Gallatin River Reports

       Fishing has still been decent with the same winter routine of nymphing the slow, deep runs.  Smaller stonefly nymphs, midges, worms, eggs continue to produce.  Ice hasn’t been an issue, but it looks like some colder, winter weather is on the way.   

                The mild weather has made for spring-like fishing on the Gallatin.  Down in the valley has been good without the normal ice buildup we should have during winter.  If the wind is blowing you can head into the canyon to escape it.  Typical winter nymph rigs are

It seems like the bugs are really enjoying the mild winter we’re having so far. People are finding midges just about everyday on the Gallatin and more often than not the fish are up on them. The river’s running clear and cool right now, so the fish are a little lethargic and pretty spooky. A simple parachute Adams is enough to

        Recent warm weather was making for some really good fishing on the Gallatin.  Unfortunately, there is some ice and slush that has developed over the last few cold nights.  A few warmer days should help out with the ice situation.  Midge larva patterns trailed behind the usual worm or rubberleg had been working just fine.

Fishing on the Gallatin was slow for us the last couple of days.  We can only assume that it’s because of the colder weather that came in as soon as John got some time off to fish, but he’s not grumpy about it or anything.  Hopefully the weather will warm back up once John gets some time off later

The Gallatin continues to fish well with the warm weather.  I snuck out of work early yesterday because the weather was just too nice to ignore.  I got to the river above the Lava Lake about 1:30 and nothing was going on.  I got some fish to eat worms and midge pupa then started to see some fish rising at the tail out

The Gallatin in the Canyon fished pretty well on Tuesday.  Fish were rising when we got there and we picked up a couple on emergers before they went down and we got down to the business of nymphing.  All the different colored worms we tried worked but Steven’s purple worm seemed to be the best.  We also caught fish on

      The weather is warm enough for fishing to be decent at the moment.  Afternoons are best during the warmest part of the day.  Nymphing has been decent, but the occasional midge hatch has some fish feeding on the surface.  Smaller stonefly nymphs and midge larva are effective when dead-drifted in slower, deeper holes.  Use enough weight

        The Gallatin had been fishing well earlier this week, but colder weather has slowed things down.  The middle of the day is best when the water warms up a bit.  Nymphing is the best way to catch fish now, but the occasional midge hatch has some fish feeding on the surface.  Smaller stonefly nymphs and

On warmer days we’ve heard some pretty good reports from the Gallatin.  There has even been a fair amount of dry fly fishing down here in the valley.  It may be good up in the canyon also, but we’ve heard more reports from the river closer to home.  Of course the wind has been kind of bad and

We’re seeing slower typical winter fishing conditions on the Gallatin now. Fish are rather lethargic and won’t move much to munch on a fly. Slow swung streamers or deep nymph rigs will be the best choice. Look for areas where you can get long slow drifts with the nymphs.

It really sounds like the Gallatin is fishing better down here in the valley than up in the canyon.  It’s been a while since we heard any reports of dry fly fishing but we would still have a few small Adams’ or Grifith’s Gnats in our box just to be safe.  For the most part it’s

          Afternoon fishing is still good on the Gallatin, but mornings are kind of slow with the water being cold.  There are still some fish rising baetis on cloudy afternoons.  Smaller sized streamers have worked well, especially late in the day when the water is warmest.  Mayfly and stonefly nymphs are the most reliable

        The Gallatin is clearing after the rain caused a spike in flows this weekend.  There is currently about 18 inches of visibility which is great for fishing nymphs and streamers.  Streamer fishing has been solid over the last couple of weeks.  Lighter colors on sunny days and darker colors on cloudy days is the general rule.

The Gallatin looks much better this morning than it did yesterday afternoon.  It should fish fine, although we would still have much more confidence fishing nymphs over dries.  Of course, there is no reason why the fish couldn’t get on a baetis or midge hatch.  Maybe we’ll even get some mahoganies soon.

