Yellowstone Fishing
Yellowstone is world famous for its angling, and has been a major visitor activity at Yellowstone National Park for over a century. With some exceptions, Yellowstone's fishing season begins on the Saturday of Memorial Day weekend and continues through the first Sunday of November.
Yellowstone Park Fishing Featured Listings
These featured businesses are official Yellowstone Park permitees
Bud Lilly's Trout Shop - Yellowstone's Fly Fishing Source
Madison River Outfitters - Guided Fly Fishing Trips in the Park
Gateway Community Fishing Listings
The listings found below are offered in the Gateway Communities that surround Yellowstone National Park.
View all Big Sky Montana Fishing
Mountain recreation in Southwest Montana - Western Gateway.
Wild Trout Outfitters - #1 Fly Shop/Guide Service in Big Sky
View all Bozeman Montana Fishing
Gardiner, MT, Livingston, MT and Bozeman, MT - Northern Gateway.
Bozeman's leading fly shop and guide service, live updated report
Angler's West - Bozeman & Livingston Fly Fishing Trips
Dave Handl Outfitting - Professionally Guided Fly Fishing Trips
View all Cody Wyoming Fishing
Cowboy culture and nightly rodeo - Eastern Gateway.
Guest Ranches, Cabins, Lodges, RV & Camping Near East Entrance
Blue Ribbon waters await you in Cody Country - see our reports
View all Jackson Hole Wyoming Fishing
World class mountain destination - Southern Gateway.
Reel Deal Anglers - Private fly fishing trips in Jackson Hole
High Country Flies - Guiding since 1974 - Full service fly shop
View all West Yellowstone, Montana Fishing
Ennis, MT, Island Park, ID and West Yellowstone - Western Gateway.
MadisonRiverGuides.com - Our Name means great fly fishing!
Yellowstone National Park is managed to protect cultural and natural
resources and outstanding scenery, and to provide for visitor use. Angling has
been a major visitor activity for over a century. Present regulations reflect
the park's primary purposes of resource protection and visitor use. The
objectives of the fishing program are to:
1. Manage aquatic resources as an important part of the ecosystem.
2. Preserve and restore native fishes and their habitats.
3. Provide recreational fishing opportunities for the enjoyment of park
visitors, consistent with the first two objectives.
In Yellowstone, bald eagles, ospreys, pelicans, otters, grizzly bears, and other
wildlife take precedence over humans in utilizing fish as food. None of the fish
in Yellowstone are stocked, and populations depend on sufficient number of
spawning adults to maintain natural reproduction and genetic diversity. In
Yellowstone National Park, we place less emphasis upon providing fishing for
human consumption and put more emphasis upon the quality for recreational
fishing. Anglers, in return, have the opportunity to fish for wild trout in a
natural setting.
Because of the increasing number of anglers in the park, more restrictive
regulations have been adopted in Yellowstone. These restrictions include: season
opening/closing dates, restrictive use of bait, catch-and-release only areas,
and number/size limits according to species. A few places are closed to the
public to protect threatened and endangered species, sensitive nesting birds,
and to provide scenic viewing areas for visitors seeking undisturbed wildlife.
Yellowstone Moves to Protect
Native Fish Species
As of the summer of 2001, all native sport fish species in Yellowstone National
Park became subject to catch-and-release-only fishing rules. The native species
affected by this change are the cutthroat trout and its several subspecies,
Montana grayling, and mountain whitefish. Most of the park's native fishes have
been included under catch-and-release-only fishing rules since the early 1970's.
The changes effective in 2001 primarily affect populations in Yellowstone Lake,
its tributaries, and the upper Lamar River.
Due to evidence that invasive introduced organisms such as lake trout, whirling
disease, and New Zealand mud snails are having negative effects on Yellowstone's
native sport fish, the 2001 changes seem to be the next logical step to help
repair the tremendous damage being done to the native species.
Yellowstone cutthroat trout have declined throughout the west and are currently
designated as a "Species of Special Concern-Class A" by the American Fisheries
Society. A formal petition to list this subspecies as "threatened" throughout
its range was submitted to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service in 1998.
Yellowstone National Park represents approximately 91% of the current range of
Yellowstone cutthroat trout and contains 85% of the historical lake habitat for
this subspecies, so the park is considered crucial to the survival of the
species.
Yellowstone cutthroat trout generally declined in the second half of the 20th
century due to angler over harvest, competition with exotic fishes, and
overzealous egg collection. Populations rebounded in the park after the advent
of catch-and-release-only fishing rules in the 1970's, but new and aggressive
invaders are causing an increasing threat to these native fish and alarming park
fisheries biologists. Nonnative lake trout, an effective fish predator, were
discovered in Yellowstone Lake in 1994. Throughout the west cutthroat trout
populations preyed upon by introduced lake trout have typically declined,
exhibited lower growth, or have disappeared. Aggressive lake trout control
efforts by the National Park Service and no harvest limits have resulted in
removing thousands of lake trout from Yellowstone Lake since 1994, including
more than 12,000 in 2000. Still, the number of Yellowstone cutthroat trout
monitored during the annual fall count in Yellowstone Lake was lower in recent
years than at any other time in the 25-year history of the monitoring effort.
Whirling disease, which has been implicated in recent years in the decline of
trout populations in many western states, was discovered in Yellowstone Lake in
1998. So far, it is unclear which of these two nonnative invaders has been the
greater factor in the decline of Yellowstone cutthroat trout, but there is no
question they are causing it.
Other native sport fish, including westslope cutthroat trout and Montana
grayling, have been under catch-and-release-only fishing rules since 1973. This
is the first time mountain whitefish have been placed under such rules in
Yellowstone National Park. The new rule gives mountain whitefish equal status to
the other native sport fish in the park.
In addition to the catch-and-release-only fishing rules, the opening date of the
fishing season on Yellowstone Lake returned to its historical date of June 15
for the 2001 fishing season. From 1998 through 2000, Yellowstone Lake's opening
date was moved forward to June 1 in an attempt to give anglers a greater chance
of catching nonnative lake trout, but monitoring showed that during the early
June period, anglers caught several thousand cutthroat trout for every lake
trout caught. Because of incidental hooking mortality of released fish, this
negates the positive impact of the angler catch of lake trout.
Permits and Fees
A Yellowstone National Park Fishing Permit is required to fish in the park.
Anglers 16 years of age and older are required to purchase either a $15
three-day permit, a $20 seven-day permit or $35 season permit. Anglers 12 to 15
years of age are required to obtain a non-fee permit. Children 11 years of age
or younger may fish without a permit when supervised by an adult. The adult is
responsible for the child's actions. Fishing permits are available at all ranger
stations, visitor centers, and Yellowstone Park General Stores. No state fishing
license is required in Yellowstone National Park.
Non-toxic Fishing
Yellowstone National Park has implemented a non-toxic fishing program using
non-toxic tackle. Nationwide, more than three million waterfowl die each year
from lead poisoning through ingestion. Because lead from fishing tackle
concentrates in aquatic environments, tackle such as leaded split shot sinkers,
weighted jigs, and soft weighted ribbon are prohibited. Only non-toxic
alternatives to lead are allowed.
Other pages you might find helpful:
Montana Fly Fishing
Find big trout with West Yellowstone Montana fly fishing trip guides.
Protect Your Waters
How You Can Conserve Fisheries of the Greater Yellowstone Region.
Trout Unlimited
Striving to preserve the natural habitats of trout and salmon.
Wyoming Fly Casters
Wyoming Fly Casters is a fly fishing club that plans outings, teaches fly tying, and promotes resource conservation.
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