Mothers Day Caddis 2013

Posted on May 1, 2013June 2, 2022 by Eric Adams

Mothers Day Caddis are here!!!

There’s not much more excitement around Livingston than spring time when the weather gets nice and the Mothers Day Caddis start flying. It’s a mad rush to find the fishing gear and grab some friends to hit the Yellowstone River for this truly spectacular event.

Eric Adams has been guiding the past several days and while the weather was nasty, cold and windy Sunday was beautiful – and wouldn’t you know it the Mothers Day Caddis came off in the hundreds between Pine Creek and Carter’s Bridge. These fickle little insects always flirt with the start of our spring run-off and need a water temperature of 54 degrees or greater to really get moving. Well it hit 54 on Sunday, and then cooled way off into the upper 40’s during the past few days. The warmer weather forecast for the later part of this we has us making the following prediction…

Yes we are making a prediction and you can quote us, “Mother’s Day Caddis will hatch on the Yellowstone River by Friday at the latest.”

Oh boy that might get us in trouble for all those who call in sick…

Be prepared for dry fly mania, but don’t overlook the pupae or emerger even during the thickest of hatches. The water should be relatively clear and a lot of fish never chase the dries in those conditions.

We actually have a couple days off from guiding, but you can bet we’ll be on the water getting in some personal fishing time. See you out there these next few days and enjoy one of the best hatches Montana has to offer.

Yellowstone River Mother’s Day Caddis Report – 05/04/12

Posted on May 5, 2012June 2, 2022 by Eric Adams

Mother’s Day Caddis are here (again). We had a spectacular day on the Yellowstone River between Emigrant and Mallards Rest. The fishing was virtually nonexistent before 1 pm, but once the water temperature warmed up to that magic 50 degrees mark the Caddis came off in mass.

In the late afternoon, we lost count of the number of trout we landed but we estimated it at minimum 30. Needless to say, it was spectacular.

Our best technique was a small Convertible with a BH soft hackle as the short dropper.

Today is a much colder day but this should only extend the hatch into next week – so take some days off work and get out there!

Yellowstone River Fishing Report- 4/24/12

Posted on April 24, 2012June 27, 2022 by Eric Adams

Fishing/Weather/Water Conditions:

We’re seeing thousands of caddis flying around throughout Livingston and below the town. With that being said clarity has become a major problem as the river has gone up about 2000-3000 cfs just this week. I took a drive down to Big Timber yesterday searching for some rising fish along the way and didn’t find too much action. The warm weather is set to continue till Friday and then cool off for the weekend. We’re hoping the cool weather will stick around and clear up the river a little bit. You can keep an eye on the flow here: USGS Stream Data-Yellowstone River If you notice the flow going down head on over because the fishing can be great!

Hatches:

Mostly seeing Caddis and March Browns with a mix of Midges and Baetis as well.

Flies and Fishing Strategies:

Nymphs – Black Copper John’s (14-16), BH Hare’s Ear (12-14), CDC BH Prince (12-16), Partridge & Pheasant Soft Hackle (12-16), Tungsten Zebra Midge (16-18), Dirty Bird (16-18), Birds Nest (16-18)
Dries – Hi Viz Griffith’s Gnat (16-18), Hi Viz Parachute Baetis (16), March Brown Cripple (12-14), Parachute March Brown (14), Royal Wulff (12-14) Elk Hair Caddis (12-16) Goddard Caddis (14-16) X-Caddis (12-16) Streamers – J.J. Special, Black/Olive Zonker, Olive/Black Sex Dungeon, Black Lead-Eye Sparkle Bugger. Anything big and bright is a good call in the off color water.

Yellowstone River Fishing Report – 04/21/12

Posted on April 21, 2012June 2, 2022 by Eric Adams

Fishing/Weather/Water Conditions:

Today I had the rare opportunity to fish with my lovely girlfriend Chelsea on the Yellowstone River. The weather was 65 degrees and sunny with a 10 – 15 mph upstream wind, which made things cooler than the temperature would suggest. However, the MOTHER’S DAY CADDIS HATCH is ON! We put on the water about 12 PM and by about 3 PM the caddis started. Now, this isn’t the full-blown caddis hatch, but just the beginning trickle. Today Chels caught several nice fish up to 16″ and we expect the hatch to build the next couple days and the larger fish to start taking notice. Tomorrow it should climb to 77 degrees with a light west wind so we predict full-blown caddis by 2 or 3 PM tomorrow afternoon. GET OUT THERE!

Hatches:

CADDIS! There are also some March Browns, Baetis (on the cloudy days) and midges. There should be caddis tomorrow so concentrate on emergers and pupae before the hatch.

Fishing Techniques:

Don’t worry about hitting the water too early in the day, 11 AM is plenty early. Concentrate on caddis pupae/larva in the early part of the day and by Noon-ish make sure you have a caddis emerger on at least one of your flies. By 2 or 3 PM you should start seeing some adults, but the trout will probably still take the emerger quite well.