When to Come and What To Expect:
Fly Fishing: Yellowstone National Park – June
Madison River and Gibbon River:
June hatches on the Madison River and the Gibbon River are similar to the Firehole hatches. The Blue-winged Olives will probably be the most plentiful of the hatches. Near the middle of the month, the Salmonflies and Golden Stoneflies will start hatching in the fast water areas of the Madison. Little Black Caddis will hatch during June. The middle of the month will bring about hatches of the PMDs, or Pale Morning Dun mayflies.
Before the month is over, you may see hatches of Green Drakes. Gray Drakes may also start hatching about the third to forth week of June. Both of these mayflies can bring on excellent fishing in the Madison River.
Spotted Sedges usually begin to hatch in large quantities about the last week of June. This will be one of the most consistent hatches that will occur on the Madison. The White Miller caddisflies will also start hatching near the end of June. They may be more plentiful than the Spotted Sedges. Both caddisflies bring about excellent late afternoon and early evening fishing.
The Gibbon River also has a good population of Brown Drakes in the meadow sections. These large mayflies usually start hatching about the middle of June. The other hatches that occur on the Gibbon River are consistent with the Madison, especially in the lower meadows. The water in the higher elevations of the Gibbon River above the falls will be slightly cooler during the month of June and the hatches usually follow those in the Madison and lower Gibbon rivers.
The bottom line to fly fishing during the month of June in Yellowstone National Park is that you should concentrate on the Firehole River, Madison River and Gibbon River. Other streams may begin to turn on before the month of June is over, but it all depends on the weather, runoff and the snowpack. You can expect some very good hatches to occur during the month on all three of these rivers.
The most convenient place to stay to fish these rivers is West Yellowstone Montana. There are more facilities there than there are in any towns or communities bordering the park. All three rivers is just a short drive from West Yellowstone. During early June, this can be very important. Snow is common during early June.
There is a large campground in the park located at Madison Junction. If you camp or bring a motor home, it too is a very convenient place to stay to fish the Madison drainage.
Copyright 2010 James Marsh
