LFFE Alum on How His LFFE Experience Sparked an Interest in Conservation
In 2018 Riley Nebolsine caught his first trout as part of a Lillard Fly Fishing Expeditions Yellowstone Adventure. That trout, a native Yellowstone Cutthroat Trout, helped spark a love for fly fishing and subsequently a passion for conservation. During his 3 LFFE trips that followed, that love and passion continued to grow. An experience he wrote about in an essay that received an honorable...
Getting Ready for 2021
Dear Parents and participants enrolled in a 2021 LFFE Adventure/Expedition, We are asking for your help in preparing for summer 2021. Your prompt attention to these matters now will allow us to focus our attention on making your child’s trip a truly unforgettable experience. Like the rest of the world, COVID caught us by surprise. By the time March, April, and May roll around during a typical year...
Yellowstone Adventure II Update #2
What an epic end to an unprecedented summer. The Yellowstone Adventure, our final teen trip of the summer, hiked out of the Slough Creek Backcountry this morning. In fitting 2020 fashion, the group completed our last backcountry trip of the summer in an extraordinary fashion. For those of you who don’t know, Slough Creek is about as iconic of a backcountry fishery as you can get. The series of...
Montana Road Trip II Final Update
Greetings from the Montana Road trip! It is sad to think that our trip is all but over. Today was spent floating the Yellowstone River with guides from Montana Troutfitters. We are spending our final night at the Bozeman hot springs. After cleaning our vans and organizing our gear, we had a barbecue dinner for our banquet meal and we are relaxing in the hot springs to soak after an eventful few...
Yellowstone Adventure II Update #1
Greetings from the Yellowstone Adventure II It is hard to believe our trip is already 1/3 of the way through. Today we hiked out of the backcountry, but it feels like just yesterday that we were all meeting at the airport. On our first full day of the trip we made the drive into the headwaters of the Lamar Valley to fish Pebble Creek. Pebble Creek cascade through a pocket water fishing paradise...
Montana Road Trip II Update
Greetings from the second ever Montana Road Trip. Our crew includes some returning LFFE all-stars as well as some first time soon to be all stars: a perfect group to take on the big, challenging wild trout Montana is known for. It is hard to believe we are nearly a third of the way through our trip already! So far we have been camped along the Madison River, arguably the most famous trout stream...
Rocky Mountain Girls Expedition 2020 Trip Report
July 2020 marked the first ever all girls Lillard Fly Fishing Expedition. Plans had been made, permits procured, girls signed up, and then, you guessed it, Coronavirus happened. Some new plans and precautions had to be drawn up, and the trip became smaller than expected, but two incredible young women came out for their first backcountry experience. And they rocked it. Our trip began on the West...
Yellowstone Expedition Update IV
Greetings from the Yellowstone Expedition! Both groups are officially out of the backcountry of Slough Creek. The last few days have been spent with our group divided between the backcountry and camping on the Yellowstone River. Each group spent two nights hiking into the 2nd and 3rd meadows of Slough Creek. This section of the park is home to one of the most famous backcountry sections of river...
Yellowstone Expedition Update III
The past few days, since exiting the snake river and heart lake backcountries have been like a tour of America's most famous trout water. In just the last few days the Yellowstone Expedition has fished the upper Yellowstone, the upper Madison, and the Gallatin River, and we are not done yet. After exiting the backcountry both groups reconvened of the on the Yellowstone. The Yellowstone provided...
Yellowstone Adventure Update III
Good Morning, and Greetings from the Yellowstone Adventure! It has been an eventful several days for this crew! Once again, we had the team split up into groups of 6 and hike into Slough Creek’s second meadow; this backcountry trip is usually the highlight of each summer at LFFE and it did not disappoint. Incredible scenery was matched by equally incredible fishing, as each angler caught at least...
Yellowstone Expedition Update II
The Yellowstone Expedition has officially wrapped up their first backcountry section. As always we separate the group into two smaller backcountry groups. Half the group did a smaller hike to the upper Snake. The first day was tough and the fish proved difficult, but they stuck with it and figured it out. By the end of their 3 night stay they had all caught some beautiful brown trout and native...
Yellowstone Adventure I Update II
Greetings from the Yellowstone Adventure! We are off to a fantastic start on our trip! It has been impressive how quickly the group has bonded and also progressed as anglers. Our first night was spent along the banks of the mighty Yellowstone River (the longest undammed river in the United States) where the group got to know each other and fish a fabulous caddis hatch in the evening. The fast...
Rocky Mountain Expedition I 2020 Update 3
Today the Rocky Mountain Expedition I finished their second backcountry, and it was even better than the first! It started off with a hike into RMNP near Grand Lake to get to our first campsite, which was about 6 miles from the trailhead. We also stopped on our way at a place aptly called“Big Pool”, that offered spectacular fishing as well as a great swimming hole to cool off in. Upon arriving at...
Rocky Mountain Expedition I 2020 Update 2
We just finished our first backcountry on the Rocky Mountain Expedition I, and it was a great success! The first day consisted of a 4.5 mile hike from the trailhead to our campsite named on an island in the stream at the beginning of a long glacially carve hanging valley. We stopped to fish about a mile in along a beautiful stretch of creek that was full of hungry brook trout. After a rigorous...
Colorado Adventure II Update 2
Arrival Day We picked up our first campers at DIA. We had some time to kill before the last flight arrived, so we went to the parking lot to check out campers casting abilities. We have a few campers who have spent considerable time fishing on saltwater, so we went over some of the different casts and fishing techniques. The last camper arrived smoothly, and after picking him up, we drove to the...
