Hello! There's no other way to say it: We've been having an AWESOME time. Read about the last few days below... it's OK to feel a little envious!
Day 6: Entering the Park
Today marked our second major travel day of the trip, where we made our way to the beloved Yellowstone National Park! After a quick breakfast, we packed up camp and started the drive. We drove to the West Yellowstone entrance to the park, but before we arrived, we stopped at a general store and local fly shop in town. The boys were able to get a quick treat and load up on flies and apparel before the park. Once we entered the park, we had a solid two hour drive to our first destination, Trout Lake. The drives in Yellowstone are absolutely amazing. The wildlife and scenery is off the charts. We were able to view hundreds and hundreds of bison, bald eagles, mountain ranges, waterfalls and even some elk! We finally got to the parking spot for Trout Lake. The boys were hungry, so we ate some sandwiches for lunch before we started our small mile hike up to our fishing spot. Unfortunately, some nasty weather was looming once we began fishing, so we really only were able to fish for about an hour, but made the most of what we got. We were able to land multiple beautiful cutthroat trout, with vibrant coloration. After some dark clouds began to roam through the area, we hiked back down to the van and drove to our first front country campsite of Yellowstone. Instead of driving straight there, we thought we would give it a shot on a smaller section of the Yellowstone River. We didn't have too much time to fish after the drive, but just enjoying nature around us was worth making the stop. At this point, the whole crew was wiped after a long day of travel. We then checked in at our Bridge Bay campsite, and got dinner prepared. This evening, we had a fan favorite: chicken stir fry. After enjoying dinner, we called it a wrap and went to bed in hopes to get some good rest for an action packed day ahead.
Day 7: Hike to Yellowstone River
Knowing that the far side of the Yellowstone gets significantly less fishing pressure, we decided to make the hike in order to access the fishing on the far side. We took down some cereal and milk, packed two sandwiches each, and drove to the beginning of the trail head. We hiked a good 3.5 miles, where great conversations and beautiful scenery made for an awesome time. It took us around an hour and a half to make it to our fishing spots, and once we arrived, we split into groups. The Yellowstone River is filled with a ton of fish, and a ton of big ones as well, but the fishing can be very technical. It was awesome to see the boys' determination after a tough hike, ready to attack the water. We spent several hours fishing, where a solid amount of fish were caught. We were even able to land two cutthroat over 20 inches! These fish are difficult to catch, and a lot of times it can turn off and on like a light switch due to bug hatches. When the caddis flies were hatching, the cutthroat were rising everywhere! After spending some time fishing, the boys wanted to take a dip. Gavin and William hopped in with them, and refreshed ourselves in the clear, chilly Yellowstone River water. After hanging out in the sun for around an hour, we started our hike back. We pushed through the heat of the day, and after the hike, we rewarded the boys with a Yellowstone National Park general store stop. The boys purchased some treats, including ice cream and various candies. After the general store stop, we went back to camp quickly and hitched the trailer back onto the van. We had a wonderful plan of spending dinner on the brink of Yellowstone Lake, where we enjoyed the views and sunset. We drove about 10 minutes to the point of an overlook of the lake, where we cooked up some delicious chicken burritos. While Gavin took over the cooking for the evening, William and Charlie took the boys down to the lake. Some swam and threw the frisbee around, while some wet a line. Dinner was finally ready, so we rallied the troops back at the trailer and ate dinner. After dinner, we did more of the same, where everyone took a dip and hung out in the lake. We called it a wrap after finishing up dinner, headed back to the campsite, and hung around the fire reflecting on our amazing day.
