The flooding in yellowstone is catastrophic. I'm wowed by the images I see. That sucks for you, no doubt about it. I'm sorry. As is the case with any fisherman, be aware of changing conditions and don't let the dissapointment of losing plan A keep you from adjusting, making new plans, and having a good time.
If you haven't been out west, be aware that the flows are VASTLY different from one place to another.
Several things go into that. First, is the vast distances fool you. The next valley over seems like it should have a similar situation. But that's 2 hrs away, lol. They get less rain than we do so there's less water in the major rivers by drainage area. But make no mistake, the Yellowstone, Madison, Henry's Fork, in area of drainage, is like Delaware, Susquehanna, Ohio, Potomac. The situation can be vastly different across distances like that.
And second, half the water is snowmelt. We're used to everything being based on rainfall alone. This river here doesn't have much snowcap in the peaks, this one does, and this other one over here does but it's headwaters are higher elevation and reaches it's peak in August, not June. There's extra wrinkles to the equation that we're not accustomed to in Pennsylvania.
Lastly - lakes!!!!! Western lakes can be fantastic. Look into renting a float tube or small boat.
