one_more_cast
New member
- Joined
- Jun 29, 2010
- Messages
- 23
I got a chance to go fish some incredible waters near Cody Wyoming this week and last. The waters were a bit low and running gin clear (typical for this time of year). I could see the bottom in 10+ feet of water. My cousin and I fished the Shoshone last Sunday evening and when the sun started to go down the big browns started to feed right along a grass bank in the shallows. It was a sight to behold... you could see them gorging themselves for about 200 feet up the river into the setting sun. It was more like hunting than fishing and we caught every one we tried for with size 16 comparaduns. I think they would have hit belly button lint if we could tie it on a fly. I fished the North Fork by myself and hooked into 3 cutbows over 18". Then last Saturday my cousin took me out on his raft to float the Shoshone and I've got to say it was the most incredible fly fishing I've ever been blessed to experience. We took large Rainbows, Cutbows, Browns and Cutthroat on Bloody Marys, Crane fly nymphs, Stone fly nymphs and Buggers. We only floated a 2 hour float but it took us all day to do it as we walked a bunch of the river. I lost count of the fish we caught and my cousin said all in all it was a below average day!!!???!! On Tuesday I went on another solo mission to the South Fork. It had a huge fish kill 3 years ago when the snow melt and heavy rains caused massive mud slides to wipe out most of the fish and coated the entire bottom of the river with mud, choking out all the food source for the fish. The river bottom and river system is back to pristine condition and although there wasn't a lot of fish, the ones I caught were quality fish. I caught most on a size 12 FBBHPT as that was pretty much all I was seeing under the rocks. I caught some big browns and cutties on a hopper dropper combo but the slabbers were caught in the deep pools on the PT fished deep. It took me all day to fish a couple miles of the river and never saw another person on the water. I don't know if it has anything to do with the fact that it's grizzly country and you have to fish with a big gun strapped to one side and a big can of bear spray on the other. It's a weird feeling knowing you could get killed while enjoying your favorite sport (like the thrill of sky diving I guess), but I said to myself... "If I go, this is the way I want to go!" The pics below are a couple I caught on the South Fork. I don't think there are many places on the planet that can match the scenery I enjoyed while fishing these waters. I hope all of you get to experience the same one day!
