Yellowstone

[psamulewicz]

Hi

I'm new to he forum. A friend of mine suggested posting to try to get some info on where to fish in Yellowstone. I'm taking the family out in two weeks. My eldest son and I were hoping to get some fishing in. Can anyone suggest a place / guide in either Yellowstone or near Island Park Idaho. We'll be in both places for a week total.

Thanks
Phil

 

[Fishidiot]

Phil,
Fishing opportunities in YNP are absolutely vast and too numerous to list but here's some basics:
Fishing in YNP is mainly a trout fishing game. Cutthroat trout must be released; there are some limited areas where brook, brown, and rainbow trout may be harvested. Some of the better known streams such as the Firehole have fly fishing only regulations. All fish are wild. Lead weights and split shot are prohibited. There are countless creeks, rivers and lakes - some require hiking to get to. This is grizzly country - be aware of precautions and sightings. You'll need a YNP fishing permit. My advice would be to hit a local fly shop (West Yellowstone has a bunch of 'em) and get your fishing permit and the the latest info there. If you've never been to YNP, it's an unforgettable experience! Good luck with your trip.

 

[albatross]

I'll let you in on a little gem easily accessible. Take the Canyon to Norris road west from Canyon about a half mile. The road crosses Cascade Creek in a meadow. Put on a royal wulff or a humpy and catch 4-9 inch cutthroats till your arm gets sore.

Have fun!

 

[BelAirSteve]

Check out Parks Fly Shop. They have a good stream reports sectionon their site. Also consider buying Richard Parks' book "Flyfishing YNP.". He lists every river and stream in the entire park and how to fish it in every phase of the season. Also check out flyanglersonline.com. A lot of the folks on that board are out west. Good luck.

 

[BelAirSteve]

Check out Parks Fly Shop. They have a good stream reports sectionon their site. Also consider buying Richard Parks' book "Flyfishing YNP.". He lists every river and stream in the entire park and how to fish it in every phase of the season. Also check out flyanglersonline.com. A lot of the folks on that board are out west. Good luck.

Sorry for the dup...posting on an iPhone!

 

[jayL]

Not familiar with that area of the park, but I am sure there is good fishing around.

Whatever you do, just be sure to spend as much time sittin' and lookin' around as you do fishing. It's worth it.

I recommend CCR for park driving music. There are lots of car hours in your future if you wish to see a lot of the park, but it's good car time.

 

[Badger2119]

I haven't been there for quite some time but I liked the streams of the Lamar Valley. The Lamar, Soda Butte & Slough Creek. The lower end of Slough creek can be accessed by vehicle, but the better fishing is in the first and second meadows (about 1 hour & 2 hours hikes respectively). The trail is well maintained. Catch a lot of nice cuttthroat (bigger fish the further you walk) catch some 20". Slough creek is generally the last creek in the park to clear up but it is generally fishable by mid June. You wade the lower end of Slough but when fishing the meadows you wear your hiking boots and fish from shore. The Lamar and Soda Butte are close to the road and are nice both contain more rainbows. You can wade the Lamar but Soda Butte is small so most fishing is from shore, but I'd wear waders.

The Upper Yellowstone river below the lake opens about mid June (check the regs for exact date) and I was there for the opener one time. Great fishing with a lot of rising cutthroats in the 15" range. I don't know what it is like later in the year. Since it was the opener there were many people fishing but still room to fish. The current is fast but wadable, just be careful.

I also like the Gibbon it reminds me of a PA stream. I'd fish near the meadow area. The fish are smaller than the other streams but did catch some nice fish (12"), all browns. You will fish from shore. If you go there take note of the gray birds a little smaller than a robin that actually go fully underwater for several seconds looking for insects. Pretty neat thing to see.

I'd not spend much time on the Firehole (spooky fish & too much vegatation) or Madison in the park (mostly shallows runs and long stretches between areas that hold fish). I fished both streams in each of my two trips (just so I could say I did it) but I didn't enjoy my experience there.

