Locked on dries! Photo: Blart

Blart with a decent brownie...

The Yellowstone has been hit or miss the last few days, with dries and nymphs being the bread and butter.  The midge fishing above town has been good during windless moments.  The active fish are holding in slow, deep tailouts, soft, slow edges, eddies, and near slow flowing riprap banks.  Fishing size #18 – 20 Parachutes with midge clusters or emerging midge patterns have been our best rigs for rising fish.  The top patterns have been Harrop’s Light Gray CDC Midge Emerger, Harrop’s Biot Midge Emerger, and Harrop’s Transitional Midge.  Podded up fish were eating dries on 3X about half the time and 5X nearly every cast.  Stoneflies and midge larve seem to make up the majority of the subsurface food.  Streamer fishing has slowed down this week but we look for fish to get more active with warmer water temperatures on the way.  As for the Spring Creeks, the rainbows are in right now, so be careful not to step on the redds.   Most anglers are heading for DePuy’s, with dry fly enthusiasts heading to Armstrong’s or Nelson’s.  Bring your baetis box and of course midges…