As July rolls, it's been a great summer. Here in Livingston, we are getting thunderstorm warnings almost daily however it seems dark clouds circumnavigate us. Then, it's hot but not as outrageously as the last year this time.
According to the USGS. Yellowstone River flow is nicely dropping. For example, "near Livingston", the current flow is 9740cfs while the historical median of this time and day is 8320cfs. Upstream at Corwin Springs, the values look much closer.
Now what we want from YR is "Good Green".
With the courtesy of a webcam run by a raft company in Gardiner, Montana Whitewater, the color is improved day by day, but to my eyes, little a bit at a time..........
This season, the river color after the flood has been so "THICK", which is hard to describe as it's my visual sense. For the same reason, I can't describe what the "good green" is solely by words (surely, I'll borrow the webcam for screenshots).
What I think that causes the thickness of river color is that the newly eroded banks keep falling into the river, including tributaries such as the Lamar and the Gardner. This I can point out. See the lines I drew. These are new erosions after the flood. In other words, this was how high the river got!! We locals still talk about this. Monday 6/13/22 will be eternally remembered.
I believe the hot and dry summer weather will dry up and stabilize these banks soon. Consequently the river will turn into the "good green".
So please contact me for the river update, when the river is good to go, and the float trip inquiries. Of course, as previously reported, spring creeks have been fishing very well. With some new structures and ever-present technicality, hiring a specialist guide is recommended.