Yellowstone Park Opening to Year-Round Fishing

Yellowstone National Park is opening some waters to year-round fishing beginning May 25 (really November 1, since the general season opens the 25th). This is the first time in many decades year-round fishing will be available in the park. I've known this was in the works for a while (I have an inside source), but couldn't talk about it. The Madison River from the WY/MT state line (near the Barns Pools) and more importantly for us the Gardner River from Osprey Falls to the Yellowstone River confluence will officially be open year-round starting May 25. Per my source, there's a possibility the Firehole, Gibbon, and Gallatin will open year-round starting in fall 2025 or on New Year's 2026. The Gardner River will be one of the best winter and spring wade-fisheries in the Rocky Mountain West. Due to the influence of the Boiling River hot spring, this water never gets too cold for trout and insects to remain active, and the late winter and early spring rainbow run rivals the fall brown trout run, without the crowds. Some old-timers I know got to help train rangers on fishing regulations by fishing in April on the Gardner one year, and they reported it fished better then than it does at any point during the general season. We will be offering SUBSTANTIAL discounts for brave anglers who want to plan a December-March ski/fish trip or and April-May shoulder season fishing trip. Details will appear on our website in the next few weeks, along with a winter fishing page and edits to other pages. This might well revolutionize our business: fifteen trips a year between November and April inside YNP is a Roth IRA contribution for the year, or the payment on a new truck... Here's the NPS news release: https://www.nps.gov/yell/learn/news/24012.htm

Thank you for this information .

I think that's a good thing, do you? Just curious.

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Originally Posted by lastchance

I think that's a good thing, do you? Just curious.

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Holy cripes yes. It won't REVOLUTIONIZE my business, because it's not like there will be a mad rush of people eager to fish from December through February, but the increase in business should be a year's worth of truck payments or the year's Roth contribution. At the very least I'll get to fish a lot more often personally. I'm guiding during the core season, and in all honesty the wade-fishing is not that good around Livingston on the big water that isn't frozen in the winter like the mountain creeks. Having access to a wadable, warm river without any access issues year-round will get me to layer-up through the dead of winter a lot more than I do.

The last year I lived in SE Idaho, the head of the IDF&G fisheries section asked what I thought about going to a year round open fishing season, with closings only by exception, for the entire state. My response was that most waters that were seasonally closed at that time, unless open by exception, were either inaccessible by weather or travel conditions, and that they were most likely unfishable due to weather conditions, and if they were fishable, one would not likely catch enough fishies to make the effort. I suspect Jim got the same or similar observations from any number of other folks around Idaho at the time. In any event, within a year after that conversation, Idaho went to a year round open fishing season, with some waters closed by exception, and it hasn't changed back to the old system, which suggests that the change was just fine with the fishies and those who chase them. My guess is that going to year-round fishing in Yellowstone will result in very few folks spending the time, energy, and bucks to access whatever water they can find to fish there - but good luck to the few that do.

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Originally Posted by JohnScott

The last year I lived in SE Idaho, the head of the IDF&G fisheries section asked what I thought about going to a year round open fishing season, with closings only by exception, for the entire state. My response was that most waters that were seasonally closed at that time, unless open by exception, were either inaccessible by weather or travel conditions, and that they were most likely unfishable due to weather conditions, and if they were fishable, one would not likely catch enough fishies to make the effort. I suspect Jim got the same or similar observations from any number of other folks around Idaho at the time. In any event, within a year after that conversation, Idaho went to a year round open fishing season, with some waters closed by exception, and it hasn't changed back to the old system, which suggests that the change was just fine with the fishies and those who chase them. My guess is that going to year-round fishing in Yellowstone will result in very few folks spending the time, energy, and bucks to access whatever water they can find to fish there - but good luck to the few that do.

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There are some big differences: --Both open waters are geyser-heated and never get under 45 degrees. I will go so far as to say that the Gardner will be BETTER than the Paradise Valley Spring Creeks most of the winter. --Winter tourism is increasing, whether this is people coming to see critters without the summer crowds or to ski. --The Gardner River at least is close to snow-free most of the winter, as it's in the lowest and driest part of the park. This will make access much easier. Like I said, there won't be a mad rush, but I expect I'll get out myself twice a week in November and April and once a week the rest of the winter whenever it's warm enough to stand it. Ten or fifteen half-day guided trips with people taking a break from skiing seem pretty doable. That'd increase my yearly income close to 10%, which ain't peanuts... Here is a web page I hustled to make with some fishing info: https://flyfishmontana.biz/winter-fi...lowstone-park/