Westward Bound Part III; Yellowstone's Lamar River

In Pursuit Of Yellowstone Cutthroat Trout

Theresa and I decided to get up, have breakfast, and check out of our hotel pretty early this morning. We would be pulling out of Buffalo, Wyoming and heading to Livingston, Montana to spend a couple of days fishing for Yellowstone Cutthroat with Scott and Nathan McClintock.

Some of you had the pleasure of fishing with Scott this past steelhead season, and he quickly has become a welcomed and popular addition to the Steelhead Alley Outfitters team. Scott and his family have spent many years out west fly fishing for trout, and in recent years Scott has been guiding clients through his RSM Fly Fishing Services and Sweet Water Travel. We'll have more on Scott and upcoming trips opportunities with our services in the very near future.

After a decent haul we pulled up to Scott's summer home in paradise. After a few old man jokes and complaints about the unseasonable heat, we unpacked and settled in for the next two days of trout fishing. We decided to start the weekend off with a good old fashion grill out. The steaks had to be at least 16 ounces and a heart attack waiting to happen, but heck we were living the good life right?

Where's The Beef!

After dinner Scott had plans for us to travel a short distance over to Yellowstone National Park. We would be hiking into the Valley and fishing the Lamar River for Cutthroat. I can say I was pretty excited, as this would be my first chance at this species of trout. My wife on the other hand had bulging eye balls after overhearing our conversations. While Scott and I were talking about the area he loves to fish there may have been a little mention of Grizzly Bears.

It seems the bear activity was at an all time high, and that the park bears were a little more confrontational than usual. Just a few days prior to our arrival Scott and Nathan were fishing the same area and came a little too close for comfort with a bear fighting with a few wolves over a dead buffalo carcass. Just recently a Grizzly with cubs attacked campers just 12 miles from where we were, killing one person and wounding several others. During our visit to the park we took every precaution to respect the wildlife and still be able to enjoy such an amazing landscape.

Navigating through a buffalo road block

Everyone rose early and was ready to hit the road before 8am. After a pit stop at Sweet Water Fly Shop for a few last minute items and a quick fishing report we were officially on our way. The drive through the park was absolutely stunning, and after a quick buffalo road block and a few pictures we reached our destination.

Scott and Nathan pose for a father & son shot. Nathan hit the

first fish of the day with an attractor dry.

Scott poses with one of several nice Yellowstone

Cutthroats he coaxed to the surface.

A close up of the amazing colors these trout display.

After a short walk into the valley, we pushed downstream to a section of the Lamar River Scott was very fond of. While walking the river banks, Wolf, Grizzly, and Bison tracks littered the ground around us. I must say it was pretty cool walking by small groups of bison and fishing for trout in this wild setting. I almost felt like I was back on Margot Creek in Alaska, but instead of seeing strictly Grizzly in Alaska, we were surrounded by buffalo.

As we arrived at the section of the Lamar we intended to fish, Scott and Nathan wasted little time putting the first couple of fish in our nets. I kind of felt like the "home field advantage" was definitely kicking in. Soon after Theresa and I were also on the board with a pair of our first Yellowstone Cutthroats. We were fishing primarily small hoppers on this day, and it was really different watching the Cutthroat rise and take flies. Unlike the sipping brown trout and rainbows I have caught in the east, the Yellowstone cuttie would rise slow, and take the fly on a roll back down beneath the surface. I missed my first couple of takes by being a little to quick on the hook set.

Theresa and I pose with a nice cutthroat that took a small hopper.

This is probably my favorite picture of the trip! The solitude

and peaceful setting made the fishing unforgettable.

There was zero sense of urgency or the need to rush!

Here's a closer view of Theresa's first Yellowstone Cutthroat.

and then the release....

We spent the remainder of the afternoon sharing good water, laughing, and enjoying all the reasons why we pursue trout with a fly rod and reel. Time flew by and before we knew it, evening was setting in. To the pleasure of my wife, we didn't see any bear on the river, and as we neared the car she let out a relaxing deep breath, and the constant looking over your shoulders was over at least for the remainder of the day.

Fishing a nice run on the Lamar River

One of the beautifully colored Yellowstone

Cutthroats I was able to glance at.

Hooked up in the Valley...

A good fish to end a great day...

I had to add this little rant and one last picture of my experiences in Yellowstone National Park! Everyone knows that the park is a vast and very wild place, many signs and warnings are posted about the wildlife here. To my amazement there were so many people that have no common sense or concern for their own personal safety, or that of their families. Anyone who would willingly run after and continue to follow a Black Bear for a simple picture is just plain retarded. So below is my Dumb *** photo of the trip! Just for the record this is why people get attacked by Buffalo, and mauled by bears each year.....

