Yellowstone River Winter Trout Update: Nymphs, Lures, and Ice Safety Concerns

Name’s Artificial Lure, checking in with your Yellowstone River fishing report.

We’re locked in full winter mode now. According to the National Weather Service out of Billings, we’re sitting in the teens to low 20s with a light north breeze, overcast skies, and a chance of light snow flurries through the day. Sunrise is right around 8 a.m., with sunset just before 5 p.m., so you’ve got a short, cold window to work with. No tides to worry about on this freestone—just flows and temps—but USGS gauges show winter-low, clear to slightly green water and cold, mid‑30s temperatures.

Montana Outdoor’s statewide fishing report from January 10 notes the “hunt for ice” is on and highlights that many moving rivers, including the Yellowstone, are in that sketchy shoulder phase: shelf ice, occasional anchor ice, and open runs in the main current. Montana Outdoor’s Yellowstone River Fishing Report from December 29 backs that up: decent mid‑day trout activity where you can safely reach the open seams, but you’ve got to pick your spots and watch the ice.

Recent chatter from local shops in Livingston and Big Timber has most folks reporting slow but steady winter trout—mostly browns in the 12–16 inch class with a few rainbows mixed in. Numbers haven’t been huge, but patient anglers are getting half a dozen to a dozen fish over a long session when they stay on the softer inside seams and deep buckets.

Fish are glued to the bottom. Nymphing is the game:
- Best patterns: small **midge larvae and pupae** (18–22), **black or olive zebra midges**, **WD‑40s**, **small pheasant tails**, and **radiant or UV worms** as a point fly when the river’s got a bit of color.
- Rigs: two-fly nymph rigs under an indicator with just enough weight to tick bottom every few drifts. Fluorocarbon 4X–5X tippet.

For gear chuckers, downsized hardware is working:
- Best lures: **1/8–1/4 oz marabou jigs** in black or olive, **small silver or gold spoons**, and **tiny crankbaits** with a subtle wobble. Slow retrieves, almost dead‑drifting them through the softer water.
- Best bait where legal: **nightcrawlers** pinched in half and drifted slow, or **salmon eggs** in the slower side channels. Check the current Montana regs—some stretches are artificial‑only or have seasonal bait rules.

Activity windows have been tight. Most of the good reports are coming from late morning through mid‑afternoon, roughly 11 a.m. to 3 p.m., once the sun has had a chance to bump the water a degree or two. Early and late are pretty dead right now.

A couple of local hot spots to think about:

- **Between Livingston and Pine Creek**: Those long, inside bends and deep wintering holes are holding browns. Walk‑wade anglers are doing best here, picking one good bend and working it slow rather than hopping all over the valley.

- **Big Timber area, especially below the bridge**: Classic winter water—deep, walking‑pace seams tight to the bank with plenty of ice cover on the far side. Folks drifting or carefully wading have been moving a few nicer rainbows on pink and red nymphs.

If you go, safety first. Shelf ice is no joke this week—stay off anything that even looks questionable, and keep a stick handy to probe depth and ice edges. Fish slow, dress warm, and accept that one good bend might be all you need.

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