First, right to my question. Will we need to bring our waders for fishing this time of year.
I posted on this subject back in the spring and we are finally got our act together and driving to Montana an other points west in September.
We will be in Bozeman for a few days beginning the 7th and are going on a guided float trip as well and a wade trip.
We hope to fish several other places in between sight seeing up to Glacier National Park, then Yellowstone,
Jackson Hole, and on to Flaming Gorge Wyoming/Utah.
So, do you think we need to bring our waders, or just some shorts and wading boots?
September in the Montana Rockies can be very different weather wise on a day to day basis. Below freezing at night, turning to mid to upper 70’s then a thunder storm can come along and dump a ton of hail or snow. So, plan on wearing waders and if it turns out you don’t need them so much the better. However, I see you are from Florida. That means you are used to warmer weather than what you will have in Montana that time of year so even if a local goes wet you will most likely want to have waders. By the way. On your guided trips, please listen to the guide and do what he suggests, they know the waters and how to fish them. Good luck to you. Larry —sagefisher—
I’ve been in Yellowstone in Sept. (although it was late Sept) and it thundered, rained, hailed, and snowed…all in the matter of about 45 minutes.
This happened at night. When I went to get in my truck the next morning, there was a nice shell of ice crusted all over it. After I chipped away enough ice to get in it and get it warmed up, I headed out to fish. It ended up being in the mid 70’s that day with some fantastic fishing.
Pack with layers, none of them cotton. I usually have a breathable rain jacket or parka along for the top layer to combat wind, rain or snow. You may be down to a tee shirt in the afternoon and back up to 3 or 4 layers by evening.
September is a great month for Western trout fishing. Water temperatures are good for the fish. Terrestrials still work. The trout are instinctively chowing down hard in anticipation of the coming winter. Hope you have a greet trip!
If you were not already aware, this is been an extremely low water year for us in the Yellowstone region. Many rivers are near their all-time record lows for this time of the year. There will still undoubtedly be fish to be caught in September, but you will have to work harder to catch them.