It's been another warm, dry week here in YNP, but good fishing opportunities continue to present themselves to anglers willing to stay flexible and play multiple games throughout the day with streamers, soft hackles, dry flies, and nymphs.

The best days this week have come from game plans that include mutliple locations throughout the day as conditions change from cold and dark in the mornings and evenings to warm and bright through the midday hours. 

It has felt more like mid-August on recent afternoons, but the calendar doesn't lie, and neither does the internal clock of both migrating brown trout and baetis mayflies. As we inch deeper into October the primal urge to propagate will prevail, whether conditions are ideal or not, forcing more and more brown trout to move and baetis mayflies to hatch, even with bright conditions. 

For those looking to chase the annual run of migrating fish from Montana's Hebgen Lake up into the Madison River in YNP, conditions have been less than ideal lately (too bright, too sunny too beautiful), but fish continue to slide up into the system and numbers are looking good. The attitude of these fish is another story all together. Think strangers stuck in an elevator for many hours together vs. wandering free spirits converging at Bonnaroo. They are cranky and not moving much. Regardless of your approach to fishing for these beautiful fish (nymphs, soft hackles, streamers), the best results have come from deep, slow drifts, and small, sparse flies. Soft hackles like the Old Faithful Soft Hackle or the Red BH Chest Candy, and streamers like Mattioli's Trout Spey Intruders or MK's Gingerbread Man are good choices. 

Despite warm, sunny conditions we've reached the point in the fall season where baetis mayflies on the Firehole River simply have to hatch at some point. Expect to see sparse hatches of these diminutive mayflies (size#20-22) in the afternoons. If clouds appear in the next couple of days, we may see some of the better hatches so far this autumn season. When baetis aren't around you may see White Miller caddis (size#14-16) fluttering along the streambanks, and opportunistic trout doing cartwheels for them. 

The Gibbon River is a fun option these days in the pocket water both above and below the falls. Dead drifting nymphs, soft hackles, and streamers is a good way to go here. 

The Cutthroat Corner streams (Slough Creek, Lamar River, Soda Butte Creek) remain a good option for a few hours of dry fly fishing during the warmest period of the day (1pm-4pm ish). Water levels are low here, and fish are concentrated in only the deepest runs and pools as they prepare to lay low for the impending winter. Be prepared to cover a lot of ground on these fisheries right now focusing your efforts on only the water that you simply can't pass up. Expect to see sparse hatches of baetis mayflies, and fish looking for small, exceptionally well presented terrestrials like hoppers, crickets, and ants. 

New for the 2024 season, the Madison and Gardner Rivers in YNP will remain open to year round fishing extending angling opportunities beyond the traditional fishing season for as long as the weather will permit. The Madison River will remain open from the Park boundary to the MT/Wy state line, and the Gardner will remain open from the park boundary up to Osprey Falls.

The YNP fishing season will close on October 31 for all other Park fisheries. So get out there and enjoy some fall fishing while you can!