Good morning anglers, this is Artificial Lure with your Yellowstone River fishing report for Sunday, September 7th, 2025.
Sunrise rolled in at 6:48 AM today, with sunset set for 7:52 PM, giving us long daylight hours and those golden September edges for prime fishing. Weather’s treating us to sunny skies with a light haze from lingering smoke; highs will touch the lower 70s and winds are forecast around 10 mph, gusting a bit more in the afternoon. Water temps have been running 61 to 67°F lately, and as reported by Yellowstone Angler on September 6th, the river’s flows are holding up decently—sitting at about 3,720 cfs at Miles City, roughly 60% of normal, with a slight bump in flows the last week.
We don’t have tide swings here—being a free-flowing mountain river system—but river flow changes and overnight cooling are setting the pace. The late-summer slowdown from heat-stress is fading away. More trout—especially those rainbows and cutthroat—are chasing again by midday, thanks to cooler, longer nights. It’s transition season: hopper-dropper rigs are still going steady, but on overcast stretches, blue-winged olive hatches are picking up and fueling bonus dry-fly action. According to Montana Outdoor’s September 6th report, expect biting to improve a bit each day as these conditions lock in.
Folks have been pulling in respectable numbers of cutthroat and rainbows—nice Valley fish between 14 and 18 inches are landed daily. Plenty of reports of brown trout as well, especially in deeper runs and shaded undercuts. A few folks drifting further downstream are also seeing some chunky whitefish and the odd smallmouth.
Your best bets right now:
- **Lures and flies:**
- Peach and pink hoppers (Morrish, Thunderthighs, Grand Hopper, Sweetgrass) in sizes 8-14 are drawing surface strikes, especially in the Valley and just above Yankee Jim.
- Floating ants are a sleeper, and have been hot in the slicks.
- If you’re throwing nymphs, try beadhead Prince, various Euro nymphs (sizes 12-14), and Duracell Bomb Browns.
- Tungsten bead bugger legs and slick Willie streamers in black, coffee, or olive are turning up fish during cloud cover or when things get slow.
- Rubber Legs, black or coffee, are working—don’t be shy to drop one under a big hopper.
- **Bait:**
- Worms and nightcrawler chunks on deep pools where permitted. In areas of heavy pressure, especially near Livingston, stick to artificial flies and lures to match regulations.
Fishing pressure’s been strong, so show fellow anglers extra courtesy and give a wide berth. Remember, the Park Service still advises early or late sessions to avoid warmest water temps and protect wild trout.
A quick word on closures: Select Yellowstone Park tributaries remain shut down due to low flows and high water temps. Stay updated and check those notices—anglers tell me the Park stretch before Gardiner is open and fishing well, but above the confluence, follow posted guidances. Always land fish fast and release gently.
Hot spots this week:
- The stretch above Yankee Jim Canyon: consistent Cuttbow and hopper action mid-morning.
- Between Pine Creek and Mallards Rest: larger browns and bows, and hoppers are getting hammered in side channels.
- If you want some room to yourself, push up toward Carbella early or drift below Springdale toward Big Timber for fewer boats and hungry fish.
Keep your bear spray handy, especially on early edges—Montana is bear country, and recent grizzly sightings remind us to stay sharp.
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