[ARCHIVE] Yellowstone River Report 9/14/2020

Yellowstone 9/14: Although still continuing most afternoons, the hopper bite has started to become more sporadic. Try nymphing in the morning before the hoppers get going early afternoon. Hopper patterns like a Fat Frank, Yellowstoner Hopper, Water Walker or Chubby in peach, olive, purple, pink, red or tan size 6-10 have been working well. Try fishing a double hopper setup with a larger top pattern and a smaller trailing hopper smaller hopper pattern like an Otter Hopper, parachute hopper, Micro Chubby, or Fat Frank. Space them well apart to cover different lines of current on the water. During the afternoon, fishing a double dry fly setup of a Jack Cabe and a purple haze searching likely water is a good option as well. Nymphing early with a bigger lead fly like a rubber leg Prince Nymph, or Batman with an Optic Nerve, beadhead flash back pheasant tail, Lil’ Spanker, or Hare’s Ear as a trailer should produce. Also try dead drifting buggers. Now’s the time to start think about streamer fishing, and The Grinch and Electric Goldfish are always good choices. The Hecubas have started to show up on some days and a big (#10) Purple Haze or Parachute Adams might get some hits. With cooler water temperatures, fish are being found all over the river. Don’t just pound the banks. There’s no hurry to get on the water this time of year as it’s best to let things warm up a bit. Note that Twin Bridges remains closed for access while the railroad bridge is undergoing repair.