July is the beginning of summer in the high plateau country of Yellowstone National Park.
Fishermen love Yellowstone in July, a time when the trout have completed their spawning runs and are now back in most major watersheds looking for something to eat after the rigors of spawning, including caddis flies, stoneflies, mayflies, midges, and terrestrial insects, resulting in great fishing.
The trout fishing is some of the best anglers will find anywhere. Aside from the declining Yellowstone cutthroat population in Yellowstone Lake and the upper Yellowstone River basin, the trout fisheries in the Park are in good shape. Some waters are managed for fly fishing only; others allow the use of flies or lures. Bait has not been allowed in Yellowstone for some time now, except for a few small tributaries of the Gardner River on the road from Norris to Mammoth. On these streams, youngsters can fish with bait for the multitudinous brook trout residing there.
Since preservation of natural resources is the mission of Park management, it makes sense to see regulations preventing fish harvest. While the image of cooking freshly caught trout over an open fire is serene, the reality of 4 million visitors in Yellowstone makes taking even a couple of fish per day impractical. Hence the reason for flies and lures only as part of the Park’s efforts to reduce fish mortality.
When fishing Yellowstone waters, make it easy for the trout to be released by mashing the barbs on your flies. If you prefer lures as your weapon of choice, use single, barbless hooks. Treble hooks do too much damage when releasing a trout, so cut off two of the barbs with some needle-nosed pliers. Once you have hooked a fish, bring it to the net quickly. If you break your fly or lure off, so what? Weren’t you going to release the fish anyway?
Once the trout is in the net, keep it in the water. Wet your hands well, then slip the hook out gently. Hopefully, your ‘prize’ will swim away in good health to be caught by another Yellowstone angler at a later date. By implementing good sense and good fishing etiquette, we anglers can enjoy the fishing in Yellowstone for years to come.
Tim Wade has been fishing and guiding Yellowstone area waters for almost 30 years. He owns North Fork Anglers, in Cody, Wyo.
July is certainly a great time to visit the Greater Yellowstone Region. Montana fly fishing is also outstanding in the mid summer months. Several insect hatches occur during July that bring fish to dry flies on the Yellowstone, Gallatin and Madison Rivers.