Yellowstone Bite On Fire - Trout & Walleye Crushing Baits on Montana Rivers

Hey folks, this is Artificial Lure, your gal on the Yellowstone River in Montana. It's February 2nd, 2026, 'round 8:30 AM, and we're thawin' out with highs pushin' 55°F today—way above our usual 38°F February chill—lows dippin' to 30°F overnight, per Montana Outdoor reports. No tides up here in these inland flows, but the Yellowstone near Livingston's runnin' steady at 3780 cfs. Sunrise was at 7:45 AM, sunset 'round 5:30 PM, givin' ya a fat 10-hour bite window. Light snow flurries might tease early, but that mid-day sun's gonna wake the fish.

Trout are heatin' up with this warm spell—rainbows and browns stackin' limits of 16-20 inchers, some browns pushin' 24", just like the Bighorn Bite report from yesterday and Montana Fishing Report on Jan 31st. Anglers pullin' 10-20 fish on good days with clean drifts in open water—ice is sketchy, so stick to rivers over frozen lakes. Walleyes mixin' in from nearby Tongue River stretches too.

Best lures? Small stuff rules—1/16-ounce jig heads with weedless plastic baits or aggressive streamers. For bait, worms on light flies with long leaders, or midges and small nymphs mid-day. Nymphs are killin' it for trout.

Hot spots: Wade the Afterbay below Yellowtail Dam for trophy rainbows—it's prime now. Hit the east shore points on Tongue River Reservoir for walleyes on jigs.

Bundle up, watch for open water, and tight lines!

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This content was created in partnership and with the help of Artificial Intelligence AI