Fly Fishing Yellowstone Country
Yellowstone National Park &
Southwestern Montana Offer Abundant World-Class Fly Fishing Opportunities In A
Concentrated Area That Is Unrivaled By Anywhere Else In The World.
OUTSIDE Yellowstone
National Park Waterways
MADISON RIVER
(OUTSIDE YELLOWSTONE PARK)
From Baker's Hole to Hebgan Reservoir the Madison
abandons paved roads and secretes itself among the
Lodgepole pines of the North Flats of the Hebgan
Basin. Here the river is seldom fished, and here the
fish are generally larger than in the rest of the
river. This is an excellent stretch to fish if you
enjoy solitude, a walk in the woods, spawning fall
giants, and the opportunity to take a 5 pound or
larger trout on a fly. Generally this short stretch
is populated by the occasional worm fisherman who
knows where and how to take large fish with
regularity.
The river flows into Hebgan Reservoir (Madison Arm,)
and joins with the waters of the South Fork of The
Madison, and the Waters of Grayling Creek, Spring
Creek, and several other small streams.. The
impounded waters of this reservoir contain an
assortment of trout that weigh up to 12# and can be
fished from the shore or in a boat, or in a tube.
Starting in late summer gulpers are plentiful and
can be taken from mid-afternoon until dark.
MADISON RIVER (BETWEEN THE LAKES)
The short river segment between Hebgan Reservoir and
Earthquake lake is a portion of the river that sees
fishing pressure for twelve months of the year. The
discharge from Hebgan Dam is a near constant 42
degrees f. This produces a tailwater fishery that
attracts fishermen and spawning trout in vast
numbers. This section is productive way beyond its
1-1/2 mile length, and average 2-1/2 foot depth.
Fish as large as 5# have been regularly caught on
flies near the excellent runs adjacent to the lawn
at the fine breakfast establishment of Campfire
Lodge.
EARTHQUAKE LAKE (DOWNSTREAM TO THE WEST FORK)
As the river enters Earthquake Lake (called 'Quake
Lake' by locals), it gathers the waters of Cabin
Creek, and Beaver Creek. These streams are primarily
spawning and nursery waters. Occasionally in the
spring and fall when conditions are just right these
two small creeks hold large fish that will soon
return to Quake Lake, or the Madison River.
Quake lake holds many good fish, and they may be
taken by the persistent bank fisherman, or better
yet the belly boater. Hatches are localized within
the lake, and if you should be in the right place at
the right time action can be fast and furious.
The waters below the great earth-slide-dam are
raucous distributary channels of the new river as it
emerges from the water impounded by the 1959
earthquake. From the lake to the bridge at Highway
87 the river channel is the result of the rapid
discharge of impounded waters rapidly loosed by the
removal of the natural dam. This stretch is called
the 'Wasteland' or 'Moonscape' by local anglers. The
distributary channels tumble through a discharge
boulder field that churns the water to a froth. The
various channels have many hiding places where the
less swift water collects food and trout. Many of
the trout are large and voracious. This state of
affairs, combined with the highly oxygenated water
can make for spectacular results. Of course very
large fish have the advantage in the very rapid
water. Only the foolish angler fishes this section
with light tackle.
Crossing the road just below Slide Inn, the river
begins its swing through a small canyon with more
rapid runs than pools or riffles. This water is best
fished from the bank by knowledgeable fishermen who
can read the water for holding lies. As the river
slows it gathers the waters of the West Fork Of The
Madison.
The West Fork (And Below To Ennis - & - Beyond)
The West Fork finds it's origin at the continental
divide in the same mountain peaks as the Henry's
Fork of the Snake River. This range of mountains is
being more rapidly eroded on the Snake River Side,
than on the Madison River side. Some time in the
near geological future, the upper Snake river will
capture the Madison River and its waters will then
travel to the Pacific. Perhaps fishing will then
improve on the upper fork. We'll wait the 3-4
million years that it takes, just to see it happen.
Tumbling from it's high mountain origins the West
Fork is a classic freestone river. It's upper
reaches are spawning and nursery waters that hold
the occasional lunker in season. Lower down it
begins a storybook section of rapids, riffles and
runs as the bedrock controls most of its course. The
lower sections widen into meandering meadows as it
collects the waters from the Elk River (a pleasant
walking stream,) and begins is leisurely run to the
Madison River.