The Gallatin has gained a little bit of volume and color with the recent rains.  It should clear quickly and fish quite well as it does, but for now we expect the fishing to be a little slow.  If you do head out there it’s time to break out the rubber legs and San Juan’s you haven’t

The Gallatin has been fishing good lately and it should only continue to improve as the summer crowds vacate. Attractor dries on warmer days have been producing fish. Dropping a small beadhead dropper off the back has been very productive too. Stonefly-beadhead dropper rigs have been good as always. Baetis and other Fall dry flies should also get going soon. I haven’t talked

The Gallatin is low and clear again.  Fishing has been steady but a little slow.  There are some caddis, bwo’s, and midges out and you can find some fish up on them.  It seems like there are fewer and fewer fish on the banks and more and more hiding in the deeper buckets of the river.  If you&rsquo

Flows on the Gallatin have risen a bit with the recent rain storms.  This doesn’t seem to have helped the fishing.  The reports we’re hearing is that it’s still been kind of slow, but that the nymphing has been a little better than the dry fly fishing.  The fish should get on the fall hatches pretty

More of the same on the Gallatin.  We’re still stuck in the late summer doldrums a bit, but we’re hoping the change in the weather should get some fall activity going.  Today’s overcast skies may make for some awesome Baetis hatches, and maybe even some early mahogany duns.  Is that too much to ask?

OK, we’re just gonna say it.  The dry fly fishing on the Gallatin has really slowed down.  We’re not saying you can’t get a fish to come up and eat a moth, or a little Wulff, or maybe even a hopper down here in the valley, but you’ll probably do much better if you nymph.

The Gallatin is still fishing really well, although the spruce moth silliness is pretty much over.  You can still search with a big elk hair caddis of spruce moth pattern and take some fish, but you’ll probably do better with some smaller attractor dries like little wulffs, Purple Haze’s, and Parachute Adam’s.  Bigger dries might be a

The Gallatin is still fishing good and fairly predictably, which more than we can say for some other places. Dark and tan caddis continue to hatch in the early morning and late evening. PMD’s are also still a predominant hatch in the evening. The spruce moth are starting to really thin out now, but moth patterns are still good to search with. Attractor

The spruce moths are still out and about on the Gallatin, but not as much as they have been. Searching with the spruce dries should still yield fish. Attractor dries are still a good searching option during the day. From what I’m gathering small hoppers have been producing good numbers of fish in the valley stretches; as well as beetles and ants. Nymphing,

The Gallatin continues to fish well with spruce moth dries during the morning and late afternoon into the evening. There has also been a fair amount of caddis out during those periods in both tan or darker colors. After the sun gets off the water in the evenings there have been some really good hatches of PMD’s that the fish have been exclusively

Spruce Moths are still making for some excellent fishing in Gallatin Canyon.   An Elk Hair Caddis is still worked great for me yesterday, but I like to fish the fast water in between the runs.  If you’re fishing the long flat pools you may need something more specific, but you’ll probably catch more fish if you just move.

The Gallatin is in good shape and dry fly fishing has been solid.  Fishing up in the canyon is great with moths and attractor patterns starting around mid-morning when the sun warms up the water.  Mid-day dry fly fishing can slow down, so try using a dry-dropper rig or just nymphing.  Hoppers have worked well down in the valley and in some

More of the same on the Gallatin.  People are still fishing moths, attractor dries are still catching fish mid day, and you can still nymph if you want to.  The mid-day surface bite in the Canyon will probably start to slow down when the Moths do.  Nymphing will start to take over especially if there aren’t any bugs on the

Our friend Bob fished the canyon this morning.  He saw good numbers of Spruce Moths and did very well fishing a big Elk Hair Caddis.  I had a similar experience yesterday afternoon.  Fish were eating a big elk hair better than anything even though I didn’t see as many moths as Bob did.  I think it’s safe

Yesterday evening fish we took some fish on the surface last night, but it wasn’t every fish in the river.  We got to the river about 6:30, and early on the fish were eating more subsurface, but we got a few random strikes on top with some attractor patterns.  When the sun started going down fish started to rise to caddis in

