Gardner Confluence to Yankee Jim Canyon

General Characteristics

• Banks: Steep, crumbly, mix of dirt, boulders, bushes, and sagebrush.
• Water: Fast-moving, whitewater sections.
• Wade Accessibility: Challenging for on-foot fishing, requires some scrambling and physical fitness. Lots of private lands following the river corridor.
• Float Accessibility: Sections of class II-III whitewater mixed in throughout the section with mellow flat water & riffle-y gravel bars in between.
• Bottom: gravel/cobble, large and small boulders, geothermal features.
• Susceptible to blow out due to rains all summer.

Fishery

• Most diverse trout selection on float-able section of the Yellowstone River.
• Most prolific Salmonfly Hatch on the float-able section of the Yellowstone River.
• Far less commercial traffic due to hard to obtain permitting.

Fishing Season

• Fishes very well nine months out of the year.
• Stoneflies (July), caddis & hoppers (August), mayflies (cooler temps).
• Best dry section on the float-able sections of the Yellowstone River.

Recommended Access points

• Town Access
• Queen of the Waters
• McConnel Landing
• Brogan’s Landing
• Cinnabar
• Slip and Slide
• Yankee Jim

Skill Level & FIsh Size

• Suitable for all skill levels.
• Average fish: 12-16 inches, potential for low 20s.

additional notes

• Consider mud impact throughout the season.
• Run off is fairly considerable on this river.
• Beware of the large number of rafting groups while floating, the concentration of whitewater enthusiasts are higher in this section than any other part of the Yellowstone River.