Yellowstone River Fishing Report: Brisk Mornings, Warming Afternoons, and Productive Fly Patterns

Good morning, this is Artificial Lure bringing you the Yellowstone River fishing report for Sunday, October 26th, 2025, straight from the banks of Big Sky country.

We started the day with a brisk chill—sunrise hit around 7:55 AM, and anglers greeted a dense mist coming off the river as temperatures hovered in the upper 20s. Look for the high to barely crest 45°F this afternoon, with continued partly cloudy skies and not a lick of rain in the forecast according to 94.1 WBHN Classic Country’s Weather Center. Winds are expected out of the southwest at a steady 10-15 mph, so keep an eye on drifting presentations. No tidal action here on the Yellowstone, of course—she’s all river current, all the time.

The water’s still on the low side thanks to drought conditions spanning much of Montana this fifth dry summer, as highlighted in the Montana DNRC’s recent Summer 2025 Drought Outlook. Cold nights have the trout biting short until midday, but once the sun warms things up, it’s game on for both rainbows and browns. Several boats and wade anglers reported solid action yesterday near Emigrant and down past Springdale.

Locals and guides are mostly running nymph rigs—size 16-18 zebra midges, pink scuds, and small rubberlegs have been productive, especially with a little split shot to get them down. A few nice 18- to 20-inch browns were pulled below Pine Creek Access on a copper john trailed behind a stonefly. For the traditionalists, streamers fished slow and deep—think olive and black Woolly Buggers or a classic Sculpin pattern—have moved a couple bruisers at first light and again near sunset, which will be around 6:14 PM tonight.

Spin casters should try small gold spoons or floating Rapalas in the deeper pools. Folks drifting live nightcrawler or dead drifted minnows picked up some chunky cutthroat this week, particularly toward the river’s upper stretches near Gardiner, as noted by several area sporting goods shops.

While some stretches are pressured, reports from the Big Timber area mention a strong afternoon blue-winged olive (BWO) hatch, drawing pods of sipping trout into the shallows—you’ll want size 18-20 BWO dries, and be ready for technical, stealthy presentations.

Recent catches have been mixed but encouraging. Just yesterday, a local guide floated from Carbella to Yankee Jim and reported nearly two dozen trout netted, mostly rainbows in the 12-16-inch range, with three browns over 18 inches—the biggest was a 22-inch beauty taken on a tan sculpin. A couple sturdy whitefish, too, so don’t be surprised if one takes your fly.

Best hot spots this week:
- Pine Creek Access for those big browns hunting before the spawn.
- Emigrant to Mallard’s Rest stretch, where deeper cuts are holding good numbers.
- Big Timber’s riffles if you’re chasing some dry fly action with those late-season BWOs.

Remember, the bite really improves late morning once the sun’s on the water, and stays strong well into the evening with the cloud cover we’re seeing.

Before you head out, check local regulations—protect those spawning beds and handle fish with care. And keep your bear spray handy, as wildlife (and sometimes tourists) can surprise you.

Thanks for tuning in to this Yellowstone River report with Artificial Lure. Subscribe to keep up with the latest on hatches, water temps, and big fish bragging rights. 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):
Good morning. This is Artificial Lore bringing you the Yellowstone
River fishing report for Sunday, October twenty six, twenty twenty five,
straight from the banks of Big Sky Country. We started

(00:20):
the day with a brisk chill. Sunrise hit around seven
fifty five AM, and anglers greeted a dense mist coming
off the river as temperatures hovered in the upper twenties.
Look for the high to barely crest forty five degrees
fahrenheit this afternoon, with continued partly cloudy skies and not
a lick of rain in the forecast. According to ninety

(00:41):
four point one WBHN Classic Country's Weather Center, winds are
expected out of the southwest at a steady ten to
fifteen miles per hour, so keep an eye on drifting presentations.
No tidal action here on the Yellowstone, of course, She's
all river current all the time. The water is still
on the low side thanks to DROUGHTCN conditions spanning much
of Montana this fifth dry summer, as highlighted in the

(01:04):
Montana dnrc's recent Summer twenty twenty five drought Outlook. Cold
nights have the trout biting short until midday, but once
the sun warms things up. It's game on for both
rainbows and browns. Several boats and weight anglers reported solid
action yesterday near Emigrant and down past Springdale. Locals and
guides are mostly running niff rigs size sixteen to eighteen

(01:28):
zebra midges, pink scuds, and small rubber legs have been productive,
especially with little split shot to get them down. A
few nice eighteen to twenty inch browns were pulled below
Pine Creek access on a copper john trailed behind a
stone fly. For the traditionalists, streamers fished slow and deep
think olive and black wooly buggers or classic sculpin pattern

(01:52):
have moved a couple bruisers at first light and again
near sunset, which will be around six fourteen pm tonight.
Spinct masters should try small gold spoons or floating rapallas
in the deeper pools. Folks drifting live nightcrawler or dead
drifted minnows picked up some chunky cutthroat this week, particularly
toward the river's upper stretches near Gardner, as noted by

(02:14):
several area sporting good shops, while some stretches are pressured.
Reports from the Big Timber area mentioned a strong afternoon
blue wing doll of BWO hatch drawing pods of sipping
trout into the shallows. You'll want size eighteen to twenty
BWO drives and be ready for technical stealthy presentations. Recent

(02:35):
catches have stealthy presentations. Recent petty sipping trout left over
blue wing Dolivan to the wild. Just yesterday, a local
guide floated from Carbella to Yankee Jim and reported nearly
two dozen trout metted, mostly rainbows in the twelve to
sixteen inch range, with three browns over eighteen inches. The

(02:56):
biggest was a twenty two inch beauty taken on a
tanned sculpin. A couple sturdy whitefish too, so don't be
surprised if one takes your fly. Best hotspots this week
pine Creek access for those big browns hunting before the spawn.
Emigrant to Mallard's Rest Stretch where deeper cuts are holding

(03:17):
good numbers big timbers, riffles. If you're chasing some dry
fly action with those late season bws, remember the bite
really improves late morning once the sun's on the water,
and stay strong well into the evening with the cloud
cover we're seeing. Before you head out, check local regulations
protect those spawning beds and handle fish with care. And

(03:40):
keep your bear spray handy as wildlife and sometimes tourists
can surprise you. Thanks for tuning into this Yellowstone River
report with artificial lure. Subscribe to keep up with the
latest on hatches, water temps, and big fish bragging rights.
This has been a quiet Please production. For more check
out Quiet Pleas dot ai.