Yellowstone Opens Three West-Side Rivers Early

The original story by Nick Perkins for Oil City News.

Good news for anglers: Yellowstone National Park officials just announced that, starting this year, three rivers on the park’s west side will open for fishing earlier than usual – beginning May 1.

The early-access sections are:

• Firehole River – downstream to the confluence with the Gibbon River at Madison Junction.
• Gibbon River – from the bridge on Grand Loop Road at the Norris Campground entrance downstream to the confluence with the Firehole River at Madison Junction.
• Madison River – from the Montana–Wyoming state line upstream to the confluence with the Gibbon and Firehole rivers at Madison Junction. (Note: the Madison from the Montana–Wyoming state line downstream to the park boundary near the West Entrance in West Yellowstone, Mont., is already open year-round.)

Those stretches will remain open through Oct. 31, matching the park’s standard fishing season end date.

Park managers say the move is practical: temporary or full closures often hit those waterways later in the season because of warm water and low flows. Opening on May 1 lines anglers up with better water and fishing conditions, and officials don’t expect the earlier start to harm the fisheries.

Want maps or more details? See the park release here.