Yellowstone Park Area Fly Fishing - Montana - Favorite Flies to tie

[DaveMonti]

Being that it's a bit rainy out, and I've caught up on a lot of my outside chores, I'm doing a lot of fly tying this weekend.  I fish Montana rivers around Yellowstone, mostly the Madison and Gallatin, in the middle to end of July. 
I have my favorite patterns for that time of year, but I'm always interested in tying some new ones.

Does anyone have a favorite fly to tie for the Madison, Gallatin, Yellowstone, or any of the rivers in the park?

Dave

[Magnum_Willys]

Royal Coachman Bucktail - only fly you need.   

[DaveMonti]

I always have a few Royal Wulff's with me.  I just now finished tying a half dozen.  I've never used the coachman bucktail, I'll have to tie a few up.  I usually have a good inventory of X Caddis and Iris Caddis (late July), and some epeorus spinners, plenty stimulators and PMDs, and lots of soft hackles in many different colors. 

[KenPCPilot]

Gibbon River pheasant tail nymph had lot of fun catching brown trout.  Careful wading Madison and other muddy silt bottom streams.  almost drown getting stuck and sinking. 

[ribka]

Comparaduns olive in color six 16 18
Stimulators. Size 16
King caddis size 16
Griffiths gnats size 18 20

Lightening bugs size 16 to 22
Zebra midges 20

Big articulated sculpins on sink tips at night

[splitshot]

  some small red copper johns.  is it salmon fly time?  maybe a bit early.  contact blue ribbon fly shop in west Yellowstone.  also subscribe to their email newsletter, it is very good.  mike w

[DaveMonti]

I've known Craig from BRF for years and do get their newsletter.
I've fished a lot with copper johns of all colors!  Great fly on the Gallatin when the water is slightly off color. 

I'm sure the Salmon flies are starting now and will get heavier in the next few weeks.  Salmon Flies are pretty much gone by the time we are there in late July.  Once in a while one will fly by, but it's rare to see more than a few.

[jackelope]

I fished Rock Creek for a week in mid-July a few years ago and the only flies they'd look up for were some small elk hair caddis with olive colored bodies. Like 14's and 16's. Low profile caddis like crippled something or other. We had tons of caddis and they would key on the cripples or the emergers even though there were bazzilions of duns on the water. It was really hot and the water was warmer than normal. We didn't have good timing.
July will definitely be too late for Salmonflies.
I'd have some stimulators or Joe's hoppers or other trusty grasshopper patterns and run a dropper off of them. Copper Johns, bead head prince or San Juan worms is what we were using.
This was Rock Creek and the Blackfoot, but I can't imagine it being too much different anywhere.
I wanted to catch a big rainbow on the Madison and I did it swinging a huge bunny leech, huge like 4-5" long articulated leech down and across like a steelhead swing. 23" fish.

[DaveMonti]

I've fished Rock Creek a few times as well (the one near Missoula, there is also one near Red Lodge, MT).  I was there in September of a very low water year, so I ended up fishing the Bitterroot most of the time.  That was also warm and low, but I could at least catch some west slope cutts there.

I always have some Stimulators and sunken stones for our week in Montana and will occasionally get some rises to them.  Hoppers are hit and miss at that time of year, but I expect we will see lots of them this summer.  I almost always drop something off of a hopper or stimulator, usually a midge nymph or beadhead of some sort.  I've tied up quite a few prince nymphs and hare's ear nymphs as well. 

I was on the Madison for a few days last September, just a bit too early for the big browns to be active pre spawn.  I threw large streamers most of the time and hooked up a few times, but lost them all.  Big fish, I'm assuming browns.  I've caught some huge rainbows and browns in the Madison as well. 

As far as caddis go, I've been using X-Caddis and Iris caddis for years.  These are both floating emerger patters, but don't have the palmered hackle of an Elk Hair caddis, so they sit in the film.  Very productive and fish like a dry.  I'm sure you would have gotten into them on Rock Creek with those patterns!

[JLS]

I would have some Purple Haze and Parachute Adams in my fly box, sizes 14-18.  Also some size 8-10 Chubby Chernobyl.

[DaveMonti]

I've fished the Chubby Chernobyl before.  I'm not a "purist" from a fly tying sense, I do use plenty of synthetics, but I just don't like fishing with flies that have foam in them.  I'm not sure why, but I just tend to avoid them unless they are the only thing working.  I do have a few from fishing the Yellowstone a few years ago, but they have not seen the end if my tippet.  I use a parachute hopper when hoppers are present or a stimulator or Nicks Sunken Stone if big Yellow Stoneflies or Salmon flies are around. 

I've tied a few purple haze as well, always have plenty of attractors on hand!