The lower sections near the campground are the most
frequently fished, both by waders, and the
occasional drift boat (though the traffic seems to
be up recently.) Hatches here are as spectacular as
on the Madison, but the are less regular, and less
persistent. By the time the West Fork reaches the
Madison river it is a river unto itself and adds
significant amounts of water, sediment, and
nutrients to the main river. The confluence of these
two rivers provide an exceptionally rich region for
fish and fisherfolk. Days could be spent without
exhausting the possibilities of just a few miles of
water.
Below the confluence with the West Fork, the Madison
River becomes "Big Water." The vast Madison Valley
shows the topography of many ancestral river in its
benches and soft rolling hills. The river terrace
system records rivers of greater discharge and
depth. The current river is underfit to this valley,
yet it is (even at this time and place,) capable of
erosion and downcutting. The river changes from year
to year.
Although it is best explored by drift boat, this
section is best experienced on foot. Fish are
predictable in their position and distribution in
this classic river. Experienced anglers float this
river to see it's mood and character, they then wade
and explore it's different sections and character by
walking and wading. Access by vehicle is fairly
easy, and there are many places where a day can be
productively spent.
GRAYLING CREEK (A
VERY SPECIAL CIRCUMSTANCE)
Starting as just a series of trickles and seep
springs in Yellowstone Park at divide lake (contrary
to the map in Charles Brooks' Fishing Yellowstone
Waters,) this little stream represents the
furthermost head-cutting of the Madison River toward
The Gallatin River. As the stream parallels Highway
191 it gathers snowmelt and the water from several
ephemeral streams. The last couple of miles in the
park are nursery and spawning waters that hold a
modest amount of modestly sized fish during the
summer.
As the stream leaves the park it begins to meander
in wet wooded meadows, then plunges into its bedrock
controlled canyon and takes a wild frothy ride for
about 3/4 of a mile. This canyon section is full of
pocket water, runs, and riffles of the steepest
sort. Large fish do make their home in the canyon,
as do the creek's namesake fish (though very rare
indeed!)
Leaving the canyon the stream enters two private
ranches, and then crosses under highway 287 into the
meadows of the Madison Arm of Hebgan reservoir. At
this point it is at grade and meanders slowly
through dense willow thickets. There are large fish
to be had for the angler willing to cast precisely
and gently to the small holes and the undercut banks
in the willow jungle. (Immediately south of the
highway 191 x highway 287 junctions lie two similar
creeks: Cougar Creek and Duck creek. These creeks
find their origin in Yellowstone National Park in
the gentle uplifted rhyolites due north of
seven-mile bridge. They are best fished in their
lower reaches at or near highway 191.
SOUTH FORK (OF THE MADISON RIVER)
Each and every year more people discover the South
Fork of the Madison River. Each and every year more
people rediscover it. Some of them are fishermen.
Some of them are residents of the area that are
seeking solitude. As crowded as the rest of the area
is, somehow the South Fork has escaped popularity.
Most of the people that have found the South Fork
are not fishermen. They are riders of snowmobiles,
mountain bikes, ATV's, or pickup trucks. They are a
part of the ever growing population of
recreationists that are seeking something different
than the overcrowded confines of the most famous
National Park in the world.
The place names along the South Fork recall the
storied past of the region. They attract the visitor
who has an appreciation for the burden that history
places upon us. The visitors come to see where it
was that mountain men crossed the divide. They come
to see the landscape of the old aboriginal trails.
They come to see where Chief Joseph eluded the U.S.
Cavalry on his flight for freedom. They come to
retrace the journeys of the stage coaches and wagons
that brought the first tourists to Yellowstone Park.
They come to walk the abandoned railroad bed of the
Oregon Short Line. They come for these and many more
reasons. But mostly they come because the stream
course of the South Fork is a beautiful place to be.
It is a stream that has fit itself nicely to the
surrounding countryside. It is a stream that
presents the visitor with a million snapshots -- and
more.
The South Fork. originates where the Continental
Divide meets the western boundary of Yellowstone
Park. In its very upper reaches it is an ephemeral
stream dependant on snow melt to keep its many
channels full. The origin of the present day stream
is in Yellowstone National Park. It can be traced to
a series of wet seeps and springs in the burned and
logged and lush meadows of Echo Canyon at 8,500 ft
above sea level. The little ephemeral stream hugs
the new growth flanks of the Continental Divide as
it gathers rivulets from dozens of sources, and
moves down slope in a NNW direction. It tumbles in
aimless and wandering fashion across the Moose Creek
Plateau and into the broad depression known as Black
Bear Canyon.
