As we inch closer to the Yellowstone Park Fishing Opener, be sure you are taking all safety precautions, know the regulations and of course, purchase a permit. Carry and have bear spray at the ready, make lots of noise as you go and team up with a few fishing buddies. Our good friend Brian La Rue has been fly fishing the park for over 30 years and suggests early season anglers target the browns and rainbows found in the west side of the park. "The Firehole, Madison and Gibbon rivers would be high on my list for opening day," says Brian. "The waters in the west typically see high, off-color, tea-stained, water, but they are typically very fishable early when compared to the rest of the park's waters that might be raging with dangerous flows, still covered in ice or flat-out muddy. "Also, with the tragic news that came out of West Yellowstone this past week, be sure to make a lot of noise and expect bears to be all over the land. In the early season, I've seen lots of bears in numerous areas at all times of the day. Have your head on a swivel and follow all the precautions found in bear aware pamphlets, books and advised by rangers." When it comes to rigging, Brian suggests wet hackle patterns that you can swing under cutbanks, streamers imitating small browns, rainbows and sculpin and enjoy dry fly fishing when you start to see fish rising. Something like a Griffith's gnat, midge, or any of Craig Matthews' dun patterns will typically do the job. "One of my favorite hatches in Yellowstone occurs in the first three weeks as the season opens," adds La Rue. "Try a big dry salmon fly pattern in Firehole Canyon or any other rocky areas along the Madison and have a blast."