I returned recently from a trip to the Paradise Valley region of Montana following a week of great fishing. The trip was sponsored by the Arlington Orvis shop and was led by Captain Duber Winter (the store manager there). We stayed at Hubbard's Yellowstone Lodge (HYL) in Emigrant, MT (exit US89 at mile marker 17, then about three miles on dirt roads up into the hills) and fished a variety of locations within Yellowstone National Park (YNP) as well as a few spots in Paradise Valley. This was the first fishing trip like this I had ever taken and it was a fabulous experience. Originally I was scheduled to fish with a partner, but ended up being one-on-one with my guide, Matt Long, for four days. Again, I'm new to this experience - fishing with someone being paid to watch me - but quickly got used to it and by the end, was thankful for Matt's advice, counsel and company. And I learned a lot.
Sunday - flew into Bozeman, rented a car and drove the 75 miles to the lodge. HYL offers pick-up services but I wanted to make stops in Livingston to visit a few of the fly shops that I have either read about or done business with over the years. Loads of fun.
Monday – floated the Yellowstone River from Carbella to Point of Rocks. This was a chilly day, and all of my many casting faults were magnified by the incessant wind. I fished dry flies exclusively and caught a mixture of white fish and trout. The white fish to trout ration was about 60-40. Fish size ranged from 14-18 inches. Trout were a mix of Yellowstone cutthroat, cutbows and a few rainbows (Matt said they were hybrids, but they looked to me to be straight up rainbows). Caught a ton of fish and had a great day fishing on the Yellowstone. Note – a few weeks before my trip there was a large white fish kill on the Yellowstone that cause the State to shut down 185 miles of the river from Gardiner to Billings. A few days before my arrival, the section from Gardiner to Point of Rocks was re-opened. Based on my limited experiences over the two days I fished the Yellowstone, I'm not sure the white fish kill actually put a dent in the overall white fish population.
Tuesday – same float again, this time fishing streamers exclusively. Another great day. Same fish size range but the average size was nearly two inches larger. The goal was to land a large brown. While I did manage an 18 inch brown, 20 inch plus fish size eluded me. That said it was another great day on the river. I fished an unusual, for me, streamer set up that Matt recommended. Fished a 6wt with 9' 5x with a muddler/zonker hybrid. Off that fly was attached an 18" dropper with a woolly bugger (several color changes early on then spent most of the day with a golden retriever tied on). Above the muddler/zonker were three BB split shots. Above that was a large indicator. Needless to say I spent the day lobbing and not casting. Fortunately there was little wind this day so I only had a few issues with tangled messes. Caught a ton of fish, mostly trout, although the largest white fish of the trip were caught this day (75% trout and 25% white fish mix). We ended the float mid-afternoon then transitioned to Tom Miner Creek (TMC), which is back up in the hills near the lodge. Driving into the TMC we passed two grizzlies in a nearby field rooting around for grubs/roots. Several cars had stopped and were taking pics. Matt said that the TMC area was full of grizzlies and that we'd need to be careful. We had bear spray, another first for me, and made sure to make a lot of noise as we approached the TMC. The section of TMC we fished is a very small spring creek. We spent about an hour and a half crawling from pool to pool through the trees and brush. Most casts were bow and arrow (no back cast room) to chair seat sized holding areas where we could see fish. Caught a handful of cutthroat. Between me not bending well anymore (something to do with the ever increasing number of candles on my birthday cake!) and my concern for grizzlies, we called it a day and headed back to the lodge in time for happy hour.
Wednesday – drove 60 miles into YNP and fished Soda Butte Creek in the Lamar Valley. Hard for me to express in words just how great of a day of fishing it was. Beautiful scenery, superb fishing and great company. And by company I don't just mean my guide. Matt and I were joined several times by wandering herds of buffalo. I'd never fished with buffalo before! While we kept a wary eye on them between casts, they kept their distance (about 75 yards at the nearest approach, usually much further away) and they seemed not to be too interested in our activities. Caught Yellowstone cutthroat to 18 inches. Began the morning fishing nymphs until the green drake and baetis hatch began late morning then spent the remainder of the day fishing size 22 dries on 12 feet of 6x. It was a memorable experience catching big fish (in relation to the fish I normally catch) on a steady basis in such a beautiful location with no other fishermen seen the entire day.
Thursday – drove back into the YNP for a day of fishing. We began with the Gardiner River, at the 45th Parallel sign, and fished about 100 yards of the river. That effort produced a handful of 10-12" browns. After about two hours we travelled to Joffee Lake. Joffee Lake looked to be about a football field and a half in size and it looked like a swimming pool. Not sure the depth in the middle but it couldn't be more than about 10-12 feet. The water was crystal clear blue (again, it looked like a swimming pool) and I enjoyed a few hours of sight casting to cruising cutthroat and brook trout. Like the day before, terminal tackle was 12' of 6x (4wt rod). Loads of fun. Caught the most beautiful brook trout (14") I have ever seen. Vivid colors. Following Joffee Lake we moved to Obsidian Creek to target brook trout with a 3wt. The water there was ice cold and even with an ongoing hatch (drakes and baetis) no fish were rising. Fished nymphs, dries and streamers to no avail. Eventually my feet turned to blocks of ice and we called it a day.
Friday – checked out and travelled back to Bozeman. On the way I stopped again in Livingston to visit the IFFF museum. Very interesting displays of vintage flies and bamboo fly rods, a small library of fly fishing related books/magazines, and a number of informative handouts. I highly recommend a visit if you are in the area.
All in all it was a great trip and I'm already in the planning stages for a repeat visit next year (and will drag my brother-in-law with me!). Matt was a treasure trove of information about the area, YNP in particular, and I learned a lot and may hire his services again next year for a day trip or two. And although I didn't make it to the Madison, Gallatin or the Fire Hole this trip, I've added them to the list for next year.
Cheers,
Jimhttp://www.tpfr.org
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