Firehole River Fishing Guides
The strangest trout river in North America, running warm through the Yellowstone geyser basins and fishing like an English chalkstream.
Guides on the Firehole River
Claimed profiles take booking requests. Unclaimed profiles are built from public records so the river is never empty; the guide can claim or remove one any time.
About the Firehole River
The Firehole River is unlike any other trout stream in the country, and the reason is geology rather than fishing pressure. It runs directly through the Upper, Midway and Lower Geyser Basins of Yellowstone National Park, and the hot water those basins discharge raises the river well above the temperature a Rocky Mountain freestone would normally carry. The gauge sits at Old Faithful, draining just under forty square miles, and the water that passes it has already collected runoff from several thermal features.
That thermal loading gives the Firehole a personality all its own. The river is rich, weedy and slow in its meadow reaches, with heavy hatches of pale morning duns, baetis and caddis that come off on a schedule closer to a spring creek than a mountain river. Trout hold in the smooth glides and behind the weed beds, they see a great deal of water going over them, and they are famously selective. Long leaders, fine tippet and a careful approach matter more here than distance casting.
Brown trout and rainbows share the river, with brook trout in the colder upper tributaries and mountain whitefish through the deeper runs. None of them are large by western standards. A sixteen inch Firehole brown is a good fish, and most anglers who come here are after the experience rather than the size, because there is no other place where a dry fly is fished within sight of an erupting geyser.
The thermal input is also the river’s main limitation. By midsummer the water can climb high enough that fishing it responsibly becomes questionable, and the Park Service and most guides steer anglers elsewhere during the hottest weeks. The Firehole is therefore a shoulder-season river, best in the weeks after the season opens and again once the nights turn cold in September.
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The photo at the top of this page is not Firehole River.
It is a regional stand-in, honestly captioned but generic — we will not put a name to a river we cannot prove. Send us a photograph you took here and it replaces the stand-in, with your credit on it.
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Access
Old Faithful - the gauge reach, with parking at the visitor complex and walk-in access above and below.
Biscuit Basin - roadside pullouts along the Grand Loop Road reaching the middle river.
Midway Geyser Basin - foot access to the meadow water below the Excelsior discharge.
Fountain Flat Drive - the classic meadow reach, with a gravel road and several pullouts.
Firehole Canyon Drive - fast pocket water in the canyon, reached by the one-way loop road.
Nez Perce Creek - the largest tributary, joining the river on the Fountain Flat side.
Madison Junction - the downstream end, where the Firehole meets the Gibbon.
Seasons
Spring: the best window of the year, with heavy baetis and pale morning dun hatches as soon as the season opens.
Summer: thermal input pushes water temperatures high and most anglers move to colder water.
Fall: the river cools and fishes well again, with baetis on grey days and browns on the move.
Winter: closed to fishing within the park for the season.
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Questions
What is the current flow on the Firehole River?
As of Sep 17, 5:00 am, the USGS gauge Firehole River at Old Faithful, YNP reads 35 cfs, with water temperature 52.5 F. Conditions update every 15 minutes.
What species can you catch on the Firehole River?
Anglers target Brook Trout, Brown Trout, Mountain Whitefish, Rainbow Trout on the Firehole River in Wyoming.
Are there fishing guides on the Firehole River?
GuidedFloats lists 2 guides and outfitters on the Firehole River. Claimed profiles accept booking requests; unclaimed profiles are built from public records and link to the business.
Where can you access the Firehole River?
Old Faithful - the gauge reach, with parking at the visitor complex and walk-in access above and below. Biscuit Basin - roadside pullouts along the Grand Loop Road reaching the middle river. Midway Geyser Basin - foot access to the meadow water below the Excelsior discharge. Fountain Flat Drive - the classic meadow reach, with a gravel road and several pullouts. Firehole Canyon Drive - fast pocket water in the canyon, reached by the one-way loop road. Nez Perce Creek - the largest tributary, joining the river on the Fountain Flat side. Madison Junction - the downstream end, where the Firehole...
When is the best time to fish the Firehole River?
Spring: the best window of the year, with heavy baetis and pale morning dun hatches as soon as the season opens. Summer: thermal input pushes water temperatures high and most anglers move to colder water. Fall: the river cools and fishes well again, with baetis on grey days and browns on the move. Winter: closed to fishing within the park for the season.
Where are the fishing regulations for the Firehole River?
Regulations change by season and section. Read the current rules on the Wyoming agency site: https://wgfd.wyo.gov/regulations