TU Annual Meeting Fishing and Yellowstone River Update!

I spent yesterday afternoon volunteering at a Montana Fish, Wildlife, and Parks boat inspection and cleaning station located on I-90 between Bozeman and Livingston (Yellowstone River).  We were looking for westbound traffic returning from the Yellowstone River or headed to other waters in Montana.  It was a very educational event, and I want to thank my Montana FWP friends Nicole, Jim, and Sarah for their service on a holiday weekend.  We cleaned several boats, inspected several others, and had an opportunity to educate folks about the threat of aquatic invasive species.  

One of the things I got to do, personally, was gather intelligence on the days fishing!  For the most part, fishing reports from the Yellowstone guides were good.  Trout were active, streamer and nymph fishing the best, and lots of folks reported their catches included a fair number of healthy Mountain Whitefish.  Our weather has cooled off, substantially, and we're getting a lot of rain today.  This is normal, early fall weather, and this will kick the brown trout into high gear.  So, I am headed to the Yellowstone tomorrow to do R and R for the folks who are coming out to fish before, during, and after the TU Annual Meeting in late September!  

While there are still many questions to be answered about the PKD outbreak, the much cooler weather coupled with dramatically dropping water temperatures bode well for the Yellowstone and all of our southwest Montana fisheries.  This rain and colder water should mark the end of hoot owl closures for 2016, too.  However, I hasten to add that the roll back of hoot owl is based on objective data, but this rain and colder water temps should do it. We'll see next week!  

Regarding Annual Meeting fishing, this all bodes well for great fishing opportunities during our meeting week.  If you haven't signed up for the Fishing Day on September 28th, better do so soon!

Dave Kumlien

Fishing Day Coordinator 2016 Annual TU Meeting, Western Coordinator Veterans Service Partnership, Aquatic Invasive Species Coordinator,  406-570-0023,  email  DKumlien@tu.org