Freestone · Mixed · Wyoming/Montana

Soda Butte Creek

Soda Butte Creek venue image

Soda Butte is the Lamar's roadside tributary — pocket water and runs you can step into right off the Northeast Entrance road, holding native Yellowstone cutthroat that don't make you work too hard for the privilege.

Prime · Cutthroat Trout
Chubby Chernobyl · 6-10
Primelive now
About as good as it gets
Low and clear — careful approach country. Take your time — read the water before you cast.
75% confidence
What moved it
  • Level0.55 mLast reading 19h ago
  • Water temp13.5°C
  • ClarityClear
Today's fly
Chubby Chernobyl
Chubby Chernobyl6-10
High-confidence seasonal pick
Conditions on the water
Live gauge
Level
Falling
0.55 m
Last reading 19h ago
Water temp13.5°C
ClarityClear
Weather13°C
WindE 4 km/h
Pressure1020 hPa
Rain · recent0.7 mm
Rain · ahead0.4 mm

Live readings — water temperature is an estimate where the gauge does not record it.

Water temperature for Cutthroat Trout
Ideal
14°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
Excellent — water temperature is right today, though insect activity could be better.
Hatch timeline · todayQuiet day

Hatch predictions

Today's headline hatch shown — see all 3 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 2 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
Western Green DrakeHatch
2
2
Flav (Small Western Green Drake)Hatch
2
3
2
Mahogany DunHatch
2
2
American March BrownHatch
2
3
2

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

Ranked for today
Cutthroat Trout fly box
Permits & access
Permit required — see local rules.
  • Yellowstone NP licence and native-cutthroat rules (barbless catch-and-release).
What's coming
Plan ahead
5-day outlook
Other water nearby · 5
Lamar River
8.0 km
26
Cutthroat trout
Slough Creek
14 km
Cutthroat trout
Gardner River
43 km
4
Cutthroat trout · Brown trout · Rainbow trout
Yellowstone Lake
48 km
Cutthroat trout
Gibbon River
49 km
Brown trout · Rainbow trout · Brook trout
Gallery · 1
  1. Terrain map of the venue
    Terrain map
About this water

Soda Butte is the Lamar's roadside tributary — pocket water and runs you can step into right off the Northeast Entrance road, holding native Yellowstone cutthroat that don't make you work too hard for the privilege. It clears earlier than the main Lamar, so when a storm has the big river the color of coffee, this is often where you go to actually catch something. Barbless catch-and-release under Park rules.

  • Mixed
Conservation note

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

Water quality · US Clean Water Act
  • Aquatic life: Not assessed
What this classification means

EPA ATTAINS assessment unit 'Soda Butte Creek' (MT43B002_031), 2021 Integrated Report. Aquatic Life use: Insufficient Information. This is a Clean Water Act assessment-unit classification (the US analogue of WFD), not a live reading.

Status is for the Clean Water Act assessment unit covering this reach.

EPA ATTAINS (Clean Water Act) · MT43B002_031

The full read · show the working · for Cutthroat Trout · confidence 75%
How the 85 is built — score × weight = contribution
Temperature100 × 28%28.0
Flow95 × 22%20.9
Clarity85 × 18%15.3
Feeding Time70 × 13%9.1
Pressure75 × 7%5.3
Insect activity50 × 12%6.0
Conditions total= 85
Can you trust it?
Water temperatureair-to-water estimateestimated
Level / flowon-river gaugeobserved
Prey activitymodelled from regional profilemodelled
Directions
Apple MapsGoogle Maps
Seasons & zones
  • TroutSaturday of Memorial Day weekend → First Sunday in November
Related guides
Euro Nymphingsubsurface methods
Booking & contacts