The rain showers last night brought flows up on the Gallatin last night just a little bit. Not enough to throw the fishing off completely. Taylor’s Fork did get hit pretty good last night so don’t be surprised to see a mud plug come through today. Shouldn’t be very big though. We’re still seeing decent caddis hatches

We’ve already heard reports of fish surface feeding today, even down here in the valley.  The overcast weather is good for the PMD’s, and we’ve also seen sallies and caddis mid-day.  Don’t forget some parachute Adam’s; they seem to work in this weather regardless of what’s going on.  Similar weather

The Gallatin has been fishing well over the past week. Caddis have been hatching mornings and evenings on most stretches. The caddis dry action hasn’t been red hot, but steady. Attractor dries during the day have been producing fish. Fishing the caddis hatches subsurface with pupa has been much more productive. There really hasn’t been much interest on bigger rubberleg stuff,

Fished the Gallatin in the valley up by the mouth of the canyon today. There was some dry fly fishing in the morning on yellow Stimis and Humpys. The nymph bite was better and steady on small beadheads; didn’t catch many on stonefly nymphs. Turning over some rocks I saw some midnight stones and three Salmofly nymphs, which was kind of neat. Also

We’re finally hearing reports of some very good dry fly fishing in Gallatin Canyon.  Caddis, Green Drakes, and Yellow Sallies have all been seen on the water and fish are eating most of their imitations along with the classic attractor patterns we all love to fish on the Gallatin.  The river is still a bit high, but clarity has really improved

The Gallatin has really begun fishing well the last week or so. The flows are still unseasonably high, but we’re below 2,000cfs which is fantastic. We had a rainstorm this week that dirtied the river up, but it’s fine now. Clarity has been bouncing around 1½ and 2½ feet, and that’s just fine for the Gallatin. I heard some

The river is slowly dropping and clearing up just a little bit everyday. There is 1-2 feet of visibility throughout much of the river and it is green in color. There are lots of rafters in between Big Sky and Storm Castle...so be prepared. A few Salmonflies and Golden Stones can still be found throughout the upper reaches and the fish were eating big

We’ve been hearing more reports of people catching fish on the Gallatin, even on dries.  I went down to the bridge today and got a fish to eat a nymph and we spoke with a couple of our customers who have had some dry fly fishing.  High water is still an issue and making it difficult to get to water that

We’re still waiting to hear our first reports of fantastic fishing on the Gallatin, but it looks better everyday and more and more people are testing their luck.  This morning when I went down to look at the river I saw an angler nymph up a whitefish.  We also had more reports of bunches of salmonflies up in the canyon complete

Chris just ran out to check the Gallatin and found the viz to be about a foot and a half.  He even got a couple of fish to eat a Stimmy, and saw another better fish eat a PMD.  The river is still very high and a bit off color but it’s starting to fish.  It won’t be

Flows on the Gallatin have been declining slowly over the pact week and the river is finally fishable after weeks of historic flows. It’s not great yet but there is about a foot of visibility and that should only improve as the river contiues to drop. Stonefly nymphs and shiny small beadheads or San Juan worms will be your best bet. The river

I just clocked out for a half an hour and went down to look at the Gallatin at Shed’s.  I thought it was just to get out of the shop for a hot second, but the river is starting to look noticeably better.  I decided to make a few casts from the bank with a girdle and a wire worm. 

