Tags: River - YNP - Firehole

It simple seems impossible that this will be our last report on the Firehole for this season.   I’ll be damned if it seems like just yesterday we had driven into the Park back in April to say hello to an old friend.

There is a lot of water around the region that is fishing very, very well, though yesterday events conspired to put us on the Firehole and Madison.

The weather forecast (more below) combined with family and work schedules for the week suggested that if we didn’t hit the Park yesterday, it just might not happen before the closure upcoming on the 1^st of November.   After securing appropriate clearance from all spouses, etc. involved in the decision making process, Jake and I headed down 191 from Bozeman expecting to see a fair amount of hunt related traffic given the opening of the big game season yesterday at sunrise.

As we drove through an empty West Yellowstone the only person on the street was a successful hunter showing off a 5 by 5 elk bull to friends at Bud Lilly’s.

We headed for a stretch of the Firehole in the Fountain Flats area that had fished well late last fall.  Soft hackles were again a nifty approach drifted over and around the weedbeds until the size 22-24 olives started coming off.  There are some amazingly nice fish in this area who yesterday demanded a spotless drift or they were down for several minutes, but they’d be back at given the temptation of some of the last bugs of the season.  The sun felt toasty despite the 30 degree temps and guides iced for the first time this year.  Three hours flew before cold fingers and toes demanded a break.

It was then on to the Madison looking for some bigger bruisers – Jake even drug out the spey rod to play with…..

It got chilly when the sun dipped behind the last ridge; don’t forget to pack all of your cold weather gear this week – the forecast looks a little chilly.

The Firehole and Madison are having a banner fall in the Park; if you have to hit Yellowstone one more time, there will be plenty of fishing to do before the gates swing closed on the 2009 season.

Tags: River - YNP - Firehole

With just under a couple of weeks left in the Park’s fishing season, yesterday Jake and I were able to break away from our respective families and work duties to hit the Park with the intent of fishing three different waters.

Two were ‘drive-by’ fisheries that attract a lot of attention and to be honest at times a bit of scorn from the neighbors given the ease which even a marginally fit fisherman might amble from their motorized chariot to the water’s edge.  Sometimes you just have to do it anyway.

One of those ‘drive-by’ rivers is of course the Firehole, our second river of the day.  There were a smattering of Baetis, Caddis (believe it or not) and midges; our fish were taken on swinging soft hackles and nymphs as the surface activity was inconsistent and spotty.  Photographic light was a bit funky and the approaching thunderstorms tossed a breeze here and there.

The late afternoon / early evening power snack between the Firehole and Madison.

We closed the day out on the Madison throwing streamers and drifting a soft hackle here and there.  No pics in the rain and darkness, but a few nifty fish until darkness fell and a tired (and somewhat cranky) ranger reminded us that it was time to call it a day.

The first river of the day?  We’ve been sworn on pain of death to silence, though it’s fair to say that thousands of fishers drive right by it on the way in to West Yellowstone every year.   Not big, never crowded, almost always fishy.

Bring the bear spray, we were nudged off yesterday by Ursus arctos horribilis.

Tags: River - YNP - Firehole

Twenty days of YNP fishing are remaining in this season.

Twenty days.

I’ll be damned if it doesn’t seem like just yesterday we were gearing up in May and early June for the Firehole’s spring mayfly run.

The Firehole is a most interesting river this time of year;  despite the chilly air temps the Firehole’s geothermal features feed warm water into the system and preserve some very interesting fishing opportunities when many other rivers and streams in the area are cooling rapidly.

There are still Baetis to be sure on the river; we have our favorite riffle runs to swing soft hackles through, and there are still midges (often useful) and a Caddis or two.  A little sun this week and warming temps should make for a great week here.

Tags: River - YNP - Firehole

I’m not sure about conditions on Park roads this morning; obviously there’s some snow down in West Yellowstone and on into the Park.  It is 27 this morning in West (0730) according to The Weather Underground with snow ‘ankle deep’ according to Yellowstoner.

