Yellowstone River Fishing Report: Autumn Arrives, Trout Eager for Terrestrials and Nymphs

This is Artificial Lure with your Yellowstone River fishing report for October 21st, 2025. We’re waking up to classic Big Sky autumn—the leaves are about peak, there’s a dusting of fresh snow up high, and if you’re stepping outside early, you’ll feel that snap in the air Montana anglers wait for all year.

Sunrise this morning rolled in about 7:48 a.m., with sunset expected at 6:33 p.m. According to the Weather Service, today’s forecast calls for clear to partly cloudy skies, highs near 55°F, with a light southwest breeze. The river’s running steady, holding at roughly 1,580 cubic feet per second, with water temps still a bit warm for late October—expect between 61 and 67°F midday, though they’ll cool off fast overnight. No tidal swings in these interior waters, so you can focus on timing your fishing with the day’s temperature swings and afternoon bug activity.

Fish activity on the Yellowstone in this last week has been fitful but promising. The valley around Livingston remains busy, but the reports from local shops say the bite is back on as water temperatures trail off from their summer highs. We saw cutthroat, rainbows, and browns all in the mix—plus plenty of mountain whitefish, which are taking nymphs eagerly, especially upstream of Livingston. Downstream, trout make up a bigger portion of the catch, but whitefish are still thick depending on where you land.

For quantities, you’re not likely to see hand-over-fist numbers as in spring, but boats are reporting solid half dozen to a dozen good fish per trip, with a few client groups last weekend reporting bows and browns into the 18-21 inch range. Most fish are coming on a mix of dry dropper and nymph rigs, though a couple of solid streamer fish have been landed in longer slow runs and along undercut banks. The browns, in particular, are feeding with fall aggression as they push toward their spawning season.

If you’re wondering what to tie on, look local. Peach, pink, and tan hoppers in sizes 8 through 14 are producing surprises, especially midday, as the last of the terrestrials roll through. Try a Purple Bruce, Morrish Hopper, or any Grand Hopper. Floating ant patterns have been picking off the more selective risers, especially above Yankee Jim Canyon. On the nymph side, go with Little Green Machines in #18, Duracell Bomb Browns in #12-16, and Euro-style bead nymphs—think Blow Torch Black and Torch Light. For streamers, local shops report sex dungeons, black leadeye buggers, and yellow silk kitties are all moving better-than-average browns for those willing to strip slow and stay patient.

Best bait is still a tungsten-headed nymph under a hopper, but don’t sleep on drop-shot rigs with #12-14 jigs hinting at BWO or Mahogany duns—the first decent cloud bank that rolls through will send those blue-wings popping. On clearer days in the early afternoon, whitefish and trout are both eager for a slow drifted nymph through riffles and tailouts.

For hot spots, aim for:
- The Valley above Livingston, where cooler inlets and spring creeks are keeping fish active.
- The stretch from Carter’s Bridge to Pine Creek, which saw good numbers of rainbows and cutthroat this week and is a reliable producer of fall browns on streamers.
- Yankee Jim Canyon for adventurous waders—just watch your footing and look for those pocketwater seams.

Local guides say afternoons have been the sweet spot, with the fish perking up as the sun’s high and water temps come off their chilly dawn low. Crowds are thinning except in the Lamar Valley reaches, which are running low and thick with pressure, so if you’re willing to walk away from the parking lots or float a longer stretch, you’ll find water to yourself.

Thanks for tuning in to your Yellowstone River fishing report with Artificial Lure—don’t forget to subscribe for more updates and local fishing intel. This has been a quiet please production, for more check out quiet please dot ai.

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
This is artificial lower. With your Yellowstone River fishing report
for October twenty first, twenty twenty five, we're waking up
to classic big sky autumn. The leaves are about peak.
There's a dusting of fresh snow up high, and if
you're stepping outside early, you'll feel that snap in the air.
Montana anglers wait for all year sunrise. This morning rolled

(00:21):
in about seven forty eight am, with sunset expected at
six thirty three pm according to the Weather Service. Today's
forecast calls for clear to partly cloudy skies, highs near
fifty five degrees fahrenheit with a light southwest breeze. The
river's running steady, holding it roughly one thousand, five hundred
and eighty cubic feet per second, with water temps still

(00:43):
a bit warm for late October, expect between sixty one
and sixty seven degrees fahrenheit mid day, though they'll cool
off fast overnight. No tidal swings in these interior waters,
so you can focus on timing your fishing with the
day's temperature, swings and afternoon bug activity. Fish activity on
the Yellowstone in this last week has been fitful but promising.

(01:04):
The valley around Livingston remains busy, but the reports from
local shops say the bite is back on as water
temperatures trail off from their summer highs. We saw cutthroat,
rainbows and browns all in the mix, plus plenty of
mountain whitefish, which are taking nymphs eagerly, especially upstream of Livingstone.
Downstream trout make up a bigger portion of the catch,

(01:27):
but whitefish are still thick. Depending on where you land
for quantities, You're not likely to see handover fist numbers
as in spring, but boats are reporting solid half dozen
to a dozen good fish per trip, with a few
client groups last weekend reporting bows and browns into the
eighteen to twenty one inch range. Most fish are coming
on a mix of dry dropper and niff rigs, though

(01:47):
a couple of solid streamer fish have been landed in
longer slow runs and along undercut banks. The browns in
particular are feeding with fall aggression as they push toward
their spawning season. If your wondering what to tie on,
look local peach, pink and tan hoppers and sizes eight
through fourteen are producing surprises, especially mid day as the

(02:09):
last of the terrestrials roll through try a purple bruce,
Moorish hopper, or any grand hopper. Floating ant patterns have
been picking off the more selective risers, especially above Yankee
Jim Canyon. On the nymph side, go with little green
machines in number eighteen, dura cell bomb browns in number
twelve to sixteen, and eurostyle bead nymphs, thick blowtorch black

(02:33):
and torchlight for streamers. Local shops report sex dungeons, black
lead eyed buggers, and yellow silk kitties are all moving
better than average browns. For those willing to strip slow
and stay patient, best bait is still a tungsten headed
lymph under a hopper, but don't sleep on drop shot
rigs with number twelve to fourteen jigs hinting at bwo

(02:56):
or mahogany duns. The first decent cloud bank that rolls
through will send those blue wings popping. On clearer days
in the early afternoon, whitefish and trout are both eager
for a slow drifted nymph through riffles and tailouts. For hotspots,
aim for the valley above Livingston, where cooler inlets in
spring creeks are keeping fish active. The stretch from Carter's

(03:18):
Bridge to Pine Creek, which saw good numbers of rainbows
and cutthroat this week and is a reliable producer of
fall browns on streamers Yankee Jim Canyon. For adventurous waiters,
just watch your footing and look for those pocket water seams.
Local guides say afternoons have been the sweet spot, with
the fish perking up as the sun's high and water
temps come off their chilly dawn low. Crowds are thinning

(03:41):
except in the Lamar Valley reaches which are running low
and thick with pressure. So if you're willing to walk
away from the parking lots or float a longer stretch,
you'll find water to yourself. Thanks for tuning in to
your Yellowstone River fishing report with Artificial lore. Don't forget
to subscribe for more updates and local fishing intel. This
has been a quiet please production. For more check out

(04:04):
Quiet Please dot ai