Hi families!
The guide team is pumped up and ready to go on our official first day of the Yellowstone Adventure! All of us agreed this morning on the way to the airport that this is our favorite trip to run for so many reasons. The opportunity to catch big numbers of large and hungry cutthroat, brown, and rainbow trout every day tops the list, along with the ability to catch 3 different strains of cutties; Snake River, Yellowstone, and westslope; make this a truly remarkable fishing experience that is offered in few places besides YNP. The great fishing combined with, in my opinion, the greatest scenery in the world make this trip something we look forward to all year and we are so thankful to all of you for sending your sons to experience it with us!
After picking up the guys at Bozeman airport today, we made the beautiful drive to our basecamp in Ennis, Montana. The 41 mile drive takes you southwest out of Bozeman and into the Madison Valley, the world famous Madison river flows through Ennis along with a number of other pristine trout streams making the fishing never far from camp. At basecamp we set up our tents and sleeping gear before we made a feast of burgers and fries for dinner, got familiar with one another, and had a few conversations about the adventures to come in the weeks ahead. The guys played some ping pong and foosball as many laughs were had, and excitement shared. In addition, we brushed up on fishing and the techniques we’ll be using on the river, as well as some safety and rules to make sure we all have the best possible experience!
After a long day everyone headed to their tents in anticipation for an early morning tomorrow. We’ll get up and break down basecamp before making a hearty breakfast of fried egg and sausage sandwiches and head into the park, which will be our home for the duration of the trip! On the docket for tomorrow: we’ll fish the Gibbon River and a few other front country spots before our preparation to hike into the first backcountry of the trip! On Sunday we’ll enter the Grebe Lake and Ice Lake backcountry, which are two beautiful alpine lakes which offer the unique opportunity to catch Arctic Grayling and Westslope Cutthroat Trout which can only be found in a few sections of the park, and are very rare in the lower 48. Paired with the prolific hatches that come off of the lakes the guys are certainly set up for success as we head in.
It is certain to be an exceptionally fun and memorable trip as we explore and experience Yellowstone National Park and bring plenty of fish to the net!
Until next time,
The guides- Hunt, Sean and Kitchell
