Hello all,
Our time in the Yellowstone frontcountry has been incredible. We’ve been able to experience stunning natural beauty and catch some amazing fish. The past three days have been spent exploring the park and fishing across much of this remarkable area. No matter how many times I return to Yellowstone, I’m always awestruck by its beauty—and this trip has been no exception. The boys have had a great time not only fishing but also developing a deeper appreciation for the park’s magnificent scenery and abundant wildlife.
Our first evening in the park, we headed to Yellowstone Lake to fish and enjoy dinner on the water. While we cooked, the boys put in some time with their rods, and many were rewarded with large Yellowstone cutthroat trout. This population has only recently rebounded after a catastrophic decline due to invasive lake trout. After learning about the Yellowstone biologists’ work to restore the species, the campers developed a greater appreciation for the fish they were catching. We ended the evening watching a beautiful sunset, brats in hand, before heading back to our campsite at Bridge Bay to rest up for a big day of fishing.
We woke early the next morning, ate breakfast, and hit the trail for Grebe Lake. The boys crushed the three-mile hike in, and while windy conditions made fishing tough, many still managed to land fish. Grebe is the only place in the park with native westslope cutthroat, so we were able to check another species off the list. These cutthroat—many of them large—were eager to eat a well-placed dry fly. After that quick venture away from the Yellowstone River drainage, we moved on to the Lamar River. Although much of the Lamar is heavily fished, we found a less-traveled stretch where unpressured cutthroat were feeding aggressively. We started the day nymphing, but by the afternoon, almost everyone was fishing single dry flies as caddis, tricos, and salmonflies hatched in abundance.
The rich insect life gave the campers an opportunity to learn about aquatic entomology, an essential skill for any fly fisher. It also meant fun blind casting into pocket water—where almost every cast was rewarded with a strike—as well as some technical sight fishing to sipping cutthroat. These fish required delicate presentations and accurate casts, pushing everyone to refine their casting and line management skills. Watching the boys improve throughout the day was awesome, and the technical abilities they’re gaining will help them for years to come. Some of those sight-fishing eats—cutthroat slowly rising to sip a perfectly placed dry—are moments I’ll remember forever. We wrapped up the day by celebrating a camper’s birthday with a well-earned pizza dinner.
The next day we hiked to the upper Yellowstone, just below where the river exits the lake. This stretch holds large lake-run fish, and although it can be tough fishing, patience is often rewarded. The boys hiked ten miles and were paid off with some impressive catches—multiple fish over twenty inches and one absolute giant, estimated at 25 inches, that fought for four minutes before popping off. At times, we were able to sight fish from the bank, adding to the excitement. This is one of my favorite places to fish in the park: big trout on dries in a breathtaking setting.
Today we switched things up, heading to Pebble Creek for some dry-fly action with eager, smaller fish. Since much of this trip focuses on chasing trophy fish, the fast-paced action was a welcome change. After an exciting bear sighting, we returned to camp to prep for our backcountry trip. The boys learned how and what to pack for backpacking and got ready for the part of the trip I’ve been most looking forward to: crossing Yellowstone Lake and heading into the upper Yellowstone backcountry. We capped off the evening with one more session on Yellowstone Lake, where several nice cutthroat were caught on dries.
Tomorrow we’ll take a ferry across the lake and begin our backcountry adventure—five days and seventeen miles deeper into the wilderness. This stretch of river should offer unpressured fishing and large lake-run fish that move up to spawn and feed.
This past week has been an incredible opportunity to explore the park and fish some of the best water in the world. I feel incredibly lucky to share this experience with such an awesome group, and we can’t wait to see what the next leg of the trip brings.
Tight lines,
Evan, Andrew, and the LFFE Team