Have another cup of coffee this morning. Have two.

Mid to late fall means Baetis on the Firehole, and while we wholeheartedly agree that there are many other waters that are fishing just dandy right in and around the Park (particularly on the west side), for me and a lot of other folks fishing the Firehole is kind of a must-do, almost spiritual thing this time of year.

The most active mayfly hatches have been coming off roughly from 11-1500 and from reports have been pretty damned active the past few days.   The Caddis can’t go on forever but they still been out from about 1500 – 1900 keeping fisherfolk busy most of the day.

Weather this week will be unsettled (understatement of the day) early and late in the week; be prepared for temps to be a bit more chilly than normal and for a little snow.

There’s still lots of fishing to be done before the Park season ends…

Tags: River - YNP - Firehole

Wednesday will likely be one of those days Firehole fans been looking for – a long awaited cool, cloudy and rainy day.

The Firehole has been quite fishable given the smattering of Baetis coming off and fairly robust White Miller Caddis hatches coming off on the sunny warm days that have graced the neighborhood for the bulk of September.

Weather isn’t everything, but fall on the Firehole often brings to mind overcast, cool / cold and drizzly days.  If the forecast holds the rain will start Tuesday night, with the high on Wednesday forecast to be 40 in West Yellowstone, with Wednesday night forecast to be a chilly 21.

Time for some warmer gear – gloves and hats will be making their way out of the closet shortly.

See you on the Firehole this Wednesday…..

Tags: River - YNP - Firehole

To be brutally honest I haven’t been in the main body of the Park for a week, and in particular haven’t spent any time on one of my favorite fall season rivers – The Firehole.

One reason is that life has been a bit busy of late; one reason is that last week was much more like summer than the second week of September should be.

The word is that the river has been fishing decently during the Caddis window in the later afternoon and early evening.  There are some other bugs around as well – midges and a Baetis or two, but we’re all looking for the cool, overcast weather that will really drive the Baetis over here.

It’s cool this morning at about 7 (31 in Bozeman at my place and 32 in West Yellowstone per The Weather Underground); we’ll see the 80s in a day or two and WY will be back in the 7o’s.  There wasn’t much in terms of moisture as yesterday’s storm moved through and there’s not much in terms of clouds forecast for the week.

We’ll all enjoy Indian Summer while it lasts…..though the Firehole is not at its fall prime just yet.

Tags: River - YNP - Firehole

Bright sunshine has been keeping the afternoon water temps on the lower river ‘toasty’ despite the cool mornings, as you can see from the temp chart (from near the Madison confluence) water temps have still been pushing 72 (save for yesterday).

Caddis are still rolling off in the afternoons, best above Midway, though when we made a ‘thinking trip’ last week there was a few mayflies coming off as well very late on a cool day.

There’s not an impressive change in the weather pattern coming up next week so looks like more of the same……..

Fall fishing on the Firehole is so close you can almost taste it; Indian Summer fall days of bright sunshine are nice, but I’m looking for a couple of days of cloudy, drizzly weather to get things really rolling.  There is plenty of great fishing around the neighborhood right now to keep you occupied.

Tags: River - YNP - Firehole

Nice thought, but I doubt it.

Friend and foes in the neighborhood were debating at a gathering yesterday evening whether or not this week’s weather will mark the turn into the genuine fall season; more than one of us present tend to think first of the Firehole when discussion of fall fishing in the neighborhood comes around.

Looking at this week’s weather forecast for West Yellowstone, in my humble opinion it looks too warm and sunny for fall (dang – we’ve had four days of 90+ here in Bozeman), but the next few days do look interesting.

Firehole water temps at the lower gage are still bumping up into the don’t – fish range, but temps above Midway have been much better, with more and more talk about fishable Caddis in the evenings being heard here and there.  The water is in even better shape above Old Faithful.

