Spring Creek · Limestone · Montana

Paradise Valley Spring Creeks

Paradise Valley Spring Creeks terrain map

The Paradise Valley spring creeks — Armstrong's, DePuy's, and Nelson's — are three private, spring-fed jewels strung along the Yellowstone near Livingston, and they're the closest thing to graduate school that dry-fly fishing offers.

Prime · Brown Trout
Green Drake · 10-12
Primelive now
About as good as it gets
Low and clear — careful approach country. Take your time — read the water before you cast.
90% confidence
What moved it
  • LevelDry recentlyNo gauge reading
  • Water temp13.8°C
  • ClarityClear
Today's fly
Green Drake
Green Drake10-12
High-confidence seasonal pick
Conditions on the water
Estimate
Level
Dry recently
No gauge reading
Water temp13.8°C
ClarityClear
Weather16°C
WindSW 9 km/h
Pressure1017 hPa
Rain · recent0.3 mm
Rain · ahead0.0 mm

No gauge on this water — readings are regional estimates from weather, not a live gauge.

Water temperature for Brown Trout
Ideal
14°C est.ideal 1016°C
0°14°28°
How to fish it · for Brown Trout
When
Nymphing can work through most of the day.
Where
Cover mixed depths.
Method
Start with tight-line nymphs and adjust if fish rise or drift higher.
Kit
9 ft #4 rod, floating line, 12 ft tapered leader to 4–5 lb fluoro tippet.
Why this works
Excellent — water temperature is right today, though time of day could be better.
Hatch timeline · todayQuiet day

Hatch predictions

Today's headline hatch shown — see all 4 active hatches hour by hour with Pro.

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Sub-surface · on the nymphunder the surface

Hatch predictions

Top nymph shown — see all 2 guilds with Pro.

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Beyond the hatch · worth watchingambient prey

Hatch predictions

Top prey shown — see all 3 with Pro.

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Evidence
ModelledModerate confidence

Modelled from regional ecology — no survey or occurrence data for this water yet.

Through the year
0–3 scale · July highlighted
J
F
M
A
M
J
J
A
S
O
N
D
Trout seasonSeason
1
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
1
Western Blue-Winged OliveHatch
2
3
3
3
3
3
3
3
2
Pale Morning DunHatch
2
3
3
2
TricoHatch
2
3
2
Freshwater ShrimpHatch
2
3
3
3
3
3
3
3
3
3
3
2

Numbers are intensity 0 (none) to 3 (peak) — a guide, not a guarantee.

Ranked for today
Brown Trout fly box
Permits & access
Permit required — see local rules.
  • Daily rod-fee, reservation-only private access on all three creeks
  • Catch-and-release ethic; book ahead.
What's coming
Plan ahead
5-day outlook
Other water nearby · 4
About this water

The Paradise Valley spring creeks — Armstrong's, DePuy's, and Nelson's — are three private, spring-fed jewels strung along the Yellowstone near Livingston, and they're the closest thing to graduate school that dry-fly fishing offers. Gin-clear, weed-lined, stable water with big wild rainbows and browns that get a long, hard look at every fly. You pay a daily rod fee and you book ahead, and in return you get glassy currents, PMD and baetis and trico hatches, and fish that will school you politely all day. It's flat-water, fine-tippet, on-your-knees fishing, and people save up for a day on it.

  • Limestone
The full read · show the working · for Brown Trout · confidence 90%
How the 82 is built — score × weight = contribution
Temperature100 × 28%28.0
Flow80 × 22%17.6
Clarity95 × 18%17.1
Feeding Time55 × 13%7.2
Pressure80 × 7%5.6
Insect activity58 × 12%7.0
Conditions total= 83
Can you trust it?
Water temperatureair-to-water estimateestimated
Level / flowon-river gaugeobserved
Prey activitymodelled from regional profilemodelled
What would change the calculation
The dawn and dusk windows score higher than the midday lull.
Directions
Seasons & zones
  • Trout1 January31 December
Related guides
Booking & contacts