Big news out of YNP today! Effective immediately, the Madison and Gibbon rivers in Yellowstone National Park are open to fishing. The park has lifted the fishing closures on these rivers and their associated tributaries due to cooler water temperatures.

The Firehole River, being strongly influenced by geothermal features, is now open to fishing with partial restrictions. The river and its associated tributaries will be closed to fishing daily from 2 p.m. to sunrise the following day. Please see the  revised map below for current fishing restrictions on the Firehole River and tributaries.

This is great news for park anglers as hopper fishing will be undoubtedly good on the Madison and Gibbon rivers this upcoming week. Warm afternoons are in the forecast, and those fish have been left to their own devices for weeks, perfect conditions for some fun terrestrial fishing. 

While the Firehole is now open in the mornings, it will still be some time before we start to see significant hatches here. Water temps need to continue dropping, and we need the first good fall storm to get hatches of baetis mayflies rolling on this legendary river. In the meantime, try searching with ant, hopper, and beetle dry fly imitations, and keep a close eye out for sneaky rise forms along undercut banks. 

The Lamar River in YNP's northeast corner is in good shape this week, and will benefit from this stretch of consistent, seasonal weather that's in the forecast, as will it's neighboring fisheries Slough Creek and Soda Butte Creek. We've seen decent numbers of Drake Mackerel (Timpanoga hecuba) mayflies throuhgout the northeast corner, along with the usual terrestrail assortment of hoppers, ants, crickets, and beetles. 

If you have any questions about the fishing closures in YNP, or good fishing options in the upcoming week, please don't hesitate giving us a ring in the shop (406) 646-7801. We'd be happy to help you make the most out of your YNP fishing.