If you had to take only 3 flies bring yellow body stimulator size 12-14, Royal Wulff size 10-14 and Wooly Bugger size 6-8 (black or olive). You can catch 90% of the fish on these flies and I had some 30 fish days. The only exception would be the first meadow of Slough creek where you will need small flies (midges/ants) in the slow current with selective fish.

 

[Rolf]

albatross wrote:
I'll let you in on a little gem easily accessible. Take the Canyon to Norris road west from Canyon about a half mile. The road crosses Cascade Creek in a meadow. Put on a royal wulff or a humpy and catch 4-9 inch cutthroats till your arm gets sore.

Have fun!

Greg my wife and I fished there last year. Lots of fun! You forgot to mention the occasional 14 to 16 incher. With a creek three feet wide at best, tall grass on both sides, it was a blast!

Rolf

 

[jrcll]

I had a blast fishing the lamar, the slough (upper) and i really liked the soda bute

 

[albatross]

Rolf wrote

Greg my wife and I fished there last year. Lots of fun! You forgot to mention the occasional 14 to 16 incher. With a creek three feet wide at best, tall grass on both sides, it was a blast!

I had a an hour to kill while the family was doing something else that day so I headed for the nearest creek (Cascade) and just had a ball. I thought, hey, I'll take the family here and they'll all catch a bunch of fish, but it didn't work out as well as I'd hoped. The rest of the family are not accomplished fly casters, so when they were far enough away to keep from spooking fish they couldn't hit the creek with their fly! They did manage a fish or two each, but it wasn't what I'd hoped for.

Greg

 

[Rolf]

albatross wrote:
Rolf wrote

Greg my wife and I fished there last year. Lots of fun! You forgot to mention the occasional 14 to 16 incher. With a creek three feet wide at best, tall grass on both sides, it was a blast!

I had a an hour to kill while the family was doing something else that day so I headed for the nearest creek (Cascade) and just had a ball. I thought, hey, I'll take the family here and they'll all catch a bunch of fish, but it didn't work out as well as I'd hoped. The rest of the family are not accomplished fly casters, so when they were far enough away to keep from spooking fish they couldn't hit the creek with their fly! They did manage a fish or two each, but it wasn't what I'd hoped for.

Greg

I understand. When you fish it in the afternoon, there is always wind. Given the width of the stream and the length of the grass, (waist high when we were there), you're on your knees, you kind of need to figure on some "allowances" when you cast. That said, it sure is fun trying to land the larger ones though.

 

[flytyingfred]

we were out two years ago for the first time and about this time of year. we stayed at the madison campground most of the time and fished the madison the firehole mostly and the nez perz. we had a blast we fished the morning and evening hatches and went sight seeing in the middle of the day. the madison campground was right on the madison where the firehole and the gibbon joined to make the madison it was a perfect spot for us. Not too far from west yellowstone and the fly shops.. the blue ribbon fly shop has stream reports on the net and also a great place to stop in if you get to montana.We were there till mid july and didnt get to fish up in the lamar valley because the snow melt was still going on and the streams were unfishable. I hope you enjoy your trip there is so much to see and the fishing is remarkable

 

[nimrod]

Good to hear about Cascade Creek. When I was ou there last year my son and I hiked about 3/4 mile north of the road and dropped down to the creek. We gave it an admittedly half-assed try but caught and saw nothing. I'm guessing our mistake was heavy feet. I'll try it again this year in stealth mode.

 

[Rolf]

nimrod wrote:
Good to hear about Cascade Creek. When I was ou there last year my son and I hiked about 3/4 mile north of the road and dropped down to the creek. We gave it an admittedly half-assed try but caught and saw nothing. I'm guessing our mistake was heavy feet. I'll try it again this year in stealth mode.

You can also start at Cascade Lake and follow it down. Good Luck!