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Fly fishing report · West
Yellowstone River
A practical Yellowstone River report for the Paradise Valley and Livingston corridor, with flow, hatches, access, regulations, and safe-day planning.
Check flow & weatherToday's fishing decisionMost live data available
17
Skip today
Do not commit until the safety issue clears.
Red Flag Warning issued August 2 at 2:59PM MDT until August 3 at 3:00AM MDT by NWS Billings MT
Best supported approachNo approach recommended
Watch nextRed Flag Warning issued August 2 at 2:59PM MDT until August 3 at 3:00AM MDT by NWS Billings MT
Updated Aug 3, 12:48 AM UTCUsually refreshes about every 45 minutes
Red Flag Warning issued August 2 at 2:59PM MDT until August 3 at 3:00AM MDT by NWS Billings MT
Safety overrides tacticsNo approach recommended
The active safety or closure reason takes priority over wading, bank fishing, and floating guidance.
Check before you drive
Current flow and weather.
Look at whether the river is rising or falling, then check wind, rain, and storms. These can change both safety and fishing.
Loading current flow and weather.
Before you rely on this report
How current is this report?
Conditions can change quickly. Check these dates before you decide to fish, and open the official source when safety or rules matter.
- River conditions
- Checked Aug 2, 2026, 8:48 PM
- Fishing guidance
- Reviewed May 31, 2026
- Public access
- No reviewed map pin available
- Rules and closures
- Official rule links checked
High confidence in the current score inputs.
10 sources are listed below for you to open.
3 public access records are listed. Private spots are never shown.
Source checked Jul 30, 2026
Plan your access
Know where you can enter.
These are public parking, launch, trail, or recreation areas—not secret fishing spots. We never show an angler's private pins, notes, or photos here.
- 0
- Shown on map
- 3
- No map pin
Location checkedDescription only
01No map pin
Boat launch
Mallard's Rest FAS
Popular Paradise Valley access with boat and wade planning.
Restrictions and seasonal notes
Montana stream access law allows public use below the ordinary high-water mark, but it does not allow crossing private land without permission.
Boat traffic, wind, and high water make this a poor beginner wade river at many flows.
02No map pin
Roadside access
Pine Creek Bridge area
Important upper-river rule and access reference point.
Restrictions and seasonal notes
Montana stream access law allows public use below the ordinary high-water mark, but it does not allow crossing private land without permission.
Boat traffic, wind, and high water make this a poor beginner wade river at many flows.
03No map pin
Roadside access
Carter's Bridge and Mayor's Landing
Livingston-area access points for town-section planning.
Restrictions and seasonal notes
Montana stream access law allows public use below the ordinary high-water mark, but it does not allow crossing private land without permission.
Boat traffic, wind, and high water make this a poor beginner wade river at many flows.
How to fish it
Treat the Livingston gauge and FWP restriction page as the first two checks.
The Yellowstone is a large, free-flowing river. It can be excellent when flow is stable and temperatures are safe, but runoff, wind, or warm summer water can turn a good plan into a poor one quickly.
- Use the Livingston gauge for Paradise Valley and town-section planning.
- Check Montana FWP current restrictions before committing to a trout day.
- Fish banks, shelves, and soft inside seams instead of trying to cover the whole river.
- Expect different rules and species issues as you move from the upper trout corridor to lower river water.
Why the score looks this way
Public alertLowers score
An active alert is in effect: Red Flag Warning issued August 2 at 2:59PM MDT until August 3 at 3:00AM MDT by NWS Billings MT. Check public safety sources before going.
FlowUse caution
USGS shows 2,710 cfs with a stable over about 6 hours trend. Today's flow is below the normal seasonal range, which begins near 3,260 cfs. This is below normal, so edge depth, temperature, and pressure matter.
Target choiceUse caution
Coldwater targets are a poor choice in this heat window, but warmwater targets may still be reasonable where legal and ethical.
Water temperatureUse caution
USGS water temperature is about 72F. Do not pressure trout or salmonids in warm water.