It runs nearly true North as it skirts the garden
areas of Whitman's Cabin in Whitman's Meadows, and
finally becomes recognizable as a fishable stream as
it joins waters with Dry Canyon Creek.
Dry Canyon is the home to the creek that bears its
name and heads in Echo canyon as well. Lookout Peak,
a locally named prominence divides the major forks
of Dry Canyon Creek and it is this tributary that
also drains the upper reaches of Meadow Canyon. By
the time the two creeks join, they have dropped
1,000 feet and the South Fork has traveled nearly 13
river miles in a linear distance of only 7 1/2
miles. It is this confluence of streams that marks
the demarcation point of the upper course of the
South Fork.
After another 1 1/4 miles the South Fork is joined
by Rae's Pass Creek at an elevation of 6,800 feet
above sea level. From this confluence to the bridge
at US Highways 191, is the middle course of the
South Fork. Its gradient becomes more gentle, it has
moved down slope from its major nick points.and has
water supplies to maintain its perennial nature.
In the 9 linear miles from Whitman's Cabin to the
river bridge at U.S. 191, the South Fork drops only
about 450 feet in elevation. At one time it
meandered through thick willow meadows confined on
either side by only the poorly consolidated canyon
sides of high silica content ryolite. In much of
this stretch it is now artificially constrained by
the road on one side and the railroad bed on the
other.
Construction of these two transportation entities
have effectively altered the upper portion of the
middle course of the South Fork. Removal of stream
gravels for both structures has produced deep holes
and with the confines of the canyon have effectively
canalized the river. This is both a boon and a bane
for fishermen. This river segment is easily
accessible, and the deep holes are still holding
places for the single large trout in any single
short stretch of water. These residents are outsized
for the little stream, and have been known to reach
sizes upwards of 4#. They are locally known as "ONE
CAST FISH," - - for very good reason! This is
primarily a bit of nursery water. It is relatively
infertile, and usually contains only young of the
year and small juvenile fish.
About one mile below mosquito gulch, the South Fork
Canyon widens and the stream begins the typical
meandering of a mid course stream. This too is
primarily nursery water. The exceptions exist and
are predictable. Large fish exist in deep holes,
adjacent to spring discharge (like Black Sand
Spring,) and in deeply undercut sections of the
slower sections that are invariably guarded by
tangled and lush willow growth. There are timbered
meadows, willow thickets, forested riffle and run
sections, and an occasional grassy prairie. This
stream character continues to just north of U.S. 191
where the little river bursts into Hebgan Basin
proper.
The sandy soils of the basin, combined with the
artificial damming of the Madison River truncate the
current flow of the South Fork. The truncation point
varies from season to season, and year to year. This
section of the little stream is the most heavily
fished section, and is the most productive. Just as
reservoir dwelling trout move up the Madison Arm and
into the lower reaches of the truncated Madison
River, so too do they move into the South Fork. Worm
fishers, spin fishers, flyfishers, and the
occasional Kingfisher all utilize this portion of
the river. Ospreys fly overhead and infrequently a
pelican can be seen gorging itself in the estuary as
the small fish and nutrients attract trophy trout
that must be caught to be believed.
THE MADISON RIVER
(Inside Yellowstone)
Because of regulations, seasons, jurisdictions, and
the incredibly romantic notions of piscatorial
gladiators, discussions of the Madison River are
split into two portions: the river in the park, and
the river outside the park. It really is the same
river!
The Madison River (sometimes called the "Queen" of
the park's rivers,) flows in a broad canyon formed
by glacial outwash. The bottoms are meadows with
meanders and pools that are interrupted by rapid
riffles where the river is confined to its channel
by the road, bedrock, and canyon walls.
The river is formed by the joining of the Firehole
and Gibbon Rivers in National Park Meadows. This
confluence of the two streams is Madison Junction
(as is the intersection of the three roads that
parallel the rivers.) The river is seductive in its
apparently placid flow. There are many areas of
quick sand, deep undercut banks, tangled water
weeds, and slick boulders. Because the river is
under fit to its valley, the gravels of its bottom
are poorly sorted and provide a diverse range of
sizes in close proximity to one another. This
diverse stream bottom provides many micro
environments for aquatic animals and the fish that
feed on them. Nowhere else in Yellowstone is the old
adage so true: the fish are where you find them. The
easiest place to catch fish (comparatively,) is in
the upper meadows near the river's origin. The
toughest sections are the rapid riffles in the lower
reaches as the river leaves the park. The Barn's
Holes and Baker's Hole are excellent nymph and dry
fly areas, depending on the day. |
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