• Visitors enjoy an eruption of Old Faithful from the Inn.

    Yellowstone

    National Park ID,MT,WY

  • Road Information

    Updated road information is available 24 hours a day by calling 307-344-2117. See Road Construction Delays and Closures for more information. More »

Fishing and Fisheries Science

Angler kneeling in Yellowstone Lake and holding cutthroat trout with Absaroka Mountains in the background.

Photo by Joe Facendola

Fishing in Yellowstone

Yellowstone National Park is managed to protect cultural and natural resources and outstanding scenery, and to provide for visitor use. Fishing has been a major visitor activity for well over a century. Because of this history, fishing continues to be allowed and can complement, and in some cases even enhance, the park’s primary purpose to preserve natural environments and native species.

 
Composite image of park biologist listening for a radio-tagged cutthroat trout park biologist holding a large cutthroat trout.
NPS Photos/Koel; Arnold
 

Fisheries Science in Yellowstone

Native cutthroat trout are the most ecologically important fish of the park and the most prized, and highly regarded by visiting anglers. Several factors, mostly related to exotic species introductions, are threatening the persistence of these fish. The Yellowstone Fisheries Program strives to use best available science in addressing these threats, with a focus on direct, aggressive intervention, and welcomed assistance by visiting anglers.

Did You Know?

Fire in Yellowstone Pineland in 1988

The 1988 fires affected 793,880 acres or 36 percent of the park. Five fires burned into the park that year from adjacent public lands. The largest, the North Fork Fire, started from a discarded cigarette. It burned more than 410,000 acres.