SeasonHelps score
Early summer: Runoff drop brings salmonflies, golden stones, caddis, and heavy bank fishing.
Read the water
What changes the plan.
Best bets are stable post-runoff flows, cool mornings, and days with enough clarity to fish dry-droppers or streamers along edges. If the river is rising, dirty, restricted, or too warm, move to a colder tributary or fish early and stop.
Stable and clear
Fish dry-droppers, caddis, PMDs, terrestrials, and streamer edges.
High or rising
Avoid aggressive wading and look for protected banks only if safe.
Runoff stain
Use large dark streamers or wait until clarity returns.
Warm water
Check restrictions, fish early, and stop trout fishing before handling becomes risky.
Your trip plan
Know when to go—and when to skip it.
Best flows
Use RiverReports and USGS 06192500 near Livingston together. Dropping post-runoff water and cool stable mornings are the cleanest windows; rising dirty water or hot low conditions should move the plan to another river or a shorter safe edge.
When to skip
Skip or pivot when runoff is rising, FWP restrictions are active, water temperatures make trout handling poor, wind makes boat control unsafe, or the public access and takeout plan is not clear.
Local plan
Start with the Livingston gauge, current restrictions, and one access pair such as a Livingston-area or Mallard's Rest plan. Then decide whether the day is a nymph, dry-dropper, hopper, or streamer window.
Backup water
If the Yellowstone is high, dirty, hot, windy, or crowded, compare the Gallatin for canyon wading, the Madison for a different west-side freestone, or the Missouri for steadier tailwater conditions.
Hatches & flies
Bring a flexible box.
TimingWhat to watchUseful flies
March to AprilSkwalas, March Browns, BWOs, midges, and early stonefliesSkwala dry, Pat's rubber legs, March Brown, BWO emerger, zebra midge
Fly family · report suggests “Skwala dry”Skwala Stonefly PatternsSkwala is an insect and hatch label. Dark olive-brown nymphs and olive adult dries are materially different forms; seasonal timing also varies by watershed.See family guide ↗
Fly pattern · report suggests “Pat's rubber legs”Pat's Rubber LegsThe core Pat's Rubber Legs architecture is a long weighted stonefly nymph with a chenille body, two rubber tails, a pair of antennae, and multiple long flexible legs. Pat Bennett's documented 1995 form used true-brown chenille and true-olive Super Floss; coffee-and-black became a familiar later guide treatment. Beads, jig hooks, thoraxes, wing cases, articulated bodies, white legs, and other colors are explicit variations—not silent parts of one universal recipe.See photos & how to fish it ↗+ 3 more reviewed guides in the Fly Box May to JuneRunoff edges, salmonflies, golden stones, caddis, PMDsChubby Chernobyl, salmonfly dry, golden stone, caddis pupa, PMD emerger
Fly pattern · report suggests “Chubby Chernobyl”Chubby ChernobylIdentify the construction, not the color: a long foam overbody over a segmented dubbed underside, rubber legs at two tie-in stations, two distinct buoyant synthetic-yarn wing sections, and a short flash tail. The paired wing stations and layered foam-and-dubbing body separate the reviewed Chubby from the original Chernobyl Ant and from generic foam hoppers or beetles.See photos & how to fish it ↗
Fly family · report suggests “salmonfly dry”Salmonfly PatternsSalmonfly is a hatch label, not a single dry fly. Nymphs are heavy and bottom-oriented; adults are large winged stoneflies represented by several distinct foam and hair patterns.See family guide ↗+ 3 more reviewed guides in the Fly Box July to AugustCaddis, PMDs, hoppers, ants, beetles, nocturnal stonesHopper-dropper, X-caddis, foam ant, beetle, small perdigon
Fly pattern · report suggests “X-caddis”X-CaddisIdentify the X-Caddis by the combination of a sparse translucent Zelon-style trailing shuck, slim dubbed body, tented deer- or elk-hair wing, small clipped head, and no palmered body hackle. The separately photographed Elk Hair Caddis has a higher, hackled adult footprint and no defining trailing shuck. The natural-adult photograph explains the caddis tent-wing silhouette, but it does not turn the X-Caddis into an exact adult-species imitation.See photos & how to fish it ↗
