When to Come and What To Expect:
Fly Fishing: Outside Yellowstone National Park – July – Gallatin River (Outside Yellowstone National Park)
The Gallatin River is one of the coldest rivers in Yellowstone National Park. It is one of the last streams to turn-on, so to speak. U. S. Highway #191 follows closely along the river just about its entire length. It doesn’t clear up from the spring runoff until around the first of July. It can stay muddy a little longer so you want to make sure you check on the condition prior to going in early July.
From the park boundary down to Big Sky, the Gallatin River runs through public property. The water is similar to that in the park until it reaches Big Sky. It then goes into a canyon section.
The canyon section of the Gallatin River is about fifteen miles long. It is a rough and tumble section of fast moving water, with large boulders creating currents that are difficult to fish in many places. Just about all the water in the canyon is pocket water. The fish are larger than they are in the upper sections that consist mostly of riffles and runs. There are few flat sections of water in the canyon. Seventy miles of this river is closed to drift boats because of its rough character. There are many sections of white water.
Once the river comes out of the canyon, about a half dozen miles above Gallatin Gateway, it completely changes. It becomes much slower moving with a lot of long runs between large pools. Much of the water is smooth but there are a few rough sections along the way. It contains larger trout than you will find upstream of this section. This section flow primarily through private land. Access is found mostly at bridges. The section between Gallatin Forks and Three Forks can be fished from a drift boat. It has little access from the road for wading anglers.
You will need to fish the river different, depending on the section you are fishing. In general, the canyon section is best fished with nymphs and streamers. There are a few places and times dry fly fishing is good in the month of July in the canyon but most of the time subsurface flies work better.
The section above the canyon can be waded or fished from a drift boat. It has some excellent dry fly fishing from about the second week of July throughout the rest of the month. The fish are just not as large as they are in the canyon or below the canyon.
Copyright 2012 James Marsh