Join the Team
When Kim and I started LFFE 5 years ago, companies focussing on backcountry fly fishing adventures for teens were unheard of. Our greatest hurdle was letting potential families know that these unique opportunities existed. With the help of family and friends, we gained an audience anywhere we could. We went to schools, scout troops, family homes, summer camp fairs, and just about any other venue...
2015 Photo Albums
Our last trip of the summer ended less then 3 weeks ago, but already it feels like its been months. I tried to replay the entire summer in my mind during my long drive back east, but so much happens every day that it is hard to remember it all. Luckily for us we have pictures… thousands of pictures. When I got home, showered, and rested, I got out my computer and started sorting through all of the...
Yellowstone Adventure Update
This morning our Yellowstone Adventure hiked out of the backcountry for the last time. It is hard to believe, but we only have 4 days left in the final LFFE Adventure of the summer. We have had an action packed last few days, and are looking forward to some trip highlights still to come. After two days of catching some trophy trout on Soda Butte Creek, and catching a fresh dinner of brook trout...
Final West Elk Update
The group after a hard days work" /> Days are getting shorter, nights are getting colder, summer is waning, and the trip is coming to a close. It has certainly been one to remember. It seems like way more than two weeks ago when we picked up the guys at the airport and headed southwest into the Heart of the Colorado Rockies. I’m sure that nobody is going to forget this amazing trip anytime soon...
Collegiate Peaks Wilderness West Elk Update
The boys at 14,000 ft at 8 a.m." /> Mitchell, working the stream" /> We have been lucky enough to have spent the last five days backpacking and fishing in the majestic Collegiate Peaks Wilderness outside of Buena Vista Colorado. We started our adventure on Tuesday with quite the uphill hike. The uphill was made easier by the fact that horses assisted us. The animals carried most of our group gear...
Yellowstone Adventure Update
Howdy, from Gardiner, MT. The Yellowstone Adventure has returned from our first backcountry on Grebe Lake with lots of great fishing under our belt. Our group of eager anglers are ready to set up camp and hit the water!" /> After a nice and mellow 3-4 mile hike into our backcountry site we got right to the fishing. We set a lofty goal of 300 fish over 1 and 1/2 days of fishing, so we didn’t have...
Cochetopa Backcountry
The boys on top of Cottonwood Pass and the Continental Divide" /> Baker, working his cast on the Cochetopa" /> The last 6 days have certainly been a whirlwind. Monday saw the group come together at the airport and make the long drive into the heart of the Colorado Rockies. We arrived at our campsite late in the evening where we were able to take advantage of the last remaining rays of sun and...
Nearing the End
We are sad to say our Yellowstone portion of the trip has come to an end. We made the most of our last days fishing four different waterways. After our second shot at the Lower Gardner (with a bit of redemption before the rain came), we headed to West Yellowstone where we stayed at Baker’s Hole campground located right on the Madison River. We set up camp and shot north to the beautiful Gallatin...
Slough Creek Backcountry Update
Hello Everyone! Its Will again to report that we have all made it out of our second backcountry trip safely and with many huge fish in the books and cameras. After our exit from the Bechler River backcountry we spent some time in Mammoth fishing the Gardner, with some determined anglers catching up to forty fish a day. We had originally planned to remain in the Mammoth region for two days, but by...
Lamar River at its finest
It has been a busy 6 days since we hiked out of the Slough Creek backcountry. We set up camp in Pebble Creek campground in the northeast section of Yellowstone for several days where we fished Soda Butte Creek, the Lamar River and our home base waterway, Pebble Creek. We experienced maybe our best fishing at Soda Butte, so we returned the next day. Beautiful Yellowstone cuttys were rising to our...
float fishing the mighty Colorado
Today we got off the mighty Colorado after 2 full days of float fishing. Boy howdy what a great couple of days it was! Monday was a beautiful blue-bird sunny Colorado day. We pushed off from the boat ramp at pumphouse outside of Kremmling Colorado around 9 in the morning and started picking up fish almost immediately. The fishing was good despite the sun beating down (trout don’t like direct...
Slough Creek Here We Come!
It is hard to believe our Yellowstone Expedition has already reached the halfway point! Time flies when your catching fish! The last few days have been full of great fishing on the Gardner River, and the beginning of our Slough Creek backcountry expeditions, a definite highlight of the trip. Our time in the front country has been busy to say the least. After showers and laundry we got right to...
West Side Update
For the last four days we have been fishing in the backcountry of the west side of Rocky Mountain National Park. This past Wednesday we hiked into the North Inlet trail just north of Grand Lake CO. Thankfully, this hike was much easier than our first excursion into the backcountry. On top of that, once we reached our campsites, we would be staying put for all three nights. This meant that we were...
Hunting for Trophies on the Bechler River
Hi Everyone! Will here with one of the Yellowstone Expedition groups, and after three nights along the Bechler River we are back in civilization. I am happy to report that it was an awesome first trip into the Yellowstone backcountry and that we were able to catch just as many fish as we had originally hoped for. On Tuesday morning we loaded up our backpacks and hit the trail in one of the most...
Slough Creek Back-country
All is well after our first backcountry trip! Two nights in the famed Slough Creek backcountry was a memorable experience for all involved. After hiking in roughly 5 miles, we set up camp and got to fishing. Our campsite was located right on the creek and the kids were pulling in beautiful Yellowstone Cutthroat Trout left and right. We fished upstream and downstream for our campsite in perfect...
