You rarely know what to expect when fishing the spring months in the Greater Yellowstone Region. Full of excitement for wet wading and dry flies, I catch myself pushing summer fishing during spring conditions. I fished a few watersheds before their prime this spring, which led to these trips failing to meet expectations. On the other hand, this spring brought some surprisingly good days for many fisheries. In this article, I share the ups and downs of this spring fishing in the Greater Yellowstone Region.
Spring Fishing 2024
Many worry about the upcoming summer after a relatively mild, dry winter. There is a lot of talk about warm water temperatures and a long fire season among anglers and other outdoor enthusiasts. While this is still in the cards, this spring brought wet conditions that prolonged runoff and added much-needed snow to the mountain peaks. As I write this, it is the first week of June, and we are finally seeing peak flows on our local rivers. Rivers rose and fell for a few weeks as air temperatures warmed and cooled. For the angler diligently watching flows, one found stellar fishing opportunities in the changing flows.
With the potential of a hot summer ahead, I looked to take advantage of the spring fishing opportunities. I spent time on tried-and-true spring rivers as well as sampled new waters, hoping to stumble into a new spring fishery.
The Missouri River is a spring staple and the watershed I focused on this spring. The Mo is a fly fisher’s playground where anglers can catch fish using almost any technique. With 6000+ fish per mile in the upper reaches, there are plenty of trout to go around.
My favorite spring trip was in April when my closest friends and family spent a few days floating this famous river. We celebrated my upcoming marriage and had a hoot of a time on the river. It was my first time sharing a boat with my father and brother, which meant the world to me. The fishing was stellar, and the guys who came along made for many laughs and a memorable trip. It was an unforgettable weekend.
We were able to squeeze in a trip to Pyramid Lake this spring. We have done this trip for a few years, and I couldn’t imagine a spring without it. I recapped the journey in a previous article, so I won’t go into detail here. I’ll just say we explored the lake with ladders for the first time, and it rewarded some of my biggest trout to date. It’s an epic fishery, and I believe every fly angler should try it once.
The Mother’s Day caddis hatch was solid this spring, and I made a few trips to local waters after work to dry fly fish. Having blue ribbon trout water a short distance away makes it possible to fish after a full day in the office. It’s a blessing that makes the high cost of living in Bozeman suck a little less.
Throughout May, I spent a lot of time outside camping and fishing. I racked up many nights sleeping in the bed of my truck, where I prefer to sleep from May through October. Seeing the first green fields of the year is a reminder of why we grind through the harsh winters to live here. The fishing was hit and miss, but waking up to many beautiful sunrises was all I could ask for.
During the last few weeks of spring, I chased hatches looking to test the many dry flies I tied this winter. I was blessed with a few worthy days of salmonfly fishing. This hatch has always excited me, but for whatever reason I can’t get it off my mind this year. Watching a trout eat a big fly on the surface is so unique and can only be done for a few months of the year. Taking a few days each spring to fish the big bug is worth missing out on the hot fishing on other rivers this time of year.
The dry fly bite was stellar this spring as I continued to enhance my dry fly skills. A few things I am working on include tying and fishing flies I can see, tinkering with long leaders, and fishing more difficult fisheries. The many days spent on the water the past few seasons are paying off big time, resulting in some epic fish caught on dry flies. However, I have a hard time contributing it all to my skills and feel lucky to be at the right place at the right time.
I don’t consider myself a dry fly snob, but I struggle to understand why anyone would fish another way this time of year. These fish below show that quality fish can be caught on dry flies.
It is now the beginning of June, my favorite month to fish in the region. Drakes are about to pop, along with the leu of hatches that make June so special. It’s hard to keep up with life’s responsibilities during this time of year, and I understand why some let it all go to live the trout bum way. While many of us choose otherwise, let’s make June count. We only get one of them a year.
My Setup
I spent most of my days nymphing or dry fly fishing this spring. My nymph rod of choice has been my 9-foot 6-weight Sage Pulse paired with a Scientific Anglers Infinity Smooth fly line. This line loads the rod nicely and casts heavy nymph rigs effortlessly. My nymphing leaders start with a 7.5-foot 1x leader attached to a tippet ring. I attach three to six feet of 3x or 4x fluorocarbon from the tippet ring to my flies.
My dry fly rod of choice is my 9-foot 5wt Orvis Helios 3F paired with a Scientific Anglers Smooth Trout taper fly line. This rod is a dry fly machine and excels with smaller dry flies. However, I have had difficulty fishing big bugs with it and may look to a stiffer alternative. My dry fly leaders range from 9 to 12 feet, usually down to 5x tippet.
I had success with various patterns this spring, and here are a few that caught the biggest or most fish. Many of these flies were shared in my newsletter this spring. If you still need to sign up, I highly recommend if you want to stay updated on The Curious Angler.
What Did I Learn?
As I mentioned, I experienced inconsistent fishing this spring. The slow fishing was due to trying new fisheries and testing new methods rather than poor fishing conditions. There are fisheries where I know I can catch fish in the spring months, probably some big ones, but I’ve come to enjoy the unknown in fly fishing.
I often use the analogy of “scratching an itch” when talking with other anglers. An itch is a curiosity that I want to explore. I learned this spring that the fun is in scratching the itch. Whether it was fishing salmonflies at night, fishing a new lake, or trying a different stretch of river, I found satisfaction in scratching my itches this spring, whether they resulted in good fishing or not. I look to do more of this rather than settling into the same patterns year after year, pushing myself to explore new fisheries and techniques. It may not always result in good fishing, but I will learn a lot along the way, making me proud of the angler I am becoming.
What Left Me Curious?
Fishing this spring made me curious about night fishing and the lure of it. I would love to hear your opinion on night fishing and your experiences with it. I have dabbled in night fishing occasionally over the last few years with little success. Though I have little knowledge and skills around night fishing, I can’t help but think it is overrated based on my experiences.
I want to learn what I am doing wrong, what time of year is best, and what fisheries are best suited for night fishing. It would be interesting to talk with someone who consistently night fishes and knows a lot about it. While I have lost some urge to do it after my night fishing experiences, I look forward to late summer nights fishing evening caddis and spinner falls.
2 thoughts on “Spring Recap 2024”
Nick; the only fishing at night in Colorado is the famous Lightning Round on the Roaring Fork river (a tributary of the Colorado) where the Green drakes hatch right after the sun sets. This will start in about 2 or 3 weeks and can be 20 – 60 minutes of the most fun you can have with your clothes on. There is often an egg laying caddis hatch immediately preceding the Drakes. Of course, it’s simple to distinguish a slashy rise from a cannonball. You can’t see much unless there is glare in the water – just cast towards the splash and hang on for your life 😂.
That sounds incredible! Gotta love an evening drake hatch. I’m happy to fish a hatch late into the evening as it is often less crowded and provides for some special fishing.
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