July 15-22, 2023 (and 2021)
Brothers –
My (Sterling Short) first trip to Montana and Yellowstone Park was in 2021. David Riddiford, a
Westminster College fraternity brother, asked me to join him. David has been fishing Yellowstone for
10+ years – escaping the Arizona heat. He’s like having a local take me to favorite places. He’s even
becoming a local – building a house just north of Bozeman in the Bridger Range.
In 2021, David introduced me to MT fishing by heading from the airport to fish a small creek that we
could hop across. We had to make tight casts to Westslope Cutthroats that eagerly took our dry flies. In
2023, we treated ourselves to a drift boat trip on the mighty Yellowstone River, and we hiked 10 miles
along Slough Creek where we camped for two nights and caught some really nice cutthroats. For fly
fishermen, these three extremes are equally exciting!
South of Bozeman, there are three famous rivers – Madison, Gallatin, and Yellowstone. These rivers
flow south to north as tributaries to the Missouri River. The Madison and Yellowstone are mostly fished
by drift boats and rafts, but the Gallatin prohibits fishing by boats.
In 2021, we fished the upper Gallatin, and we went back in 2023. Highway 191 connects Bozeman to
West Yellowstone. The lower Gallatin gets much more pressure because it’s closer to Bozeman. The
lower Gallatin is bigger and faster water making the wading and fishing more difficult.
The upper Gallatin is fantastic! I’ll define the upper Gallatin starting at Taylor Fork, which is about 2.5
miles north of the Yellowstone Park (Park) border, which has a large monument sign, and ending about
7 miles south of the border. It is about an hour from Bozeman to the Park, and the Park requires a
special fishing permit. So, many Bozeman locals stop short of fishing the upper Gallatin inside the Park.
Highway 191 has numerous Parking turnouts, and the river is a short walk from most turnouts. The best
fishing seemed to be further from turnouts, but we also caught fish close to the highway. Depending on
runoff and rain, the Upper Gallatin may not be crossable. We had to pick our spots.
David fishes only dry flies. Why fish anything else when you’re fishing one of the best places in the world
for dry fly fishing? I generally agree. Also, nymphing is most often rewarded with whitefish, which can
be fun but not what we’re after. However, it can get slow in the afternoon, so don’t rule out nymphs.
Dry flies are many of the usual suspect patterns for mayflies and caddis flies as well as terrestrials. We
were a little too late for stoneflies. Our hot flies were Green Drakes – a size 12ish cripple tied by David,
an emerger, and a large parachute called “Soda Fountain,” which was originated by Parks Fly Shop in
Gardiner, MT (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IZH9Nyynv2o). I also had to show David how
Cracklebacks catch big trout. Various versions and sizes of “Chubby” foam flies are popular as a stonefly,
an attractor, or even a hopper. They are very popular, especially fishing dry/dropper in faster water.
When fishing Chubbies, I seemed to get lots of refusals.
In the photos, you’ll see a really nice brown that I caught on the Upper Gallatin just upstream from
Specimen Creek. It was a memorable fish! I came upon a short stretch of undercut bank. Standing on
the bank, I cast parallel, and a monster trout flashed out but did not take my fly. Its dark profile is
burned in my retina. Within the next few casts, my drift was close enough to the undercut that the
brownie could not resist, and it was game on! I fought the fish for a couple minutes, until I realized that
fighting the fish from the bank would just mean bringing him closer to the undercut — full of roots and
likely leading to my demise. Getting in the river would have been difficult while fighting, so I called for
David who was nearby but out of sight and unaware of my predicament. David found a spot to slip into
the river. I eventually worked the fish to David, and he netted for me. I had never asked someone to net
a fish before, but I didn’t have much of a choice. It was a personal-best brown for me. On the next
morning, I caught two more nice browns close to the same spot on the opposite bank along the edge at
the head of a strong riffle – a prime spot for big fish.
At this point, it was apparent that we were catching mostly big fish – 15 inches and bigger. We probably
caught 6-7 big fish for each fish under 12 inches. Fish were holding almost exclusively in prime spots.
Casting to fishy looking spots midstream was seldomly successful. We were often sight-casting to
feeding fish. David found some fish holding at the edge in slow-moving shallow water. He would have
walked past the spot, but he saw them feeding. He had to make numerous casts over a couple sessions,
but he persisted to eventually catch a really nice rainbow.
After a successful morning, we set off to Gardiner, which is the north entrance along the Yellowstone
River. Our route took us through West Yellowstone, which is the west entrance. Upon entering the
Park, we drove along the Madison River, which looks very fishable, but geothermal effects make the
water too warm. I’m not sure where fishing is possible on the Madison above Hebgen Lake, but the
popular drift boat fishing is below Earthquake Lake, which is just below Hebgen Lake, down to Ennis
Lake.
Travel times inside the Park can be double or triple expectations because speed limits are typically 45
mph, or even 35 mph, plus sightseers might stop for a single pronghorn deer or buffalo. Plan
accordingly.
In West Yellowstone, Blue Ribbon Flies recommended fishing the upper Yellowstone at Nez Perce Ford
(fka Buffalo Ford) – only five miles below Yellowstone Lake. The Yellowstone is a massive, slow-moving
river as soon as it flows out of Yellowstone Lake. Because we had slow travels, we only had about an
hour or so to fish. Blind casting dry flies without any signs of rising fish was unsuccessful. If I had it to do
over, I would just fish streamers. After fishing the upper Gallatin in the morning, long travels,
disappointing attempt on the upper Yellowstone, we dragged into Gardiner for the night.