This photo was taken from the road. The people are at least fifty

yards off the road, with this bear being about 40 yards further yet.

I hope you can run in sandals when this bear finally

gets tired of being followed....

In my next blog I will be focusing on fishing a small out of the way mountain stream for small rainbows and cutbows.

Until Next Time,

Greg Senyo

Owner/Operator

Steelhead Alley Outfitters

The Adventures of Flybum - Part 6

The last time I left you, we had fished the Madison and Firehole Rivers of Yellowstone National Park and were headed back south to one of the most anticipated rivers of our trip westward....the mighty Teton River.

The Teton River hit my radar after talking to friend Jim Lampros. Jim had spent some time working with World Cast Anglers during his adventures out west, and this put him in the backyard of the Teton. After hearing his stories and seeing the awesome photos of him traversing this river plastered all over Orvis catalogs, I just had to see it with my own eyes. The fact that it held stellar populations of Yellowstone Cutthroats, one of those species I had never caught, was just icing on the cake.

After meeting with Jim and making careful notes we were within a short drive of the river. Leaving Ashton, Idaho, we were soon on a dirt two track headed for the place that I had been told about. At first, I wasn't sure if I had the right road (I was a bit gun shy after some of our previous adventures), but we did and in short order we were overlooking an awesome body of water. It may take us a while to find our water, but we always find the fishing hole!

THE MIGHTY TETON RIVER WINDS

THROUGH THE IDAHO COUNTRYSIDE

The view looking up was just as stellar as the one we had looking way down into the canyon. In fact, when we first got there, I didn't know which way to look. I said wow so many times, that I think the guys thought I had found a new favorite word.....DUDE.....WOW!!!!

THE MIGHTY TETON RANGE STANDS OVERLOOKING THE

PRODUCTIVE TROUT WATERS THAT SURROUND IT.

After making our destination, we jumped out to snap some photos. I remember the moment I got to the trail heading into the canyon and looking over the edge! Insert one of those "WOW's!" Wow is all you could say! It was a huge drop into this canyon stretch of the Teton and when I say huge, I mean roughly 1000 vertical feet at about a 45 degree angle and sometimes steeper! This insertion point wasn't for sissy's! And if you weren't going to take a boat down with you and float out, then you had better make sure your heart was in good condition, because coming out is not for the faint of heart...This I guarantee!!!

SHOOTING SOME PHOTOS OF THE TETONS

SAO GUIDE BEN BARGER PREPARES GEAR

FOR THE DAY ON THE RIVER

We took our time getting down to the river for two reasons...safety and for filming. We couldn't just blaze down the trail without capturing it on video, so roll film we did! Hopefully I can put together a sequence from our day on this river. Of all our days on the water, this one definitely got the majority of my time. From big fish caught to heartbreaks to rattlesnakes, we got it all on this day! So, keep your fingers crossed and maybe I will show you some more film.

Once we got down to the river, the guys started packing gear for the trek along the river. I just couldn't wait to fish and catch that next species, so right then and there, I got the rod out and started fishing. It wasn't any time at all and the first Yellowstone Cutt was in hand. Just a moment later, a monster fish exploded on my fly and here is where the first heartbreak occurred! You see, I broke one of my own rules. The long story made short is that I forgot to loosen my drag...yeah, oops! The cast was made, the float was drag free, the rise came, the explosion ripped the water apart and it was fish on!!! The problem was that with fast water, a big fish, and a tight drag, disaster was looming. I rushed to get to the drag as the fished turned down stream. With a less than graceful staggering few steps down stream and every attempt to keep my rod up, the fish was gaining ground. I got the drag...I got it....The rod tip was dropping, dropping, in the danger zone, still dropping......OH CRAP, No, I can do this......rod pointing as fish....I could feel the tippet stretching...then all at once.....BANG!!! It was over! My second fish of the day and one pushing twenty inches was now only a story! Oh well was all I could say! After all, it was early in the morning and no worries! I mean, no phone was going to be ringing telling me I needed to be anywhere....ahhh, what a feeling!

It wasn't long after this failed attempt at a trophy, that we were up river and into fish after fish.

SAO GUIDE PATRICK ROBINSON HOLDS A

HEALTHY TETON YELLOWSTONE CUTTHROAT

DON FISHES AT A CONFLUENCE POINT IN THE TETON

During our time at the confluence that you see above, Don and I were doubled up. Although the waters were slightly stained, the fish were more than willing to look up and since we don't get to fish the dries all that often back home, we opted to throw the big dries!

