I will be meeting some friends & family at Yellowstone this August. While they are doing the NP thing, I would rather be flyfishing the rivers there. So I would like some assistance from the CF community. What I am looking for is local knowledge:
* books to read up on access points for wading (Madison/Firehole/Gibbons/Gallatin/Yellowstone/Lamar
* fly patterns (terrestrials / dries / wet - soft hackle) - include recommended size and color
* any ponds I can use a float tube on? Any easy drifts on a float tube too?
* good guide books, specially if published/revised within the last four years.

I am planning to bring 4-6wts. Float / sink tips. Bear spray. Any other local knowledge?

Being from Michigan - this trip is on my bucket list!! Cigars to those who gives/has the best local advice.

Far from an expert but have fished yellowstone park a couple trips and managed to fish most of the rivers for a few hours at least.
First thing I would recommend is to figure out where you will be staying and check distances from there to the rivers mentioned. The park is big and you can spend a couple hours or more driving to a specific river.
There are several fly shops in the area who can give you good local advice on patterns and current conditions and hatches. You may hit the hopper season, I caught the tail end of it and still managed to hook a few!
Expect to not be alone at the more popular access sites.
Given all that, it is a pretty neat experience and I could do it again in a heartbeat!

Went up last June for a couple days and stopped at a West Yellowstone fly shop before heading into the park. The guys there were very helpful, and we caught fish everywhere we stopped, mostly on the northwest side of the park. There was not a soul around me when fishing - even stopped and fished right off the road in a couple of places with decent luck on rainbows and brookies. Got into a mess of cutthroats in one of the lakes right before a storm - I'm sure those fish wold have eaten anything. If you're willing to enjoy a hike for a couple miles before fishing, I'm sure there are plenty of places like that.

Know your regs! The restrictions vary by which region of the park you're in, and they should answer your float tube question, too.

Just make sure you stop at a shop and chat some people up. I'd have a hard time imagining them not giving you some good tips - especially since you're coming from that far away. Have fun!

Yes. Hit a couple shops, and buy a few flies as well. In the Yellowstone River proper, those fish can turn on an off to 3 or 4 specific flies in a few hours.

My best days for dry flies were windy with a lot of chop on the water. If it floated, I think they would take it. Subsequent days with glass smooth conditions and those same fish would examine flies, even bump them with their nose checking for a response, and then head back to a slot. There are several smallish lakes where a tube would be ideal.

Some of the really pounded waters can be frustrating. Fish will feed within a rod length, hold in ones wake, and refuse to take your offerings.

Some great waters along your way to the Park as well. Take a ton of really close up pics, even just head shots, as those fish are beautiful.

Don't forget Sough Creek! My favorite stream in the park. Ranges from open country at the bottom to wooded to open meadows towards the top.

A couple of things to mention in case you were not aware of them:

1. Barbless hooks only. Not sure, but I think it's OK to carry a box with barbed flies, and just pinch the barb on the ones you tie on. That's what I do. You'll need a small set of needle-nose pliers.

2. Staring this year (2018) felt-soled wading boots are prohibited in the Park. I think this might catch a lot of people by surprise.

For lots of good info, go to Parks' Fly Shops website. ("Parks" refers to Richard Parks). They're in Gardiner, and their head guide (Walter Wiese) just recently re-wrote the section on where/when/how to flyfish the Park. Walter is a good guy and you can call or email him.

http://www.parksflyshop.com/howto/seasons.html

Slough Creek and the Lamar are musts. Stay in Silver Gate or Cooke City. Start with a hopper or stimulator pattern. Long 5x tippet.
If you’re into backpacking, hike up Slough Creek to the 3rd meadow. Stay a few nights. Be very “bear savvy” This is my happy place! You’re in for a treat!

Mackey

That time of year the Madison and Firehole are on the warm side and don't fish all that well. The Northeast rivers mentioned are good that time of year but will be crowded. Watch the regulations on float tubes in lakes. Permits are required IIRC. There are excellent opportunities outside the park that you should look at. Gulper fishing on Hebgen is at its peak at that time. Ideal for a guy with a float tube. Local shops can turn you on to the correct flys. Dry fly with a dropper size 16 or 18 midge pupa or something like a lightening bug or rainbow warrior or flashback pheasant tail nymph will get it done. Accurate casting is a must. Hebgen is a tremendous fishery but challenging.