The Gallatin is still pretty darn dirty but it’s not as darn dirty as it was a few days ago.  The river is slowly coming back into shape, but it still has a ways to go.  We have heard that some salmonflies have been seen up in the canyon, just not by any trout.  Hopefully within a week or so

Over the past week the Gallatin has set several flow records and peaked over 8,000cfs at the Gateway station. The river has come down to about 6,500cfs but it is still high and muddy, with zero visibility here at Sheds Bridge. We just need to wait a little longer and the river should clear up and start coming down. I took a drive up the

Even though the Gallatin has come down a fair ammount over the last few days the river is still unfishable for the most part. I haven't heard any reports from up above Taylor's Fork recently. Check some of our Blogs over the past fews days if you haven't already:   6/24/11 - Gateway Flooding 6/26/11 - House Rock  

The Gallatin here in the valley continues to be unfishable and dangerously high. Gallatin Forks and Erwin Bridge river accesses are still closed due to flooding. However, I have heard from a very reliable source that the Gallatin above the Taylor’s Fork has had about 2 feet of visibility for the past few days. That will probably be substantially reduced as this week of

The Gallatin is pretty much unfishable right now. There may be a few back eddies and such might produce some fish, but for the most part the river is simply too high and dirty; at least down here in the valley and canyon. I haven’t heard anything recently from above the Taylor’s Fork, but I would assume that it isn&rsquo

Feeding on the warm weather yesterday the runoff on the Gallatin continued to grow increasing flows this morning to just shy of 5,000cfs. I didn’t have chance to check out the river this morning before work, but I can only imagine there is zero visibility and trees floating by. Wading is completely out of the question, so please don’t even try

Even though the Gallatin was fishable yesterday today the visibility is down to just a few inches. Probably isn’t worth fishing today but we are supposed to get some cooler weather over the next few days some we may see yet another lull in runoff. We’ll keep you posted.

The Gallatin has had about a foot of visibility for a few days now and has been fishing well enough to warrant a mention. The fish are stacked up in any slack water or eddie. I caught fish at a few bridges in the valley the other day. The key is just to fish the slack water thoroughly to make sure the fish have a

The Gallatin has risen a bit but it’s in a lot better shape than it’s going to be in a couple of days if temperatures get up to there predicted highs.  Warm weather is going to bring a lot of snow melt which will bring a lot of mud.  Today might be your last day to really have a

The Gallatin was looking really good yesterday it had come down and cleared up a little with the cold nights we’ve been having the in the mountains. The river flows are still dropping but the clarity had deteriorated some since yesterday. It still has a slight green tinge but visibility is back to about a foot. You could still diffidently catch fish some

For now Highway 191 is open to through traffic. I haven’t heard the latest but they seem to have unclogged the culvert or diverted the water; those were the two methods they were using. Yesterday the Gallatin was still high and muddy. There was about a half a foot or so of visibility at Gallatin Gateway. So, if you found a little back eddie

The Gallatin is very high now, and there is flooding on the road near Greek Creek.  The canyon is actually close to traffic at the moment while they are trying to divert water with bulldozers. 

The Gallatin is getting bigger and bigger by the day. The flows topped 2000cfs today and the river is very dirty as you might expect. There was less than 6 inches of visibility just before noon today. If you want to try your luck find the back eddies or the slackest water you can, somewhere where the fish can get a break. Try large dark stonefly

We felt we needed to post a report here that the Gallatin is high and dirty and not fishing well.  On top of that it’s probably dangerous to fish.  The fish may adjust after a few days and start to eat in the dirty water.  We know people who like to throw big Girdle Bugs and the like during run

We just got a report that yesterday on the Gallatin fish were up on March Browns and Caddis in the valley, even in the higher water.  The river is definitely clearer than a couple of days ago but we’re not making any promises that it’s going to stay that way.  Today is supposed to be gorgeous so the river

The Gallatin is very muddy today, but it could clear up a bit for a few days until the warmer weather shows up.  Big stonefly nymphs, worms and streamers are the best bet in the dirty water.

