Father & Son Yellowstone Road Trip

[tim willis]

Guys,

I am planning on taking my son on a road trip to YNP when he gets out of school this year and am looking for info, input or any recomendations you have. We will be leaving on June 2nd and driving up from Dallas. Our current plans are to get to Vail by Friday night and go to the Teva Mountain Games on Saturday, then head on to Jackson on Sunday. We are meeting a group of his school friends and dads( our original Indian Guides group) on Monday the 6th and will be staying at the Old Faithful Inn for two nights. After that we intend on camping for the next two nights at Slough Creek. He and I both fly fish so we would like to try and fish some while we are in the park. The rest of our group are going home on Friday. He and I are planning on staying and fishing one or two days with a guide, then heading home by way of Mt. Rushmore.

Now that I have laid out what I do know, HELP. Where would be the best areas to fish in the park in early June. My son is in sixth grade so hiking shouldn’t be an issue up to a couple of hours.  Slough Creek for camping in early June or is there a better area? As far as fishing with a guide, I am open to going out of Jackson, heading up to Bozeman or anywhere in the area. Any suggestions on camping gear that we might need or want at that time of year (we hike and camp regularly, but do so here in Texas). Any info or suggestion that I have not thought to ask.

My main goal for the trip is for he and I to have a great time together, fish and make some lasting memories. I appreciate any info or suggestions that you may have.

Thanks
Tim

[Mike Cline]

Tim,

Two suggestions.

1)  If you are staying at Old Faithful, the Firehole and Madison are excellent choices in June.  If you want or need the assistance of a guide, I would suggest Craig Matthews shop: http://www.blue-ribbon-flies.com/ or Bob Jacklin’s shop: http://www.jacklinsflyshop.com/.  Both  those guys are the gurus of Yellowstone in West. If you could get a day on the Firehole with Bob, it would be a day you and your son would never forget.  He is a master.

2) The NE side of the park–Yellowstone River and Lamar drainage is ify in June, but I would suggest reading through Richard Park’s website http://parksflyshop.com/howto/planning/seasons.html.  If there is anyone that can get you on fish in the NE part of the park, its Richard Parks and Walter Weise.

Look these sites over.  I sure others will weigh in, but you will not go wrong with the advice these shops can give you.  Don’t hesitate to get on the phone with these guys as they will steer you right.  Keep us informed of your plans.  Good Luck.

[Eric Weller]

As Mike pointed out, you could still be into snow in Slough creek area.

[longs for cutts]

There is no chance whatsoever that Slough Creek or anything else in the NE corner of YNP will be fishable at that time this year. There is a very small chance that the Yellowstone in the Grand Canyon between the falls and the mouth of the Lamar will be fishable, but it is unlikely. Even if it is clear enough, it will be green/brown and in the bushes. The closest certain fishing to Slough Creek campground is going to be Joffe Lake, a little brook trout pond near Mammoth. The lower Gardner MIGHT be nymphable if the few days before have been cool. It can be really good on stonefly nymphs if it’s just barely fishable, but it’s physical to fish and can feel like work.

In the park, the best bet by far will be the Firehole. PMD and White Miller caddis should be hatching, maybe still some BWO if it’s cold. The Madison and the Gibbon Canyon are maybes if runoff is either early or slow/gentle. Grebe and Cascade Lakes will fish well if you can hike 3-4 miles.

Outside the park here at the north end the Yellowstone will be so high that 50-70 foot trees will be rolling down it. We’ll be fishing/guiding private lakes ($60-100 rod fee but big fish and no competition).

If you really want the “Yellowstone experience,” the best time to come is mid-July through Labor Day. This timeframe has the largest number of fishable waters. May-June and October has fewer options but fewer people (and fall-run browns in October). September is kind of a mixture depending on the weather. Hoppers on warm/sunny days and BWO and streamers when early weather happens. What September isn’t is uncrowded. Frequently the Lamar drainage is more congested for the two weeks after Labor Day than at any other time, mostly because there’s simply a lot less water in the streams and far fewer fishable side channels.

If you are stuck coming in early June, I’d say a guided day on the Firehole/Madison/Gibbon and one on a private lake outside the park would be your best bets. More but smaller fish on the Firehole, and a better chance of dry flies, plus impressive scenery, then fewer but bigger fish on the lake.

Thanks for the shoutout to our site, Mike.

Walter Wiese
Parks’ Fly Shop http://www.parksflyshop.com

[Zach Matthews]

Walter –

Where are you primarily seeing the brown trout in October?

[longs for cutts]

–run up fish from Hebgen into the Madison, Lower Firehole, and Lower Gibbon
–run up fish from the Yellowstone into the Gardner
–on the Yellowstone (mostly streamers AM)
–on windswept, rocky banks in the private lakes
–from Lewis Meadows up to the base of Lewis Falls (limited but under the radar)
–from Lewis down the river to Lewis Falls, from Lewis and Shoshone into the Lewis Channel (late in October)
–up the Yellowstone to various stretches of gravel, late in the month. We mostly leave these fish alone due to the fact most are actively spawning.
–into the spring creeks from the Yellowstone.

The Madison and Lewis runs are the most famous and see the best chance at numbers of big fish, but they are also crowded. The Yellowstone treated us really well this year fishing big junk AM and matching hatches PM. The private lakes aren’t all that popular in the fall, but they’re probably the best bet for numbers. The Gardner is tricky as the fish are hard to intercept except immediately after rain/snow (like steelhead), and the fish in the Gardner aren’t as big as those in the Madison/Lewis, but there also aren’t as many people chasing them.

[Mike Cline]

Thanks for the shoutout to our site, Mike.

Thanks Walter, hope to see you on Saturday at Kris’s shop.

Mike

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