Thanks so far guys!!

PatB: We are staying in a campsite in Cameron - so the western half of YNP rivers are my targets. Thru the years, I have been a customer of Madison River Fishing Co up in Ennis, so I give them my hugs and gratitude when we drive by there on the way to Cameron. Right now they have great sales on their hoppers and wet flies so I am going to take a swipe at them this weekend.

CB17: Which river and which flyshop at West Yellowstone? So far, lots of regs I am reviewing both at the YNP website and the Montana site as well. I am going to try and color code my maps with the restrictions for my timeperiod

1minute: I am in the process of reading Jason Randall's latest book, Nymph Masters, on how to read streams for the favorable spot where trout are slotted to view flies. Pretty interesting book for someone who is mostly dry fly and streamer guy. But he had multiple presentation scenarios to pick from dry flies at the outer bend of a river to wet flies on the inside tailing end of the bend with gravel. I am going to try and remember those techniques when going to the western rivers.

Pugs: Sloughs - I will need to investigate. Where is the best access point in your opinion, on the Sloughs? I will have my truck with me, so I can get into those "not so crowded places". I just read Mackey's point of the "3rd Meadow"

White Owl: points 1 & 2 is what I am doing now. So those regs are no problem for me too. Great read so far on Richard Park's website, I specially will be re-reading the section on the Late Summer/Early Fall flyfishing.

Mackey: I won't have time to backpack to the 3rd Meadow, but hopefully, I can make a nice day hike out one day. Any fly patterns other than hoppers, terrestials since its a Meadowlark Lemon field?

BangPop: Going to tie up some rainbow warriors and head out to Hebgen for an afternoon jaunt. I gotto research that pattern though.

We stayed in west yellowstone at a private Rv campsite, nice but pricey. Right on the edge of town. I think the fly shop I went to was something like West Yellowstone Fly shop, middle of town, very helpful and lots of local intel. Sounds like you should hit the hopper season bang on, I was a bit late but still had some success with a hopper pattern. Enjoy your trip, it is addictive, and I will be back one year!

Just follow the road on the east side up to the end where the outfitters park their horse trailers. that will give you good access up and down.

^^^ What BangPop said.

Pick up the book listed below that is chock full of a wealth of information. Check out the 3$ bridge section of the Madison. The park is going to be crazy busy that time of year. If you do hike in anywhere in the park or surrounding area, bring bear spray and keep your eyes open for grizzlies. The guys at MRFC are spot on, I've been going there for years. If you're interested in a day trip hike where you're likely to be one of a handful of people casting to nice cutts, shoot me a PM and I'll respond.

Flyfisher's Guide to Montana (Flyfisher's Guide to) - ISBN-10: 1932098224 - This is an awesome book. I have these guide books for MT, CO, WY, ID, NY and FL.

We stopped in Arrick's. I'll send you a PM about the rivers.

It's been almost a month since the last post. anyone have an update? I'll likely be on the Southern end of Yellowstone mid-August. Snake River, Polecat Creek just outside of the Park.

Back to the Hebgen subject. You might want to reevaluate your plan for an afternoon visit to Hebgen. It is a morning fishery for the most part. It starts off slick as glass and usually stays that way until around 11:30 to 12:00 and then the wind picks up. Often when the wind comes up it comes up in a hurry and with some strength. Fishing is over at that point. Go at 8am and be prepared to go somewhere else in the afternoon. That is after beer and pizza at the Gusher in West of course.

Son spends summers working at henrysforkanglers.com in Last Chance, ID. His name is Scott. Get in touch with he or Todd at the shop. They should have good intel right before you go. They’ll be hitting it hard later on in the summer.

From a year or two ago.

https://instagram.com/p/BIbjZNPgjh1/

https://instagram.com/p/BWq-uuTDD2Q/