With its fluctuating flows, thick insect hatches, aggressive brown trout, snow-capped peaks, thawing lakes, and anticipation for another fishing season, spring is an amazing month to be a fly fisherman.
That being said, it also comes with many challenges. Fluctuating flows, gale force winds, muddy water, and unpredictable weather patterns, to name a few.
Despite those challenges, spring has become one of my favorite times to fish in the Yellowstone Region. To share my excitement for spring fishing, I’ve put together a few tips for spring fly fishing to help you make the most of this incredible season. I hope you enjoy!
Tips For Spring Fly Fishing
Monitor River Flows
The most important tip for fly fishing in the spring is to monitor the river flows. As snow melts in the mountains, many rivers experience spring runoff that lasts for a few weeks. This snowmelt doesn’t always come at once, and often fluctuates flows on many freestone fisheries throughout the spring. Keeping tabs on river flows will help you be in the right place at the right time. There is nothing worse than showing up to a river running out of its banks looking like chocolate milk.
What I look for in the spring is a river dropping in flow. This usually coincides with clearing water and can make for some good fishing. Some of my best spring fishing has come on dropping and stabilizing flows.
In contrast, a river with a rising flow can be very difficult to fish. Rising flows usually follow a few warm days and muddy the river. Some of my toughest spring days have occurred when fishing a river on a rise or at its peak flow. While there can still be good fishing, I tend to stay away from rivers that are rising substantially in flow.
You can monitor streamflows via your state’s USGS website. I have it saved to my phone’s home screen and watch the river flow more than I do the stock market, especially in the spring.
Be Ready For Spring Hatches
As the snow melts and water temperatures climb, aquatic insects come to life, and spring dry-fly fishing gets underway. Spring can offer some of the best dry-fly fishing of the year, thanks to the epic hatches many Western rivers host.
The most notable and anticipated spring hatches include midges, blue-winged olives, march brown mayflies, skwala stoneflies, and mothers’ day caddis.
Blue-wing olives are the most consistent and reliable spring hatch. While they hatch on many fisheries in the region, they are often associated with the West’s best tailwaters. Look for cloudy days to provide the best fishing.
March browns are the other mayfly on the menu in the spring. Much bigger and harder to predict, the march brown can provide some epic fishing in the spring months if you are in the right place at the right time.
Skwala’s are the first major stonefly hatch of the season. They are sporadic and difficult to time, but it’s hard to beat a big bug eat in the spring months. Always be ready with a few skwala patterns in the spring.
Spring brings mothers’ day caddis in late April and throughout May. They are the most abundant spring hatch and make for some memorable fishing each season.
No matter the month, it’s important to have a variety of flies that match the spring hatches in the Yellowstone Region.
Streamers and Brown Trout
The spring streamer fishing is something many anglers around the West look forward to. As water temperatures warm and brown trout start feeding heavily, they can become ultra-aggressive. Fishing larger prey items such as leeches, sculpin, minnows, and crayfish can be unbelievably effective in the spring months.
Many talk about fall and the good streamer fishing for brown trout, but spring is just as good, if not better. It is when many of the biggest fish of the season make a mistake and end up in a fisherman’s net. If you’re hunting for the big one, spring is the time to toss streamers and find “him.”
Target Low Elevation Fisheries
When it comes to where to fish in the spring, we have many options in the West. Where I tend to find myself in the spring is on the lower-elevation fisheries. These fisheries warm up and start their hatch cycle slightly earlier than others. This makes for great fishing conditions in March and April when higher-elevation fisheries have yet to thaw. Low-elevation fisheries are also the ones that get too hot in the summertime to fish ethically, so getting on them early is key to finding the best fishing.
I recommend researching some lakes and streams below 5000 feet in the region and giving them a try when spring comes around. You may find some great fishing earlier in the year than you might expect.
Check The Forecast
Important for any time of year, checking the forecast is key to being at the right place at the right time. A few days of hot, sunny weather may melt snow in the high country, causing many freestone fisheries to run high and muddy.
In contrast, with a few days of cool, cloudy weather, flows drop and kick off epic hatches of baetis and march browns on the freestones. Or has the big brown trout fired up to eat streamers. Maybe the wind is blowing like none other in one river valley, while the next valley is dead calm (highly unlikely in MT, but you never know). These are just a few examples of how important weather patterns can be in the spring, and why it’s important to watch the weather before planning a fishing trip.
Stay Up To Date On Fishing Regulations
Lastly, it’s always important to check the fishing regulations before heading out in the spring. The excitement for another fishing season builds up, and you want to start exploring new fisheries as soon as the weather warms. I do it every year after a winter of mapping locations and planning trips. But it’s important to check the regulations, as some fisheries do not open until the third weekend in May, after the general fishing season opener.
Not to mention all the fishing regulation changes in the past few years regarding tackle restrictions, spawning closures, and opening/closing dates. It’s always good to review the year’s fishing regulations and note any changes before hitting the river each spring.
I hope this blog post gives you some insight and spurs your excitement for spring fishing. If you have any questions about spring fishing in the Yellowstone Region, please send me a message or leave a comment. I always love our conversations!
Thanks for reading,
Nick
4 thoughts on “Six Tips For Spring Fly Fishing”
It’s cool that you have March Browns in your system. I don’t believe we have them down here on our freestones.
Thanks Dan!
Yes the March Brown fishing can be epic in the spring. It can be hard to time and it can be short window with fluctuating flows, but if you are lucky enough to hit it right it is memorable. The two days I have hit it right are etched into my memory. Size 12 mayflies in the spring, so awesome.
Excellent information that will
help my fishing
Thanks so much
Thank you so much Paul! Hope the shoulder is healing well. 🙂