Winter fishing in the Yellowstone region is special. Little fishing pressure, happy trout, and snowy landscapes make it a peaceful time to fish the region. This winter was no different. In this article, I recap the winter fishing season from my perspective. I share my setup, what I learned, and what left me curious.
Winter Fishing in Yellowstone 2024
In the fall fishing recap, I shared the epic dry fly days I experienced in November. This was the last dry fly fishing of the year for me. December brought a few days of ice fishing and nymphing. I continued experimenting with flies tied for ice fishing and had some fun days on the hard water. If you have never tried ice fishing, it is a fun change of pace after many months of fly fishing.
I fished the famous Depuy’s Spring Creek for the first time this winter. What a fun and challenging creek. There is something oddly entertaining about the whole experience, checking in at a southern mansion with views of the Absorka mountain range. A few rainbows were caught, though the wind made it even more difficult than it already was. Depuy’s was a fun creek, though I don’t see myself paying to fish there often.
An obstacle I dealt with this winter was my truck breaking down on the way back from fishing the Madison. My 2000 Chevy Silverado is the first and only vehicle I’ve owned. With 268k miles, it has taken me all over the West on many memorable adventures. For a variety of reasons, it took two months to diagnose the issue and put a rebuilt transmission in the truck. Thanks to my fishy friends and my fiance’s car, I still got out fishing my fair share of days over this stretch. But wow am I excited to finally have it back for another fishing season.
2024 started with a float with some fishy friends and we found our fair share of beautiful winter rainbows. That seemed to be the highlight for me this winter fishing the Yellowstone region, gorgeous rainbow trout. What fun it is to catch a winter rainbow that puts on a show with its aerial acrobatics.
Sprinkled in between the rainbows were a few quality browns, including my biggest brown trout to date. On a rare 45-degree day in January, I lucked into this fish. It will go down as one of the most memorable fish of the year. Check out the article I wrote on the experience here.
February brought some of the first spring midge hatches of the year. Above and below the surface, small midge patterns produced quality fish. Fishing small flies on light tippets is one of my favorite things to do and how I caught many trout this winter season.
The weather this winter was mild at best. We had many stretches here in Southwest Montana that felt much more like April than the middle of winter. Warm weather, little precipitation, and mild wind made it tempting to get out any chance I got. This led me to be outside more than in previous winters whether it was hiking, snowshoeing, or fishing. Because of this, I am way behind on my tying goals for the winter. Now that spring is here, I have accepted that many flies will go untied.
While the conditions were prime for winter fishing, it did not set up an ideal snowpack for the summer season. Southwest Montana got little precipitation, though other areas in the Greater Yellowstone Region look good as I write this. With reservoirs full from last year’s above-average precipitation and a decent snowpack in the region, I expect it to be a productive fishing season for anglers willing to seek it.
Check out these links for the current snowpack numbers in the area. Take these into consideration if planning a fishing trip this summer.
Montana Current Snow Water Equivalent
Idaho Current Snow Water Equivalent
Wyoming Current Snow Water Equivalent
Who’s ready for another fun year in trout country? Let’s continue to pray for snow and be grateful for each day we get on the water this year.
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My Setup
I fished a bobber nymph setup much more often than I expected this winter. I only used euro nymphing techniques a few days this winter, spending most of my time casting a fly line.
Most of my rigs included a standard nymphing setup, but I played around with short-leash nymphing this winter. This was surprisingly effective. Using a standard 9-foot 3x leader, I cut back the leader a foot or two and added a few feet of 5x tippet. I then tied two small midge flies in tandem (off the hook point) and used an x-small indicator above the knot. I couldn’t believe how effective this technique was in shallow flats and slicks, areas where I often find fish rising in the winter.
My most productive flies this winter included the mercury black beauty midge, manhattan midge, griffiths gnat, olive spanish bullet, hot bead ray charles, and a soft hackle ray charles. Check them out below.
What Did I Learn?
The consensus among many fly fishermen is that big fish eat big flies. This can be true, especially when talking about fish that measure over two feet long. While I do not always target big fish, I do enjoy being in tune with the hatches and the food source of trout. I learned this winter that many big fish (trout over 18 inches for my standards) can be caught on flies that imitate the most abundant food source, no matter how big it is.
The three biggest trout I witnessed this winter were all caught on small flies. Here are those three fish and what they were caught on.
It was eye-opening to see these quality trout fooled on small food items. Yes, big fish eat big flies. But I believe big fish also eat what is most desirable and abundant on any given day. Whether it be baitfish in the shallows, hoppers on undercut banks, or emerging midge pupae in the slicks. I trust that if you are in tune with the environment and match the hatch fish are keying in on, you have a good chance of hooking into a big trout (assuming that is the goal for the day). Fishing this winter proved this to be true.
What Left Me Curious?
Speaking of big flies, I struggled this winter when streamer fishing. I went out on multiple outings to fish various streamer patterns and had little success. After a few hours, I would switch to dry flies or nymphs and instantly catch fish. This is why I rarely stick to streamer fishing for a full day.
What am I doing wrong? Is winter streamer fishing worth it? Am I using the wrong flies or not fishing slow enough? What should my retrieve be in the winter months? These are a few questions I pondered after my streamer struggles this winter. Maybe my expectations were too high and winter streamer fishing is just slow. I’d love to hear your thoughts on winter streamer fishing and how you find success.
Whatever it may be, I am excited for water temperatures to warm and for fish to become more active on the streamer bite. I do love a good day of streamer fishing.
2 thoughts on “Winter Fishing Recap 2024”
Those are some monster winter fish my friend!! Very nice!!
Thanks Dan! Sorry I am just seeing this comment, but I was blessed to witness some quality fish this winter.
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