Yellowstone, Wyoming and other western states announce big changes for the 2026 fishing season | Hatch Magazine

If you’ve devoted any time at all to fishing the storied waters of Yellowstone National Park, you’ve probably put in some time on the Firehole River. And, if you’ve fished the Firehole any later than, say, the second week of June, or before mid-September, I’m betting there’s a chance that you didn’t do too well.

This thermally influenced river was originally void of fish above Firehole Falls, and only holds trout today thanks to industrious park fisheries managers who introduced brown trout from Europe, rainbows from the West Coast, and brook trout from Appalachia into the park’s waters in the late 1800s. The river bursts with bug life, and is famous for its white miller caddis hatch, a prolific BWO hatch in both the spring and the fall, and late-season hoppers that often end up in the water when the wind picks up. But the Firehole, generally speaking, runs much too warm to fish dependably in the heat of summer. And, with warmer summers, a shrinking snowpack, and the continued inflows from geysers and hot springs all along its course, the river is staying warmer longer.

So there’s logic to the National Park Service’s new plan to open the Firehole to anglers on May 1, rather than the traditional opening day — the Saturday before Memorial Day. This will give anglers a full three-week extension to the Yellowstone fishing season. The Gibbon River and the Madison River in the park (the Firehole and the Gibbon meet at Madison Junction in the park’s northwest quadrant and form the Madison) will also open May 1 starting this season. Like the Firehole, the Gibbon is heavily influenced by hot-water inflows from geysers and hot springs.

While most anglers who understand the Firehole’s fragile plumbing are busy making their Firehole plans for May 1, it might be a good idea to venture a bit north and check out the Gibbon River below Norris Campground (the boundary for the new May 1 opening-date rule). Gibbon Meadows and Elk Meadows could offer some stellar early-season fishing before runoff clouds the water a bit.

On the Firehole, this is welcome news to most anglers, and, while it might bring an influx of early season visitors to the park, know this: spring in Yellowstone is volatile. You’re just as likely to have to wander through a foot of snow to get to the river as you are to be able to shed the puffy and fish in your shirt sleeves. Will the fishing be good? I’m betting yes. Will the weather be … interesting? Also, yes.

Other 2026 western fishing season changes of note

Wyoming
Wyoming Game and Fish announced several changes to the 2026 season, including for the North Platte River below Seminoe Reservoir, where only single-point barbless hooks can now be used. This stretch includes some of the river’s fabled stretches, like the Miracle Mile, Alcova Afterbay, Gray Reef and Fremont Canyon. Additionally, anglers can no longer use pegged attractors, like a pegged bead meant to resemble a fish egg, at Gray Reef or Fremont Canyon. At Gray Reef, anglers can now only use flies and lures all the way downstream to Government Bridge. And, not for nothing, a new stretch of river at Gray Reef will close for the rainbow spawn from April 1 to May 15.

Farther north, near Jackson and Grand Teton National Park, Jackson Lake no longer closes in October and will be open all month. This is good news for lake trout anglers, who, in the fall, can often find big lakers lurking in shallow water as colder temperatures set in. Jackson Lake is also a high-quality brown trout fishery, and migrating browns are on the move in October.

Also, the daily trout harvest limit on the Snake River is now six fish (up from three) on the stretch between Jackson Lake Dam and the gauging station. The logic here? This stretch of river is home to a lot of smaller fish. Perhaps, by increasing the limit, anglers can remove some of the competition and spur some growth in the native cutthroat trout population.

Montana
In the remote Centennial Valley of southwest Montana, Red Rock Creek is a staple fishery for fly anglers. Not only is it home to some sizable native cutthroat trout, it’s one of the few places where anglers can cast to native Montana grayling. But, as of Jan. 1, 2026, the entire creek from Elk Lake Road all the way to upper Red Rock Lake is now closed to angling per Montana Fish, Parks, and Wildlife. This area is also home to introduced brook trout, but this fishery has been inconsistent for the last couple of decades. The notion, of course, is to protect the native fishery in the creek, particularly the grayling that appear to be more susceptible to drought and warming waters.

And, new this year, anglers are required to kill every smallmouth bass they catch on Placid Lake northeast of Missoula. The bass are invasive, and are impacting the lake’s trout population.

Colorado
Colorado Parks and Wildlife announced the removal of all size and bag limits for tiger musky in the Grand Lake, Lake Granby, and the Colorado River between Lake Granby and Shadow Mountain Reservoir. These sterile hybrids of pike and musky were first introduced to control suckers and carp in Shadow Mountain Reservoir, but they’ve since moved up the river, and have the potential to impact the trout fisheries in both Grand Lake and Granby Lake.

A bit farther south, CPW moved the closure dates in the Blue River and Ten Mile Creek above Dillon Reservoir from Sept. 1 to Sept. 15. The closure still lasts until Dec. 1, and was first put in place to protect migrating brown trout during their annual spawning run. The logic of the change? The two-week pushback likely won’t impact brown trout harvest, and it does give anglers an additional two weeks of fishing opportunity.

Nevada
The Nevada Department of Wildlife has removed all harvest and possession limits on striped bass in Lake Mead. Prior to 2026, the bag limit was 20 bass over 20 inches (no limit on smaller bass), but, starting Jan. 1, even that limit was nixed. The same new no-limited approach applies to striped bass in Mojave Reservoir.

The logic? Both reservoirs teem with small bass. By removing some of the competition, NDW hopes to see more bigger bass in both lakes.

Arizona
Like Nevada, Arizona is removing the daily bag limit for striped bass at Lake Mead and Lake Mojave.

Oregon
The Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife is making a couple of significant changes for inland anglers this year. First, the ODFW announced the opening of a chinook salmon fishery on the Coquille River. The new season starts Sept. 13 and runs to Oct. 15 — the most-targeted fish will be hatchery kings, and the season applies to the stretch of the river between the U.S. 101 bridge and the Highway 42 bridge at Sturdivant Park in Coquille. The daily bag limit is two chinook salmon, but only one can be a wild fish. There’s also a season limit on coho in the Coquille of three total fish, all of which are wild.

ODFW also put in place a new 10-fish limit for kokanee salmon found in any state water. Finally, ODFW approved no-limit spearfishing for bass and walleye in the state’s rivers (this does not apply to lake-dwelling fish).

Washington
The Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife now requires all anglers targeting salmon and steelhead in the Columbia River and its tributaries to purchase the Columbia River Salmon/Steelhead endorsement. The new endorsement is mandatory and costs $8.75 annually.