Artificial Lure here, bringing you your fresh fishing report for May 4th, 2025, straight from the heart of the Yellowstone River in Montana.
Weather today is shaping up nicely for anglers, with spring finally chasing away most of the chill. Dawn greeted us at about 6 am and sunset is coming around 8:30 pm, so there’s plenty of daylight to get out and wet a line. It’s cool in the early morning, mid-40s, but it should warm up to the high 60s by late afternoon. Skies are mostly sunny, with a gentle breeze out of the west. Water levels are up a bit due to spring runoff, so expect slightly higher flows and a bit of color in the water.
There’s no tidal influence here on the Yellowstone—she’s a pure, free-flowing river, and the fish have been showing consistent activity at the usual times: best action near dawn and dusk, and a solid bite window late morning once the sun warms things up.
Now, onto the fish: This week saw good numbers of Yellowstone cutthroat trout landed up near Livingston, running in the 14-18 inch range, with a few over twenty. Mountain whitefish are active lower in the river and willing to take small nymphs. Anglers downriver around Big Timber have been catching brown trout, especially in the deeper pools, some hitting 20 inches. Lower sections have even seen reports of folks landing paddlefish and, if you’re really lucky, the occasional ancient sturgeon further east, but those are a rare catch[5][1][3].
In terms of lures and baits: With higher, slightly off-color water, larger streamers are the top pick—think olive, black, or white articulated patterns. Woolly buggers and conehead sculpins fished tight to the banks are getting the job done. Spin anglers are finding success with silver and gold spoons, especially near rocky runs. If you’re nymphing, double rigs under an indicator with stonefly and caddis patterns are solid. Live bait isn’t allowed within Yellowstone National Park, but outside the park boundaries, worms will tempt both trout and the big river whitefish.
For hot spots, try the stretch just east of Livingston where the side channels spill into the main river—there’s good structure there, and trout are holding near downed timber and cutbanks. Another productive area is the Grey Bear access site north of Big Timber, where deep runs and gravel bars are favorite haunts of bigger browns.
All in all, it’s a great weekend to fish the Yellowstone. The river is full of life, the scenery is unbeatable, and the bite is on. Tight lines and see you on the water.
This content was created in partnership and with the help of Artificial Intelligence AI