Lots of folks have seen the first of the late season’s BWOs on the right kind of cloudy, cool day – we’ll be seeing more and more over the next few weeks.

Definitely getting closer.

Tags: River - YNP - Firehole

Frankly there are a lot of places in and around the Park that offer much better fishing right (consider the Gallatin for example my friends), though we seem to get inquiries about the Firehole endlessly during the season.

Morning water temps even on the lower Firehole have been looking better; this past week temps have been creeping down to the 63-64 degree range (chart).  We agree heartily with those who are advising a very cautious approach to the lower Firehole right now – water temps need to followed carefully and it’s still probably too warm below Midway to fish these days.

That said, more than one Firehole loving friend and neighbor has seen and fished the Fall Baetis as well as ongoing Caddis (white miller, with Hydropscyhe just around the corner.

The upper river (above Old Faithful) looks even better; water temps have been ranging from a very promising 50 in the morning to the low 60s during the heat of the afternoon.

Not in her fall prime by any means, but it’s not far off.

Tags: River - YNP - Firehole

It’s clearly still August, albeit late August – in a ‘typical’ Yellowstone year that means it’s still summer but evidence the arrival of Fall is accumulating in the hills and along the river.

The lower Firehole has even been teasing its followers a bit of late – water temperatures have been cooling somewhat and there have been some days where the afternoon Caddis  hatch has been fishable, the damsels have been flying, and terrestrials have been active (this is prime ant and beetle territory).  Though I’ve not been there on the right kind of day myself of late, it sounds like in the clouds there’ve been some baetis around.

Yesterday’s rains (I heard that it was in the low 50s much of the afternoon on the river yesterday) pushed flows a bit this morning.

The warm weather coming this week will make the upper Firehole a much more rational target, but the Firehole’s famous fall hatches are just around the corner.

Tags: River - YNP - Firehole

Scanning data on the computer this morning it’s a chilly 39  here in Bozeman and 29 in Island Park.  I was talking with a friend in Austin yesterday who said it was a balmy 100 down there in the Lone Star State yesterday afternoon.

What a contrast in temperatures and geography.

Weather in the neighborhood has felt a bit like fall the past few days, and the river temps are showing a change as well.  Look what’s happened to the water temps on the lower Firehole over the past several days – it looks more like September than the third week of August.

Sunshine and warmer temps are coming back, so it’s not yet time to get excited about fishing the lower river quite yet – though the upper Firehole continues to roll right along and has been fishing well this summer.

Don’t forget the Nez Perce when you’re in this neck of the woods – it’s been fishing really well and is a great late summer small water in the Park.  Keep an eye peeled for bison and bears.

Tags: River - YNP - Firehole

The Firehole River that most of us think of still needs a rest during these warmer days – think of it as siesta time for the Firehole.   Fair game to wander onto the upper river above Old Faithful – though not many head that way this time of year (hint, hint).

Tags: River - YNP - Firehole

Tags: River - YNP - Firehole

I’ve been away for a couple of days doing some work in the Flathead region of Montana (photography work at the Rebecca Farms Three Day Event in Kalispell) and have come back to Bozeman to find the weather forecast this week looking a lot more like the first or second week of September than the last week of July.

It’s cloudy and a very comfortable 60 this morning in Bozeman as I write this, and there have already been a handful of emails come in this morning early asking if the Firehole will fish in the cooler weather due this week.

The answer is yes and no.

Conventional wisdom this time of year for those who absolutely must fish the Firehole says you need to be fishing the section above Old Faithful – it’s by far cooler water, much less crowded and fished, and in fact is very nice water.

The lower river has been far too warm these past few weeks, and despite the upcoming forecast for some briskly cool nights in the West Yellowstone area (as seen below), our guess is that the lower Firehole will still warm too much during the day to be a fair target.

There’s a lot of great water out there…..

Tags: River - YNP - Firehole