Yellowstone Adventure I Update 2
The Yellowstone Adventure just returned from our first backcountry trip to Grizzly Lake after a great start to our trip. After fishing the Madison and Snake rivers in the Yellowstone front country, we hiked almost three miles from the Mt. Holmes trailhead in northwestern Yellowstone. Mt. Holmes is the tallest mountain in the Wyoming portion of the Gallatin Range and provided our group with some...
Yellowstone Expedition Update
After roughly 35 miles and 4 nights, we’re out of the backcountry. Heart Lake and the Upper Snake provided a beautiful setting for some great fishing. Rarely in Yellowstone can one go days without seeing another person. The fishing at Heart Lake proved to be difficult because of the low water year we are experiencing in the west. After forging through the difficult fishing the group was rewarded...
Rocky Mountain Expedition Update
The Rocky Mountain Expedition I just finished their first backcountry, and everyone had a blast! Before going into Rocky Mountain National Park for 3 nights, we spent a full day fishing around Grand Lake on the Colorado River. Every kid caught fish and got to practice their casting and knot tying skills as well. The night before our hike we had a big dinner of spaghetti with meat sauce and garlic...
Colorado Adventure Update
Greetings from the Colorado Adventure! After a long travel day on Monday spent at the airport and driving to Rocky Mountain National Park, the group was excited to go fishing Tuesday morning. We began the day with some knot tying, casting practice, and going over the basics of fly fishing before heading out to practice on Glacier Creek, a small stream that runs by Glacier Basin campground where we...
Montana Road Trip Update 2
Hello from Big Sky country! After spending our first few days on the legendary Madison river, the group headed over to spend some time on some smaller tailwaters. Although the water may be small, the fish grow very large due to the superb insect life that fattens up the fish! The past few days we’ve camped on Ruby Reservoir, in the heart of Big Sky country. Our campsite was on top of a hill...
Custom Montana Road Trip Update 1
Hey Y’all!, The Road Trip is off to a great start! We are having an awesome time getting to know this squad and showing them around southwest Montana! Everyone arrived midday Tuesday and we quickly set up camp near the Madison in Ennis after a visit to Fin & Feather in Bozeman for flies and licenses. After a few intense games of Can Jam and some intrasquad wiffle ball with the Yellowstone...
Yellowstone Hosted Update
Greetings from the Yellowstone Hosted Adventure, It is hard to believe we are already half of the way through our trip. Time flies when you have a great group and good fishing. We have focused our fishing in the Lamar Valley of Yellowstone National Park. These rivers don't usually come into prime shape until mid or late July. This year everything is early, and our timing is perfect. The favorite...
Montana Road Trip Update I
Howdy Parents, The Montana Road Trip is off to a Hot start, literally. Like much of the country, Montana is experiencing an extreme heatwave. It took some adjustments to figure out what the fish wanted during these unusual conditions, but our group has begun to crack the code. We have spent the last three nights camped outside of Ennis, MT on the Upper Madison. This section of river is still cold...
Berkshires to Beaches Final Update
Descending Eastward from the Berkshires, our group traveled to the hollowed fishing grounds of Cape Cod. Along the way, we made a pit stop at Concord Outfitters to re-stock on salt water flies. The kids enjoyed talking with the fly shop employees about their time in the Berkshires and their upcoming salt water adventures, and browsed through the selection of flies, rods, and reels. Camp was set up...
Maine Expedition Update #4
The past few days of fishing have proved to be a test of perseverance. Unrelenting heat combined with an equally oppressive sun has had everyone exhausted by the end of the day. Although tough at times we rose each day with the sun to begin our canoe floats. Numerous fish were caught, more smallmouth bass, some big largemouth bass, and even a few pike. These last few days have served as a fitting...
Thorofare Expedition Trip Report
Greetings from the inaugural Thorofare expedition! The crew has successfully made it out of the most remote place in the lower forty-eight! After picking up the kids from the airport, we traveled to the Varney bridge campsite on the Madison river to start backcountry prep and let the kids get to know each other. The next day was a day full of driving through Montana, Idaho, and Wyoming. After...
Maine Expedition Update #3
Hello from Housatonic Meadows Campground! This morning we gathered our things, packed the trailer, and said goodbye to the waters of Maine, looking forward to the several days of pike and smallmouth bass fishing we have ahead of us. After a long drive we finally arrived on the bank of the Housatonic and settled in to our new home for the next three nights. The past 5 days have treated us well...
Berkshires to Beaches Update #3
Greetings from Western Mass! The kids have had a jam packed couple of days on the Housatonic full of swimming, loads of fish, and great memories. The weather for the past couple of days has been sunny and perfect allowing for full days of fishing and fun. To start, the group floated a beautiful stretch of the Housy slamming nice sized smallmouth from canoes. Everybody had a successful day of...
Berkshires to Beaches Update
Hey Everyone, We are almost a week into the Berkshires to beaches adventure and everyone is having a great time! We camped the first few nights in Lenox at October Mountain State Forest, where we were near the Housatonic river. For two of the days we fished for smallmouth bass on the Housy; the kids absolutely crushed them. With triple digit fish counts, everyone got on the board early, often, and...
Maine Expedition Update
Greetings from Rangeley Lake State Park! Spirits were high today as we boated out of Lakewood Camps and drove to Rangeley. We are planning on enjoying a campfire and s’mores tonight after a dinner of bratwurst and veggie burgers. Since the last update the crew has had an epic couple of days! On our first day of fishing we were treated to one of Western Maine’s best rivers - the mighty Magalloway...
Blue Ridge Adventure Update
Greetings from the Blue Ridge Adventure. Our trip is off to an amazing start, and the best is yet to come. After gathering our group, we set up base camp at a cabin on the banks of a private section of Big Laural Creek. The grassy lawn made for the perfect place for some casting lessons. When it came time to hit the water, the hungry trout did not stand a chance. Within the first day at the cabin...
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...
