Bozeman Fishing Reports

The fly fishing in Montana near Bozeman has settled into a stable summer pattern now that river levels have stabilized following the spring runoff. As hatches become increasingly sparse, anglers fishing in Southwest Montana will have more success with generalist fly patterns as both dries and nymphs. Terrestrial patterns that imitate hoppers, Spruce Moths, ants, and beetles are beginning to be effective on small streams and in the upstream portions of most of our main waterways. A wide variety of fly fishing techniques and fly patterns are effective right now, the key to success is to fish early in the day.

Summertime in Montana is surprisingly hot to many visitors as daytime temperatures routinely climb well into the 90s during the long days of June and July. Water temperatures rise on the rivers and lakes across the northern Rockies this time of the year.

Many of the low-elevation portions of the rivers in Montana often fall under a “Hoot Owl” fishing restriction during the summertime in which angling is restricted to the hours between midnight and 2 pm. Regardless of whether or not these restrictions are in place, the best fly fishing near Bozeman takes place in the morning and early afternoon hours right now. Keep current with fishing restrictions and closures on Montana FWP's website.

The upper Madison, Yellowstone, and upper Gallatin rivers are all fishing well with a variety of attractor dries and nymphs. Streamer fly fishing has been surprisingly effective as well, especially between first light and the first half hour of sunlight on the Yellowstone River. Hoppers and nocturnal stones are only a week or so away from starting to be our mainstays on the big rivers.