Freestone Fly Fishing Outfitters Fishing Report 06.30.13

YELLOWSTONE RIVER:  Wow, there is no place in the world that I would rather fish right now than the Yellowstone River.  Day long action, bugs of every shape, type and size are hatching, and the fish are chowing.  Aside from some VERY dirty water below the Shields River today, the river was in great shape.  Floated through town, and really got em.  Mayfly stuff in the AM, Sallies mid-day, and caddis in the afternoon.  This the best fishing in Montana- hands down.
Current Flow: 6,790 cfs at Livingston
MISSOURI RIVER:  The Mo is still fishing well, although the dreaded grass is beginning to show, and that is always a hassle. PMD's, good Little Sally action, caddis, and some nocturnal stones throughout.  The Missouri is always a good option...
Current Flow: 3,230 cfs below Holter Dam
GALLATIN RIVER:  The Gallatin River has cleared and fished quite well this week.  I had one of my best big fish days this year in here, and everything was just great, and then it rained yesterday.  Really rained, and the river got a bit of color again.  We will be back in here very soon, and the good fishing will come right back.  Lots of bugs- PMD's, caddis, and some stone fly action.  You can fish however you like right now and catch fish- it is that good.
Current Flow: 1,590 cfs at Gallatin Gateway
JEFFERSON RIVER:  The Jefferson River fished quite well this week, but the dreaded grass is floating here.  The morning bite has been really strong, and the action just sort of peters out around 2.  Until it cools a bit, and that grass settles out, I would go elsewhere.  It hurts me to say this..
Current Flow: 1,600 cfs at Twin Bridges
MADISON RIVER:  Salmon flies are still going strong on the upper portion of the Upper Madison, lots of caddis, some PMD's, and Sallies here too.  The river is a little light on water, but is still fishing well.  The Lower Madison is full of tube-folk, and is running quite low.  A dawn patrol or evening gig is in order right now if you would actually like to enjoy your fishing experience.  I did hear of a 25" brown that was caught on a dry, but I have been living on the Yellowstone right now.
Current Flow: 984 cfs at Cameron and 1,260 below Ennis Dam

Freestone Fishing Report: 06.24.13

Wow, I love this time of year.  Everything is clearing, dropping, and really giving up some great trout.  I have been all over this last week, and not one day was less than stellar.  From the Big Hole to Big Timber, the trout are on the feed.  We are looking at a great lead in to July and beyond.  Bozeman is the PERFECT PLACE to be a fly fisherman.

YELLOWSTONE RIVER:  A little low for this time of year, but my oh my, is it fishing well.  Had a 17 mile float two days ago, and never saw another boat.  Had a single angler, and about 50, yep 50 came to the net.  Streamers in the morning, and then the usual bobber rig the rest of the day.  Try zonkers, sculpins, and buggers with some caddis pupa behind. 
Current Flow: 6820 cfs at Livingston
JEFFERSON RIVER:  Surprisingly, the Jeff has a good bit of water in it, and has been fishing very well.  The usual solitude and big fish aplenty over here, sorry if I don't rattle off any fly suggestions, but I would like to keep it to myself.  If you want to know what to use, you must be in my boat.  Sorry...
Current Flow: 2590 cfs at Twin Bridges
MADISON RIVER:  The Madison is fishing very well.  Lots of great reports of Salmon and Golden Stones, and good water conditions.  The streamer/bead head combo is deadly right now, and if you are up for some dawn patrol fishing, great mornings with big dries.  The Lower is fishing well with PMD's, caddis, and sallies.
Current Flow: 953 cfs at Cameron, 1250 cfs below Ennis Dam
GALLATIN RIVER:  The Gallatin is really coming around right now, and fishing should improve daily.  We keep waiting for the big Stones here, and it should be any day now.  Once the Gallatin greens, it will be nice and consistent as always.
Current Flow: 1460 cfs at Gallatin Gateway

MISSOURI RIVER:  The Missouri is still shockingly low, but fishing very well.  The fish are eating PMD's and caddis on the surface, and the nymphing has been incredible.  There is not one bad float up here right now, the entire river is fishing well.
Current Flow: 3160 below Holter Dam

Freestone Fishing Report 06.15.13

Lots of great info to report today.  After  three great days of fishing, hitting some of the best available water, I am writing with much enthusiasm.  Private waters fished great this week- Armstrong Spring Creek, was fantastic with some unexpected dry fly fishing, with ants of all things.  Yesterday was the Jefferson, and we caught the elusive brown drake hatch head on.  Rising fish for most of the day, and a couple of big ones made the day absolutely perfect.  We ducked the wind, and had great dry fly fishing in JUNE.  Today was spent on private water again, and the River Why produced several great brown trout, and not a soul around...

YELLOWSTONE RIVER:  Things are still pretty iffy here, but looking good for the near future.  The river has been steadily falling, and should be perfectly green in a couple of days if things stay the same.  A little tough to row, so be careful if you go.  This river is about to get REALLY GOOD.  Current flow: 9320 cfs in town.