Rocky Mountain Update
What a trip! The last four days here in Rocky Mountain National Park have been absolutely amazing. Our first excursion into the backcountry saw us hike along the north boundary of RMNP all the way up to what is known as lost Lake. Due to the very wet spring we have had here in Colorado, the original trail we were supposed to hike was washed out and impassable. This forced us to hike a more...
Winding Down in Maine
This morning we paddled our canoes out of the backcountry for the last time. It is hard to believe, but our first ever Maine Woods Adventure is coming to an end. On Thursday morning we loaded up our canoes and ventured out for three nights of backcountry camping. The sun was shining but the wind was blowing hard in our faces. After paddling across Indian Pond we set up our camp at the junction of...
Maine Adventure Off to a Awesome Start
When I first introduced the Maine Adventure last fall I knew it was going to be an amazing trip. We are only a few days in and it has already surpassed my high expectations. Our trip started off with the concern of heavy rain. Not only in the forecast, but in the recent weeks. Maine has received an excessive amount of rain this June leaving rivers high and tough to fish. On the second day of the...
Time Flies When Your Having Fun
It is hard to believe it, but the Blue Ridge Adventure is coming to an end. Our trip could not have ended on a higher note. Yesterday we were scheduled to fish the upper Davidson River. Luckily for us we were giving the chance to fish some private water on the North Fork of the French Broad River. The weather could not have cooperated more perfectly with sun from 9am until we headed back into town...
Brook Trout and Water Falls.
We have returned from our first backcountry trip of the summer! Water break with a view." /> The NC Blue Ridge Adventure journeyed into the mountains early yesterday morning with Brook Trout on the mind. After a fast hike to our campsite we set up our tents right at the base of a beautiful waterfall. Our lines were in the water before lunch. Heavy rains the night before had the water flowing high...
Let the Adventures Begin
Greetings from NC, Our summer 2015 Adventures are officially under way! We are only two days into the Blue Ridge Adventure and everyone has caught some nice fish. Yesterday we started off with a refresher of knots and casting before lunch. After we Austin fighting a Davidson River trophy trout." /> fueled up on some sandwiches, we headed to meet our guides for an afternoon of fishing on the...
Lillard Fly Fishing Hits the Big Screen
Last summer film maker Harrison Buck started filming for a new project titled “The Tightest Line”. The film takes a deeper look into the life of fly fishing guides. Lillard Fly Fishing Expeditions and our head guides Charlie Parr and Will Lillard were honored to be a part of the project. During the last week of our 2014 adventures Harrison joined our Colorado Rocky Mountain Adventure for a journey...
Spring Break 2016 Saltwater Adventure
With our summer adventures as popular as ever, we are excited to announce that in March of 2016 LFFE will be offering our first ever spring break fly fishing adventures! LFFE will be partnering with all-inclusive Caribbean fishing lodge Fly Fish Guanaja to offer the trip of a lifetime! We will be heading down to the bay islands of Honduras to stalk bonefish, permit, tarpon, and many other species...
Summer ’14 Photo Highlights
It wasn’t easy but after sorting through thousands of photos I came up with what I think are the best photos for each trip in three different categories. Best Group Shot, Best Fish Picture, and best Scenic Picture. Enjoy… NC Blue Ridge Fish NC Rainbows will put a big smile on your face." /> Watching for “risers”" /> Scenic Young conservationists helped clean up campsites along a headwater stream."...
The Proof is in the Pictures
From the second our 2014 participants started to return home we started receiving emails. Everybody wants a copy of the trip pictures so they can prove to all their friends just how awesome their trip really was. Well it took us a while but we finally uploaded the thousands of photos from this summer to our Flickr page. Now you can look through all the photos that were taken by fellow participants...
Rocky Mountain Explorer – Wrapping up a Great Adventure
It is hard to believe that our final trip of the summer, the Rocky Mountain Explorer, is entering it’s final day. The last two weeks have been action packed and full of adventure. We earned the privilege of being able to say we caught Greenback Cutthroat in high alpine lakes. We volunteered with the Rocky Mountain National Parks Trail Crew to help preserve the areas we explored. We hiked deep into...
RMNP Fishing Update
This morning we hiked out from the Rocky Mountain National Park backcountry for the last time. We are all sad to see the backpacking sections of our adventure to come to an end but eager to report some absolutely amazing fishing. We woke up early on the morning of the 7th to make the drive from the east side of the park up and over the continental divide to the west side visitor center. Along the...
RMNP Greenback Cutthroat
Our Rocky Mountain Explorer trip returned from our first backcountry section. We were treated to some awesome fishing and great weather! Ready to hit the trail!" /> After a 4 mile hike in we set up camp for three nights on the banks of Fern Lake. After setting up our tents and a quick lunch we set out on the lake with our fly rods in hand. Within the first five minutes of fishing the lake we were...
Rocky Mountain Explorer #1
Greetings from Rocky Mountain National Park! After two days in the front country of the park we are all excited to hit the trail in search of some Greenback Cutthroat. We spent yesterday refining our fly fishing skills on the Big Thompson River. The meadow section of the river is just a short walk from our campsite and a perfect spot for our group of both first time and seasoned fly fishermen...
