[ARCHIVE] Stillwater River Report 8/14/2017

Flows on the Stillwater have continued to drop and are now running slightly below normal year to date. Float fishing has continued to be excellent. The upper river is starting to get a bit boney for floating, so most anglers are starting to float the lower river. Wade fishing the upper river remains a good option.

Nymphs like a prince, psycho prince, red copper john, hare’s ear, or beadhead flashback pheasant tail set up on a long dropper off of a big dry like a Yellowstoner Chubby, Chubby Chernobyl, Fat Frank, PMX, stimulator or a Jack Cabe are consistently taking fish. The key is to have a heavy enough nymph to get it down in the strike zone. There may be some caddis late in the day. As the afternoon goes on, fish are coming up for the big dry, particularly on days where there is a little afternoon cloud cover. Fish are also hitting the small dry like a Purple Haze in the afternoon. Streamer fishing or dead drifting with the Grinch or a black or olive bugger on overcast days will produce as well.

Remember that the Stillwater River road remains closed above Cliff Swallow due to a rock slide, but is due to reopen soon.