Today the Gallatin has dropped to 4,740 CFS, and has not yet come close to reaching the low point of it's daily trough. I fished last night for about an hour, and for the first time in almost a week fishing had turned back on; nothing crazy, but at least there were signs of fish actively feeding off the bottom. With a size 8 brown Girdlebug above, and testing a variety of nymphs below (Copper John, Lightning Bug, Quasimodo Pheasant Tail, Prince Nymph) I was able to bring four fish to hand in a relatively short period of time. While on the river, the years first signs of good bug activity began to appear. I spotted decent numbers of Yellow Sallies, which serve as a precursor to the Golden Stone hatches in the area. The river will continue to drop and improve in water clarity exponentially over the next week. With the late season, and much needed cleansing of the river bottom by heavy run-off, rivers in the area, especially the Gallatin, should really explode by late this week.

What a great river! Miles and miles of public access and lots of trout 5 minutes from my house!
Posted by: bozeman fly fishing | September 14, 2010 at 04:43 PM