Winter Fishing ‘26

Winter Fishing Livingston 2026

People think fishing stops out here in Montana once the excitement of fall spawners fades. The browns leave the reds, and fishermen seem to forget about fishing, probably starting to get their skis waxed and sharpened. Or perhaps checking plane tickets for a tropical destination. All are great options, but now the rivers are somewhat left alone.

There is a handful of anglers, in the Livingston area, who watch the weather constantly waiting for an opportunity to strike. The ones who never stop fishing. Wind and frozen rod tips really are the only limitations here. They are easy to spot. A tundra with a rod rack parked off 89 by the river. Or a 4 Runner stuffed to the gills on the inside with rods. A fellow winter angler who has their honey hole knows what braving the cold can mean on this river.

This time of year trout will stack up in slower, deeper runs. If you have a good spot, you can have a great little session without moving your feet. Brewer says “Sometimes I catch more fish in one spot in the winter, then on an entire float in the summer.” Definitely one of the best advantages to winter trout fishing on the Yellowstone. Some key points to think about here are where warmer water comes into play. If things get really cold, the stretches between Gardiner and Yankee Jim canyon, and Carters Bridge through Livingston tend to have more open water than Paradise Valley.

Overall, we have had a pretty mild winter up to this point at the beginning of February. I have bounced around to quite a few of my favorite winter spots and have always found happy feeding fish. Midges have been very active most times I have been on the river this winter.  The most productive rig has been a deep nymph rig, with our #10- “21 Incher” Stonefly up front, with a small beatis perdigon #16 below. Again, I’m looking mostly for slow, deep runs where fish won’t have to work hard to maintain a feeding position.

Swinging a streamer is also a great idea right now. With our warmer overall temperatures trout will still be out looking for food, and a bigger meal will probably entice some of the nicer fish. Less of a numbers game here, but always worth a shot. We would be fishing something black, or yellow probably. The shop has lots of good hand tied streamers from local tiers if you need more!

Another great option no matter what the weather is always the local spring creeks. Basically from now until the spring Rainbows will be trickling in and out of the creeks getting ready to spawn. Fish activity will be increasing. Midge hatches can be very good this time of year on the creeks, as well as the beatis activity increasing with the warmer weather. Scuds and sow bugs are also big food sources right now. Fish are less pressured, a great time to test your skills.

Please stop by the shop for more intel, and Livingston’s largest selection of hand tied Flies! Cheers.