Name’s Artificial Lure, checking in with your Yellowstone River fishing report from a local’s angle.
We’re locked in full winter mode now, but the river’s still giving up fish if you time it right. According to Sweetwater Fly Shop’s December 27 Yellowstone report, flows near Livingston have come up a bit and are running just under 4,000 CFS with water temps right around 40 degrees. Trout are dug into **deep, slow winter holes**—soft edges, tailouts, and inside bends are the ticket.
Weather-wise, the Livingston stretch is seeing seasonable cold: mornings well below freezing, climbing into the 20s and low 30s with light wind and a mix of sun and high clouds. That lines up with Montana Outdoor’s late-December roundup, which says the productive window is a short **midday bite** during the warmest few hours. Figure your best fishing roughly from late morning through midafternoon. Sunrise is right around 8 a.m., sunset near 4:40 p.m., so you don’t need to be the first truck at the ramp to do well.
No tides to worry about on this freestone—that’s an ocean problem, not a Yellowstone one—but pressure does matter. We’ve had a run of low, steady barometric pressure and slightly warmer days, and Sweetwater notes it’s made for “excellent” fishing in Paradise Valley and the spring creeks.
Fish activity has been classic winter: fewer risers, more fish glued to the bottom but willing to eat small stuff all day if you put it in their face. Reports from the last week have been solid numbers of **browns, rainbows, and whitefish**, mostly 12–18 inches, with an occasional bigger brown pushing past 20 for folks who stick with it. Most of those fish came on nymphs; streamer grabs are there, just not fast and furious.
Best producers right now:
- **Nymphs:** Pat’s Rubber Legs (#8–10), jigged CDC Prince (#12), Pheasant Tail (#10–18), Lightning Bug, beadhead 20-Incher, Frenchie, Psycho Prince, small baetis and midge nymphs. Sweetwater’s winter rigs—egg-sucking sow bug or scud trailed by a midge—have been putting up “good and sometimes great” numbers.
- **Midges/baetis:** Zebra Midges (red, black, olive, #18–22), tiny baetis like Darth Baetis and Sawyer PT, plus Cheeseman-style emergers.
- **Streamers:** Slower but still worth a swing. Baby Gonga, Double Gonga, Sculpzilla, Sparkle Minnow, and simple buggers in **black, olive, white, or yellow**. Use a sink tip, mend hard, and let that fly **swing slow and deep**.
For bait anglers on legal sections, think small and subtle: pieces of nightcrawler drifted deep under a sensitive indicator, or single salmon eggs with just enough weight to tick bottom. But most of this stretch is fished like a true trout river—light tippet, small flies, careful drifts.
Couple local hot spots to consider:
- **Paradise Valley, Pine Creek to Carter’s Bridge:** Classic winter water with deep ledges and long glides. Walk the bank, look for that greenish, walking-speed seam, and work it methodically.
- **Town stretch near Livingston:** Those deeper inside bends and bridge pools have been kicking out steady rainbows and whitefish for folks nymphing Pat’s-and-a-midge rigs.
Key tips from around here:
- Use a **sensitive indicator**—bites have been subtle, often just a tiny pause or slide.
- Shorten up: tight, controlled drifts right on the bottom out-fish long hero casts this time of year.
- Don’t rush the day. Let things warm a touch, then fish slowly and thoroughly.
That’s the word from the Yellowstone. Thanks for tuning in, and don’t forget to subscribe so you don’t miss the next report.
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