JEFFERSON RIVER:  The Jeff is just about perfect for fishing right now.  We had great success on dries, streamers, and nymphs this week, totally dependent on which float and weather of the day.  The usual June fare worked well: crayfish, worms, various mayfly dries, and little rainbow trout patterns.  Love the Jeff this time of year.
Current flow: 2860 cfs

MADISON RIVER:  Both sections of the Madison (Upper and Lower) are fishing well.  The Lower has PMD's, Sally's, and caddis- some reports of Salmon Flies as well (if you are into that sort of thing).  Stonefly nymphs, dead-drifted sculpins, and caddis pupa have been taking some nice fish on the Upper.  Either choice should be great right now.  Get 'em while its green
Current flow: 1340 @ Cameron and 1990 cfs below the Dam

GALLATIN RIVER:  Still terribly high and dirty.  Fish somewhere else...
Current flow:  see above

MISSOURI RIVER:  PMD's.  Caddis.  The river is unbelievably low and the fish are chowing dry flies right now.  This week is looking to only get better.  Strange to see the river so low in June, but we will take it. For now.
Current flow: 3180 cfs

Freestone Fishing Report 06.08.13

Well, conditions are finally approaching normalcy around here.  Aside from the Missouri running at 3000 cfs (barely), it is starting to feel like June.

After an incredible (and unheard of) first week of June on the Yellowstone River, the river has blown out again, and looks to be on the climb for the short-term at least.  For the first time that I can recall, the Yellowstone was fish-able during the first week of June.  That party is over..Yesterday morning the river was 7140, today 9470 cfs. 

The Missouri River was great this week as well.  However, it certainly did not feel like the first week of June there either.  The river was low, clear and virtually empty of boats- plus there were fish eating dry flies.  Not at all like the last couple of years.  I did fish a SJ worm for a bit- just feeling a bit nostalgic.  Crawdads and caddis pupa worked well in the canyon, fish were eating caddis dries fished blind at the likely spots down there as well, and a variety of the usual suspects under the bobber produced fish when we were closer to Craig.  The usual suspects include: SH Tungsten PT, Red Headed Stepchild, Mercer's epoxy PMD nymph, etc.  Every dropper fished caught some fish, as long as it was a #16.  The Mo fished well, it just felt weird...

The Madison River fished very well, at least for most of the day yesterday.  We were on the Lower yesterday, and things were quite good from the start of the day until Cherry Creek.  From there down, fishing slowed down a bit.  Sculpins and various beadheads produced quite well (surprise, surprise).  A variety of PMD nymphs, Sally nymphs, and caddis pupa all worked throughout the day, with some nice fish eating the sculpin under the clouds.  The Lower is holding steady, and should fish for the next few days at least: 1620 cfs

The story on the Upper Madison is a bit different today.  After a very good few weeks up there, things are back to June.  The West Fork and Indian Creek are throwing mud, and the Upper is not really an option as of today.


After a week of declining flows,the Jefferson River has started to climb once again.  We were not sure if there was any snow left in the Big Hole drainage, but apparently there is some left up there somewhere.  We will keep our eye on this, probably still okay- dirty, but okay.  Nymphing with some big stuff and worms in the slower water will still give some action,  and of course, streamers...

The Gallatin River has jumped 1000 cfs over the last few days, and is the only river in the area that is close to "normal" right now.  That river is reliable on every level.  Stay above the Taylor Fork if you want to go, and things might be okay.  I would probably just go somewhere else.. The Gallatin is over 3000 at Gateway, that is big, and average for today.

June is here.  Finally.

FISHING REPORT 06.02.2013

As of today, things are in flux... as always this time of year.  June is a month of day-to-day conditions, everything dependent on weather, flows, and clarity.  So here in a nutshell, is the report.

The Yellowstone River was FANTASTIC this weekend but, it is on the rise again, and probably will not be an option going forward.  The river jumped about 1000 cfs today, and should be fully blown out again by the time this hits the internet.  It was wonderful to sneak in a couple of days here in early June though.  CURRENT FLOW: High, pretty dirty at 8000+

In spite of the varying reports coming from the Jefferson River right now, the Jeff is marginal at best.  Dedicated streamer fishermen may move a few good ones, and nymphing this time of year (focusing on the slow water, or close to the inside) will produce some fish, but there are much better options right now. CURRENT FLOW:  2500 cfs

Both the Upper Madison and Lower Madison River are fishing well as of this writing.  Nymphing has been the "go to", but some decent streamer fishing has been reported as well.  Both sections are "greenish" but definitely worth fishing.  I love both of these sections under these conditions, some of the biggest fish of the year.  CURRENT FLOW:  Upper Madison 1460 @ Cameron  Lower Madison 1430

The Gallatin River is pretty good above Taylor Fork, clarity is there and the fish are eating.  Personally, I have not made the trip, but trusted sources are catching them up there.  Not a bad option if you want to have a nice drive, and catch some nice canyon rainbows. 
CURRENT FLOW: 2070 cfs

The Missouri River has been fantastic.  Some dry fly fishing and streamer action to be had, but the nymphing has been great.  A variety of bugs are hatching, and the fish are eating.  The Mo is at a great level right now, and probably the best option right now- business as usual in June.  I am headed here tomorrow and I cannot wait.  June is as good as it gets on the Missouri River.
CURRENT FLOW: 3970 cfs

Please feel free to contact me regarding fly suggestions for any of the above rivers.  Thanks for reading, go fishing.