Freestone · Mixed · Wyoming/Montana, US

Slough Creek

Slough Creek venue image

Slough Creek is a Yellowstone meadow stream of step-pools and beaver flats, and the native Yellowstone cutthroat in it come up for a dry like they've been waiting all morning for it.

Tomorrow · About as good as it gets
Sculpin Streamer
Forecast · Tomorrow
About as good as it gets
On the feed top to bottom — start on the rises with a dry, drop a nymph if they stay down.
75% projected
Today's fly
Sculpin Streamer
Sculpin Streamer
Conditions on the water · Tomorrow
Proxy gauge
Level
Steady
Proxy
via Soda Butte Creek
Water temp9.8°C
ClarityClear
Weather11°C
WindN 11 km/h
Pressure1014 hPa
Rain · recent0.2 mm
Rain · ahead0.0 mm

No gauge on this water — conditions are inferred from Soda Butte Creek. The trend transfers, the absolute level does not.

Water temperature for Cutthroat Trout
Ideal
10°C est.ideal 9–15°C
0°14°28°
How to fish it · for Cutthroat 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
Good — river flow is right today, though insect activity could be better.
Likely species
Mayflies
Caddisflies
terrestrials
Hatch timeline · tomorrowPeak at 11am

12pm(now) — Western Blue-Winged Olive

Stage: On emergersApproach: Emerger or dryActivity: 86%
Also:Black Midge64%
Peak emergence window4 food groups active

Peak activity at 11am — Western Blue-Winged Olive (Western Blue-Winged Olive, Peak emergence window)

Sub-surface · on the nymphunder the surface

Hatch predictions

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Beyond the hatch · worth watchingambient prey(1)

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Evidence
Records-basedModerate confidence

Based on species-occurrence records, not local invertebrate surveys.

Through the year
0–3 scale · September highlighted
J
F
M
A
M
J
J
A
S
O
N
D
Brown DunHatch
2
3
3
3
3
3
3
2
Western Green DrakeHatch
2
2
Flav (Small Western Green Drake)Hatch
2
3
2
Mahogany DunHatch
2
2

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

Ranked for today
Cutthroat Trout fly box
SD
Sex Dungeon
2-6 · Pattern
Proven pattern for this period
Permits & access
Permit required — see local rules.
  • Yellowstone NP licence and native-cutthroat rules (barbless catch-and-release) — check current NPS regulations.
What's coming
Plan ahead
5-day outlook
Other water nearby · 5
Lamar River
7.0 km
80
Cutthroat trout
Soda Butte Creek
14 km
Cutthroat trout
Gardner River
30 km
79
Cutthroat trout · Brown trout · Rainbow trout
Gibbon River
41 km
Brown trout · Rainbow trout · Brook trout
Yellowstone Lake
53 km
Cutthroat trout
Gallery · 1
  1. Terrain map of the venue
    Terrain map
About this water

Slough Creek is a Yellowstone meadow stream of step-pools and beaver flats, and the native Yellowstone cutthroat in it come up for a dry like they've been waiting all morning for it. The upper meadows are a hike-in deal — you earn them with your legs — and the sight-fishing there is about as good as cutthroat fishing gets anywhere. Storms color it up, the fish are spooky in flat water, and that's part of the bargain. Barbless catch-and-release under Park rules; handle them like they matter, because they do.

  • Mixed
Conservation note

Native Yellowstone cutthroat — barbless catch-and-release under Park rules; handle minimally.

The full read · show the working · for Cutthroat Trout · confidence 75%
How the 68 is built — score × weight = contribution
Temperature51 × 28%14.3
Flow95 × 22%20.9
Clarity85 × 18%15.3
Feeding Time55 × 13%7.2
Pressure75 × 7%5.3
Insect activity45 × 12%5.4
Conditions total= 68
Can you trust it?
Water temperatureair-to-water estimateestimated
Level / flowproxy via Soda Butte Creekproxy
Prey activitymodelled from regional profilemodelled
What would change the calculation
Warmer water — toward the 9–15 °C ideal band — would lift the temperature score.
The dawn and dusk windows score higher than the midday lull.
Directions
Apple MapsGoogle Maps
Seasons & zones
  • Trout Saturday of Memorial Day weekend → First Sunday in November
Related guides
Euro Nymphingsubsurface methods
Booking & contacts