Yellowstone Hosted Adventure Update
Greetings from the Yellowstone adventure! We have a wonderful group of kids on this trip; all have been extremely eager to fish which has helped bring them together quickly over the course of the first three days. The time has progressed rapidly, and with it so have our anglers. Our first two nights were spent along the banks of one of Montana’s most beautiful trout streams, the Gallatin River...
Montana Road Trip I Update II
The Montana Road trip continues their hot streak. The last few days have been nothing short of amazing. Our home on the Madison River has provided fishing memories that will last a lifetime, but the time had come to move on. Yesterday, we packed up camp on the Madison in search of some new water, beautiful scenery, and willing fish. We set up camp just outside of Big Sky in the Gallatin canyon...
Montana Road Trip Update 1
Dear Parents, Happy 4th of July from Montana, where it is hard to imagine how the Montana Road Trip could be off to a better start. The group set up camp along a small tributary to the Madison only a couple of hundred yards from the Madison. As expected, the group is fishing hard and getting rewarded for their effort. The creek by camp provides fast-paced action for smaller fish, but it did not...
Blue Ridge Adventure Update 1
The Blue Ridge fly fishing expedition is off to a great start! It has been great to see kids able to get together (at a safe distance) and participate in something they love, fly fishing and generally just being outdoors. We started the week of fishing on the Watauga River in Eastern Tennessee. The river is known for its cold, clear water and wild brown trout. The fish on the Watauga see...
COVID UPDATE 5/5
The following letter was sent to all families enrolled in a 2020 trip on 5/5. We continue to monitor the situation and will keep you posted of any changes. Dear Parents, First, I would like to thank all of you for your patience, understanding, and support during these uncertain times. Just weeks ago we were planning for a summer jam-packed with adventures. I was still attending summer opportunity...
COVID-19 Monitoring
To the entire LFFE community, We are actively monitoring the current pandemic. As always, our number one concern remains the health and well being of our participants, staff, families, and friends. In this rapidly changing environment, we do not want to rush to any decisions but are constantly evaluating every possible option. At this time we are still planning to run our summer 2020 trips as scheduled. We are also taking measures to help our community navigate through these difficult times. These measures are outlined in a recent email sent to all families currently enrolled in a summer 2020 trip. (see below) If you have any questions or concerns please feel free to reach out to me directly at 828-577-8204 or via email at [email protected]
Our First All Girls Expedition
As you may have noticed, we have been working hard on expanding our trip offerings to provide new and exciting wilderness experiences for our participants over the past few years. We have added trips to exciting and exotic locations such as Ascension Bay in the Yucatan and the fly fishing paradise of the Wind River mountain range in Wyoming. And while we certainly get excited about these new trips...
LFFE Takes on the Western Native Trout Challenge
The Western Native Trout challenge is an exciting program that challenges participants to search for native trout and the intact ecosystems that support them. As participants travel through western states in a modern-day treasure hunt for native trout species, an understanding of the importance of healthy ecosystems is almost unavoidable. Encouraging our participants and alumni to participate in...
Chicago School Goes Fly Fishing
Three years ago I got a phone call from a school just outside Chicago. North Shore Country Day has an awesome program called the Interim Week Experience. This program is a unique opportunity for teachers and faculty to share some of their personal passions and hobbies with students, while encouraging their students to participate in service and experiential learning trips throughout the world...
Wind River Gold Hunt Trip Report
This past summer, Lillard Fly Fishing Expeditions, led a group of returning students on a six day backpacking trip into The Winds in search of the ever elusive Golden Trout. For those not in the know, The Wind River Range, or “The Winds” as they are called, are one of the most amazing wild places in the lower 48 states. The range spans over 100 miles running roughly from Jackson, WY at its...
Yellowstone Expedition II
The Yellowstone Advanced Expedition is wrapping up our 19 day day trip and there has been a lot to be excited about. Between Service projects, a backpacking trip into one of the most famous backcountry rivers, and a float down the South Fork of the Snake we have certainly stayed busy. Despite some challenging weather, which included some hail and strong winds, our second backcountry into Slough...
Rocky Mountain Expedition II Final Update
Hard to believe that we are at the end of this trip! The past week has flown by and tomorrow the crew heads back home all over the country. After hiking out of the backcountry and cleaning up and resupplying, we headed to our new base of operations next to the Colorado River below the notorious Gore Canyon. We spent a good part of the day cleaning up campsites, and the wade fishing area near the...
Colorado Rocky Mountain Expedition II Update
Greetings from sunny Colorado! Its hard to believe that this only the fifth day of this trip… so much has happened it seems like at least several weeks have gone by! The trip started out with a great drive through and over the mountains to get to the doorstep of Rocky Mountain National Park. That evening we spent our time prepping for our stint chasing trout in the backcountry, and the guys were...
Yellowstone Adventure II Update
Hello from Yellowstone. Our adventure continues to be an excellent time with a great group of guys in one of the world’s most beautiful settings. Since our trip to Pebble Creek, we have continued to grow as outdoorsmen, fly fishermen, and environmentalists. Since the last update, we have been busy fishing some incredible rivers and taking in some of the amazing sights Yellowstone has to offer. We...
Colorado West Elk Update
After the first backcountry of the West Elk Expedition, we enjoyed a few days of fishing on the Taylor River. This Taylor is full of fish, many of which are huge. In addition to catching some fish during our time on the Taylor, we also completed our service project which was planting willows for the Crested Butte Land Trust. Willows provide habitat for fish and insects alike, while also preventing...