Looks as if we might be getting our first little taste of runoff on the Gallatin; the river was chalky with about two feet of visibility this morning before work. That’s plenty fishable though. The flows have increased steadily over the past week or so, but there hasn’t been any sudden increase so that shouldn’t put the fish off

Me and Charlie did an afternoon float from Logan to Headwaters on the lower Gallatin a few days ago. We knew it would be dirty but the wind was worse everywhere else so we said the heck with it. The clarity wasn’t as bad as we thought it might be (still only a foot to a foot and a half); however, something was

The Gallatin fished good for me the day before yesterday. I fished some water that I hadn’t fished for a few years now, which involved a few river crossing that I probably shouldn’t have done alone. It was ell worth the effort though. I got it some nice fish on smaller stonefly nymphs and small mayflyish stuff off the back. Also

John and I fished the Gallatin last night. Fishing was good and steady. I started with nymphs and caught a couple on stoneflies and March Brown nymphs. Then a couple risers caught my eye and even though I could see much of anything hatching I put on a March Brown with a BWOish fly off the back. Both caught several fish for me and even

The Gallatin has been fishing great lately. The recent snows have not affected the clarity at all. Stonefly nymphs, especially Goldenstones, have been working good and with typical Galltatin beadheads (Princes, Lightning Bugs, Copper Johns, etc) off the back. There have been midges around still as well as Baetis on warmer days. A couple people have reported decent March Brown hatches too, which should kick

Gallatin had been a little slow this Spring but it seems like it’s finally shaping up. Fish are eating normal stuff: stonefly nymph with a beadhead dropper or similar, typical Gallatin fare. There has been some BWO hatches in the canyon, so dry fly fishing isn’t out of the question.

Most of the fishing has still been sub-surface on the Gallatin.  Up in the canyon you can find fish rising baetis and midges at times.  Standard nymph rigs with stonefly/mayfly combos continue to be the best producers.  Smaller streamers have been taking a few fish, especially during the late afternoons. 

The Gallatin seems to be fishing well this week.  The other day the fish in the canyon were eating Prince nymphs and San Juan Worms with enthusiasm.  Rubberlegs and Lightning bugs didn’t do to bad either.  Never count out the standards on the Gallatin. I saw a couple fish come up but very sporadically.  Dry fly fishing has been

We've been getting mixed reports on the Gallatin the last few days and it seems like the better fishing has been down here in the Gallatin Valley. At least that's where we've been fishing it the last few days and it has been pretty solid. Nymphing with San Juans and small nymph droppers has been really good in some holes and runs

Fishing on the Gallatin continues to heat up.  Midges have been making for some surface action, but it is really about having the right timing.  A bit of rain or snow can help to get the fish rising.  Nymphing has been most productive with a stonefly nymph trailed by a midge or baetis nymph.  Bright sunny days can make the trout

The Gallatin has been in great shape the last couple of weeks.  Fishing reports have ranged from great to not so great and the fishing seems localized.  If you’re not catching fish on the Gallatin right now and you’ve tried a few different things that usually work for you, move.  Some days the Canyon fishes better and some

The Gallatin is really picking up.  We’ve heard good reports of dry fly fishing in isolated spot both in the Valley and the Canyon.  Midge eaters will take a variety of dries and emergers right now as they haven’t seen too much pressure.  Stonefly nymphs with midge pupa droppers have been catching fish when they’re not

I've been out of town a few days but the reports I've been hearing from the guys here in the shop have all been good on the Gallatin the last week. I drove over it this morning and looked really good out here in 4-corners. No floating ice to speak of, there's no wind, and the forecast is calling for some perfect

The fishing on the Gallatin has been good the last couple of days. There has been some midge dry fly action in the mornings. The afternoons however have been primarily nymphing with a couple fish tugging on a swung streamer. Smaller beadheads with a small midge pattern off the back have been good. The big stonefly and worm bite has been slow. As far as

We're seeing less and less shelf ice on the Gallatin.  The river should continue to get much easier to fish as warm weather continues.  Standard attractor nymphs, stonefly nymphs, and eggs should all catch fish.  Smaller midge pupa may work better if the bite is tough.  We've already had reports of midge hatches in the canyon and they should

The Gallatin has been a great choice the last couple of weeks as he fish have been eating well and it's relatively easy to find some shelter from the wind. Looks like we are in for some very cold weather the next few days, so there probably won't be that great of fishing for a few days. When the night temps get in