Yellowstone River Fishing Report: Cutthroats, Whitefish, and Smallmouth Bass Thrive in Late Spring

# Yellowstone River Fishing Report - May 30, 2025

Howdy folks, Artificial Lure here with your Friday morning fishing report for the gorgeous Yellowstone River. It's shaping up to be a beautiful late spring day here in Montana.

## Current Conditions

The sun rose about an hour ago at 5:45 AM, giving us that golden morning light that makes the river shine. We're expecting a high of 72 degrees today with light winds from the southwest. Sunset will be at 9:05 PM, so you've got plenty of daylight left for after-work fishing.

The river is running clear in most sections with a slight stain after yesterday's brief shower. Water temperatures are holding steady at 54-56°F, which has the fish active and feeding.

## What's Biting

The Yellowstone cutthroat trout are absolutely on fire this week! These beautiful natives are the dominant species in the upper river and have been hitting consistently in the morning and evening hours. The westslope cutthroat population is smaller but anglers have reported good success in the Gallatin and Madison river drainages.

Mountain whitefish are also active, especially in deeper runs. Several anglers reported catching 15-20 inch specimens this past week. For those exploring the lower sections of the river, some lucky folks have been connecting with smallmouth bass below Laurel.

## Hot Spots

If you're after those prized Yellowstone cutthroats, head to the Blue Ribbon trout section in the upper river. The stretch between Gardiner and Livingston has been particularly productive this week.

For a more secluded experience, try the Lamar River and Slough Creek areas where longnose suckers and cutthroats are sharing the water. These spots are a bit less pressured than the main river.

## Tackle Tips

Dry flies are working magic in the morning - caddis patterns and small mayfly imitations in sizes 14-16 have been the ticket. As the day warms up, switch to nymphs like copper johns and prince nymphs, fished deep in the runs.

For those targeting smallmouth downstream, twin-spin lures and small crawfish imitations have been productive. Don't overlook homemade agate lures if you're feeling creative - they've been known to entice the local fish population, especially those gold eye that'll hit just about anything shiny.

Remember that Yellowstone has adopted a barbless hook rule to reduce handling time and injury to the fish. Also, footgear with absorbent felt is prohibited to prevent the spread of aquatic invasive species.

Thanks for tuning in to your Friday fishing report. Don't forget to subscribe for weekly updates on the best fishing Montana has to offer. This has been a quiet please production, for more check out quiet please dot ai.

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
Hammerb Yellowstone River Fishing Report, May thirtieth, twenty twenty five.
Howdy folks, artificial lure here with your Friday morning fishing
report for the gorgeous Yellowstone River. It's shaping up to
be a beautiful late spring day here in Montana current conditions.
The sun rose about an hour ago at five forty
five am, giving us that golden morning light that makes

(00:22):
the river shine. We're expecting a high of seventy two
degrees today with light winds from the southwest. Sunset will
be at nine o five pm, so you've got plenty
of daylight left for afterwork fishing. The river is running
clear in most sections with a slight stain after yesterday's
brief shower. Water temperatures are holding steady at fifty four
to fifty six grisverer, which has the fish active and

(00:45):
feeding what's biting. The Yellowstone cutthroat trout are absolutely on
fire this week. These beautiful natives are the dominant species
in the upper River and have been hitting consistently in
the morning and evening hours. The west slope cutthroat population
is smaller, but anglers have reported good success in the

(01:06):
Gallatin and Madison River drainages. Mountain whitefish are also active,
especially in deeper runs. Several anglers reported catching fifteen to
twenty inch specimens this past week. For those exploring the
lower sections of the river, some lucky folks have been
connecting with smallmouth bass below Laurel hot spots. If you're

(01:29):
after those prized yellowstone cutthroats, head to the blue Ribbon
trout section in the upper river. The stretch between Gardener
and Livingstone has been particularly productive this week. For a
more secluded experience, try the Lamar River and Slough Creek
areas where longnose suckers and cutthroats are sharing the water.
These spots are a bit less pressured than the main river.

(01:51):
Tackle tips dry flies are working magic In the morning.
Cattis patterns and small mayfly imitations in sizes fort and
sixteen have been the ticket. As the day warms up,
switch to nyphs like Copper Johns and Prince nyphs fish
deep in the runs. For those targeting smallmouth downstream, twin
spin lures and small crawfish imitations have been productive. Don't

(02:15):
overlook homemade agate lures if you're feeling creative. They've been
known to entice the local fish population, especially those gold
eye that'll hit just about anything shiny. Remember that Yellowstone
has adopted a barblous hook rule to reduce handling time
and injury to the fish. Also, foot gear with absorbent

(02:35):
felt is prohibited to prevent the spread of aquatic invasive species.
Thanks for tuning into your Friday Fishing report. Don't forget
to subscribe for weekly updates on the best fishing Montana
has to offer. This has been a quiet please production.
For more check out Quiet please dot AI dot, and
that is it for today. Hit the subscribe button and

(02:56):
never miss out. Keep those tips up and lines wet
this This has been a quite pleased production with the
help of AI. Thanks for listening.