing of the year here. The rainbows are super active and cruising the shoreline in an easy casting distance in most places. Fishing a black leech under a bobber about 4.5 feet has been very effective. Watch the wind here because it gets bad. Great fishing on calmer days.

Please stop by the shop before your next day of fishing!