If you recall, Yellowstone Park and vicinity experienced severe flooding in early 2022. Gardiner sits along
very high steep banks along the Yellowstone, so flooding did not affect the town. However, the
Gardiner River just south of the Park entrance eroded banks and took out sections of the main road and
some bridges. So, there was no access to the Park for most of 2022. A new road was hurriedly built
along what was a stagecoach trail. It’s amazing to see what was built in such a short time. It was clearly a
fast-track project made possible with governmental green lights.
Because there was essentially no fishing in 2022, we were excited to fish the Lamar River, Soda Butte
Creek, and Slough Creek.
The Park’s buffalo population reportedly fluctuates from 2,500 to 5,500. The Lamar Valley holds one of
two subpopulations. By simple observation of the treeless valley, there are easily 2,000 buffaloes in only
about 8 miles. Herds are concentrated and easily avoidable. But, hiking down to the river often means
keeping an eye on a few old bull buffaloes. It’s the adolescent bulls that can be dangerous. From the
safety of our SUV, David pointed them out to me.
We fished the Lamar River in 2021. The conditions were tough. We were limited by “Hoot Owl,” which
is a regulation in MT some other states as well as Yellowstone Park that prohibits fishing in the
afternoon (2 PM in 2021) because low water conditions and hot weather increase water temperatures
to levels such that catch-and-release is more likely to be lethal. So, 2021 was less than ideal, and we
worked hard for only a few fish. So, we were looking forward to fishing the Lamar again. In 2023,
conditions were better but tough fishing again – good water levels and cool temps — but very high
winds. We caught more fish, but I’m still looking forward better fishing on the Lamar.
Soda Butte Creek is named for a notable geological formation adjacent to the creek. The highway runs
close to the creek, and it’s easily wadable. It’s full of nice Yellowstone Cutthroats! So, it’s very popular.
In 2021, we had an epic day, but in 2023, high winds made fishing difficult.
David had used Walt Wiese as a guide several times. As it turns out, Walt is from St. Louis – SLU High.
Walt cut his teeth at Parks Fly Shop in Gardiner. He has been independent for three years. Excellent
guide!!! Walt is very knowledgeable, and he really wants you to catch fish. Check out his website — lots
of good info including fly pattern videos. The previously cited “Soda Fountain” fly video is by Walt.
https://flyfishmontana.biz/
Beware of hiring guides in MT/Yellowstone. Walt explained that Montana Angler in Bozeman has over
50 guides leading 4,000 trips a year – “guides” are like a box of chocolates, you never know what you’re
gonna get!
We fished Walt’s rods and set ups – “Chubby” dry dropper. In dealing with this rookie drifter, Walt was
very patient with me. I would give myself a solid “C“ grade. I learned that I’m horrible at drift-boat
mending. I caught 7 or so fish, but I felt like I should have caught many more. David kindly allowed me
to fish from the bow, and he still probably bested me by 2:1. I’m honestly not sure if I like drift boat
fishing. It’s fast paced – cast, mend, mend, repeat – mostly within less than 10-second cadences. We
were in a rush to end our day early so the pace was even faster than normal – no rowing to slow us or
anchoring.
For the finale of our 2023 trip, we hiked and camped for two nights along Slough Creek. David’s son and
his girlfriend joined us for this adventure. We hiked for 10 miles to reach “2S6,” a reserved camp site.
“Rucking” is weight training for backpacking. I trained with about 30 pounds of golf balls for about a
month. I worked up to about 6 miles, so I was a little nervous about 10 miles. I was fine for the hike in,
which took about 3.5 hours, but I managed to get blisters on the hike out. Our campsite was perched on
a small plateau giving us a panoramic view. We probably had less than 30 people within 10 miles.
Slough Creek is special! It slowly meanders through a wide valley, and there are nice holes every 100
yards or so. Slough Creek is dry-fly, sight fishing at its best! The water is “gin” clear. We could see fish
that were not feeding, and we could not get them to look at our flies. But, feeding fish aggressively took
our flies! I would estimate that I caught 80% of my fish while sight fishing to specific feeding fish. Just
like the upper Lamar, we caught only a few small fish.
In total, we fished over 8 days with some days involving considerable travel. So, I would say we fished 6
“full equivalent” days. I caught 40-45 fish. We fished hard! It wasn’t easy. That’s what makes fly fishing
so special. Plus, fly fishing adds to the bonds of our friendships!
Fishing Yellowstone Park is humbling – not just the fishing but the enormity of the landscape and our
vulnerability in nature. We regularly saw fresh moose prints and even a few bear prints. Streamside
willows are thick, so you’re never sure what might surprise you! From our SUV, we saw 5 black bears
and 2 moose.
Feel free to call with questions – 314-249-8093.
Your FATC Brother in Christ, Sterling Short
Here are lodging and restaurant recommendations based on 2021 and 2023 trips. David and I view
lodging the same. We generally stay at low- to moderate-priced hotels.
Gallatin Valley South of Big Sky:
o Lodging:
– 320 Guest Ranch – Lodging and Restaurant (2021; Nice!)
– Whitewater Inn near Big Sky (2023; Mediocre)
o Restaurants:
– Corral Bar (Really good food!)
Gardiner:
o Lodging:
– 406 Lodge at Yellowstone (In downtown Gardiner; nothing special; remodeled
and clean)
o Restaurants:
– Iron Horse Bar and Grill (Nice deck overlooking river; food was much better in
2021; 2023 seemed to be a place recovering from minimal business in 2022
because of flood damage shutting down Park entrance.)