Fly family · report suggests “foam ant”Ant PatternsAnt patterns can be foam, fur-bodied, winged, or sunken. The narrow waist and paired body lobes matter more than one material recipe.See family guide ↗+ 2 more reviewed guides in the Fly Box September to OctoberMahoganies, BWOs, October caddis, baitfish, fall streamer windowsMahogany, BWO, October caddis, sculpin, leech
Fly family · report suggests “Mahogany”Isonychia and Mahogany Dun PatternsIsonychia nymphs are active swimmers; emergers, parachute or other dry forms, and spinners occupy different levels. Mahogany Dun can be regional hatch wording, so it does not identify one exact fly recipe.See family guide ↗
Fly family · report suggests “BWO”Blue-Winged Olive PatternsBWO describes a hatch group, not one fly. Nymph, emerger, dry, cripple, and spinner profiles must stay separate because they occupy different parts of the water column.See family guide ↗+ 3 more reviewed guides in the Fly Box 01
Start with the Livingston gauge, then decide whether the day is better for floating, careful wading, or skipping the river.
02
Fish bank-soft spots and inside shelves with a large dry and a weighted dropper after runoff clears.
03
Use streamers on cloud cover, slight stain, or low light, but keep casts tight to structure.
04
Carry smaller caddis, PMDs, and BWOs for riffle pods when the river calms down.
05
Check FWP restrictions and smallmouth/cutthroat rules before fishing a different reach.
Rules & closures
Check the official rules before you go.
Open the agency page to confirm the exact river section, species, season, tackle rules, limits, and emergency closures.
Official links checkedRules for this river or sectionNo special rule found
We did not find a special rule for this river.
We checked the state source but did not find a clearly supported exception for this river. Check the official rules for the exact section you plan to fish.
Rules checkedJul 30, 2026
Report a correction ↗Always follow the official rule
This summary helps with trip planning. The linked agency rule is the one you must follow.
Updates from anglers
What anglers are seeing.
Recent observations from general areas of Yellowstone River. We review every update before it appears and never publish exact fishing spots, private access details, or photo locations.
Angler updates are not loading right now.
You can still use the river plan above. Check back later for recent observations from other anglers.
Where this report comes from
Open the sources we checked.
Fishing guidance checked: May 31, 2026
Site check: Jul 14, 2026. We regularly test report links, live scores, flow and weather data, and page loading. The content date changes only when the fishing guidance or its sources change.
flowRiverReports Yellowstone River near LivingstonflowUSGS Yellowstone River near Livingston 06192500regulationMontana FWP fishing regulationsregulationMontana central district fishing regulationsaccessMontana stream access lawsafetyMontana FWP current waterbody closures and restrictionsbackgroundMontana FishMT Yellowstone River waterbodyaccessMallard's Rest fishing access siteregulationYellowstone National Park fishing informationsafetyNational Weather Service forecast point
Common questions
Before you leave.
What should I check first before fishing the Yellowstone River?+
Check RiverReports or USGS at Livingston, FWP restrictions, water temperature, wind, clarity, and the exact reach rules.
Are there special regulations on the Yellowstone River?+
Yes. Rules differ by reach, especially for cutthroat and smallmouth bass. Use current Montana FWP regulations.
What flies should I bring for the Yellowstone River?+
Bring the hatch-chart flies, a few confidence nymphs, and a streamer or warmwater box that matches the river's species. Then adjust for water temperature, clarity, and the insects or baitfish you actually see.
Can I wade the Yellowstone River?+
Yes in public reaches, but it is big water. Wade conservatively and respect private-land boundaries.
When should I skip the Yellowstone River?+
Skip it when flows are unsafe, water is too warm for trout, emergency closures are active, or legal access for the reach is not clear.