Day 8: Grebe Lake
Today we woke up with a little bit different of a plan than our previous days here in Yellowstone, and that was to fish Grebe Lake in hopes for some nice cutthroat and possible grayling. After a quick breakfast, we loaded into the van with our packed lunches and water bottles and drove to the trailhead to Grebe Lake. Yellowstone National Park can definitely be tricky when it comes to traffic, especially bison traffic jams! We got stopped multiple times by herds of bison crossing the road. While this made for a little bit longer of a drive over to our spot, it was amazing seeing all of the wildlife around us. The highlight of the drive was when Gavin predicted that a bison we saw from a distance was going to cross the river — and he did! After seeing hundreds and hundreds of bison, multiple bald eagles, and jamming out to tunes in the van, we finally arrived. Today's hike was much more flat and straightforward than yesterday's, but regardless, still very beautiful. We had around three miles into the trail to reach the lake, so we spent the majority of the late morning making our way there, enjoying each other's company on the hike. When we got there, there were tons of trout rising left and right, but the only problem was that they were a tad bit too far out in the middle, and with the conditions (heavy wind gusts), it made it very difficult for us to catch fish. We tried every trick in the book at these cutthroat, but it was simply too difficult to present the flies the way we wanted to. Regardless of the fishing circumstances, we enjoyed being in nature and spending time in an amazing place. We were able to hear multiple elk calls from a distance, and just exploring a different part of the National Park made the hike to the lake worth it. Once we wrapped up, we hiked back to the van and the general consensus from the group was that we wanted to spend the rest of the late afternoon and evening enjoying dinner at the same spot we did yesterday. Before making it back to camp, we drove to one of the Yellowstone general stores to stock up on some needed essentials and even purchase a sweet treat after a long day of hiking. We then loaded the trailer onto the van back at camp, and took down some pasta and meatballs overlooking Yellowstone Lake. After the boys ate, we swam in the lake and threw the frisbee around in the refreshing water. We ended our evening back at camp around the campfire playing the always popular "Imposter" game. Everyone was engaged and having a great time, which was an amazing way to wrap up the day in hopes for some better fishing tomorrow!
Day 9: Trout Lake and Crazy Creek
Last evening was our final night at the wonderful Bridge Bay campsite, so we had a little bit earlier of a morning to get the ball rolling. After a 7am wakeup call, the entire crew quickly packed up camp into our trailer and van, ready to attack the day. We then took the trailer and van on over to Trout Lake, to target some trophy wild cutthroat. We arrived at our parking spot for Trout Lake, rigged our rods, and packed some PB&Js for lunch. We absolutely grinded Trout Lake, and it for sure paid off! Although there are many, many fish in this lake, these fish are smart, which makes the fishing much more difficult. We guides were very thrilled to see the determination of these boys throughout the afternoon fishing. After many micro adjustments, we were able to land around nine fish breaking that 18 inch mark! The water in this lake is crystal-clear, which allowed us to see these beautiful fish cruise along the banks and feed. This opened up a great opportunity for us to use our sight fishing abilities. The majority of the fish we landed were caught on very small nymphs being dragged across the bottom of the sand close to the banks. The boys stayed determined through the heat and the fishing adjustments, and their hard work paid off. After we wrapped up fishing, we made our short hike back down to the van, and headed outside of the park in the direction of our next campsite, Crazy Creek. Instead of heading straight there, we stopped in Silver Gate for a sweet treat. The boys either purchased ice cream, milkshakes, or even a banana split! After Silver Gate, we drove shortly up to Cooke City where we stopped to explore some local shops around town. The views around Silver Gate and Cooke City were absolutely amazing, and on our drive to our next campsite, we all soaked in the beauty of our surroundings. Once we arrived, we set up our tents and got cooking on dinner. Tonight, we had buffalo mac — which was very tasty. We spent the rest of the evening continuing our "Imposter" game fun, and prepared for our backcountry ahead. The rest of our trip is going to look a little different than it has so far. Starting tomorrow, our first crew of six is headed to the backcountry with William and Gavin, while the other six kicks it back at Crazy Creek fishing the Lamar and Soda Butte Creek — and the day following, we will switch. Our backcountry will be at the third meadow of Slough Creek! Slough Creek is a world renowned backcountry fishing destination and we are very lucky to have been able to get some campsites there. The boys are super excited to finally be able to fish the highly anticipated Slough Creek and spend time in the backcountry. We are going to have some tough hikes ahead, but we hope that these experiences will lead to meaningful memories that last a lifetime.
We couldn't be happier with the group of kids we have on this trip. Each boy brings a different layer to the awesome dynamic we have going, and we can't wait to see what lies ahead throughout the remainder of this trip. All is great over here in Yellowstone National Park. Until next time...
The guides and the guys
