Yellowstone River

Thursday, May 17, 12:01 p.m. MDT

Current River Levels

For 7-day, 30-day, and one-year graphs, click bold type below.

GAGE LOCATION	DAY/YEAR GRAPHS	CURRENT STAGE/FLOW	WHAT TIME

Shields near Livingston	7 30 year	2.90 / 902	10 am
Boulder at Big Timber	7 30 year	4.19 / 1620	10 am
Lamar near Tower Falls	7 30 year	6.50 / 4640	10 am
Gardner near Mammoth	7 30 year	3.51 / 698	10 am
Yellowstone at Lake Outlet	7 30 year	4.50 / 1900	10 am
Yellowstone at Corwin Spring	7 30 year	6.62 / 12400	10 am
Yellowstone near Livingstone	7 30 year	/	N/A

Weather

Click bold type for weather from NOAA, Accuweather, or The Weather Channel

CITY

Gardiner	NOAA	Accuweather	TWC
Livingston	NOAA	Accuweather	TWC
Billings	NOAA	Accuweather	TWC

What to Expect in May

What usually happens. Best way to use this section.

Hatches divided by half-month. Super Major Minor Slight None

HATCH	NYMPH/ LARVA	PUPA/ EMERGER	DUN/ ADULT	EGG- LAYER

Blue-winged olive
Grannom
Spotted caddis
Green caddis
Golden stonefly
Salmonfly
Cranefly
Midge
Sculpin
Crayfish
Baitfish

In general, this is not a good May prospect due to runoff issues. Watch the river level via Westfly's river levels page or the report page for the Yellowstone. Click on the graph and see what the trend is. Once runoff blows-out the Yellowstone, it's pointless to fish it until it drops back down. On the other hand, there may be days when the river steadies-out and is fishable. Always check with a local source before you go.

If the Yellowstone is worth fishing, big dark Woolly Buggers and salmonfly nymphs should take trout when presented near the bottom.

Caddis hatches can be intense in May, so bring size 12-16 X Caddis, Elk Hair Caddis, or Casanova Caddis for topwater action, or a Sparkle Pupa or Deep Sparkle Pupa for subsurface patterns.

See the Rivers in General report for more May fly fishing tips.

Other Fisheries

Select a report for another fishery