SAO GUIDE PATRICK ROBINSON AND FRIEND DON

LAND A DOUBLE ON YELLOWSTONE CUTTIES

AND THE SMILES......OH SO SWEET!

We continued to fish the morning away in this general area. We fished up the Teton and up a smaller tributary and more fish came to hand than we could count. It was getting to be mid day and we wanted to fish a lot more water as long as it was accessible in the rough terrain. So, to insure we would have enough fuel in the furnace to make the continued push, we paused to grab a streamside lunch.......

SAO GUIDE BEN BARGER GETS THE FIRE GOING

FOR SOME STREAM SIDE HOT DOGS

After cramming our faces with fine pork products, we decided to head up stream a bit further. There's always a big one just around the corner right?

Well, up stream did treat us very, very well and we captured a lot of film and photos of fish on this stretch. However, I had to get the fish in front of that rock first.

SAO GUIDES PATRICK AND BEN WADE THE EDGE OF

THE FAST WATER CATCHING FISH IN ALL THE

SLACK WATER HOLDS ALONG THE WAY.

In the next adventure, we will head up stream to see what the waters offered us. This was one of my most memorable afternoons I have ever had and I look forward to sharing it with you!

Until next time,

Patrick "Flybum" Robinson

Head Guide

Steelhead Alley Outfitters

The Adventures of Flybum - Part 5

After a quick day on the Henry's Fork, we were back on the road to see more water and scenery. This time it was up into Montana and Wyoming to see some of Yellowstone National Park.

The agenda was to spend the day fishing on the Firehole and Gibbon Rivers whose flows come together to make the world famous Madison River. And I think it goes without saying that while we were there, we had to fish the Madison. I mean, who doesn't fish the Madison when they are close? I know, people who don't fish : )

We left the area of Ashton Idaho as early as we could for getting in bed the night before at about 1 a.m. The drive would take us to the town of West Yellowstone and the fly shop of Craig Matthews (Blue Ribbon Flies) who I had met in Indianapolis earlier this year (Greg and I had the opportunity to drive him to the Indiana on the Fly show as we were staying in the same hotel). At any rate, I wanted to stop in and say hello and check out his shop....and better yet, I wanted to hear some of his stories from when he was the police chief in West. He told me one about when the Hell's Angels saved West from a bunch of ticked off cowboys who were minutes away from setting town on fire....I swear....the story was amazing and hilarious at the same time!

So, after a brief stop in West Yellowstone to get our licenses and such, we made the punch into Yellowstone National Park (YNP), but not before some traffic issues.

THE GUYS WAIT FOR A TRAFFIC JAM ON THE WAY TO

YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK

After a ten minute traffic jam due to construction, we were on our way and the challenge was to not stop at the first glimpse of Madison water. The road paralleled the river all the way into the park making fishing access to the very easy and I'm sure highly pressured due to the immense traffic in Yellowstone this time of year.

A BEAUTIFUL PANORAMIC OF THE MADISON RIVER IN

YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK

ANOTHER SHOT OF THE MADISON RIVER

We drove for about 15 minutes before we couldn't take it any longer. The water started looking better and better, and our fly rods were just screaming to be used. So, without any further delay, we exploded from the truck like legendary super heros of the fly fishing kind (capes included) and walked across the water to the perfect places for presentation....Well, maybe it wasn't exactly like that, but close...... ha, ha.

DON LOADS THE ROD FOR A NICE LAYOUT

As soon as we could get a good look at the water, we noticed fish rising throughout the flows. Smiles graced our faces for the fourth day in a row and the dry flies came out. One thing is for sure, after a long fall, winter, and spring chasing steelhead, we turn into dry fly bums in the summer!

It only took a few presentations before fish started coming to the nets, and this time they were Browns....in fact, these were the first Browns that we had seen since our arrival out west. Ben was the first to score and the rest of us followed.

SAO GUIDE BEN BARGER RELEASING A NICE

MADISON RIVER BROWN TROUT

After a short stint on the Madison, it was off to see the Gibbon and Firehole Rivers. It didn't take long to get there as we were just a couple miles below the confluence. Looking down the valley of the Gibbon was a beautiful sight, but from the fishermen we spoke with, the scenery was the best part of the fishery. I'm sure there were some nicer fish somewhere in the watershed, but most of what we heard was that small fish were the norm, so we opted to move onto the Firehole.

LOOKING WEST DOWN THE GIBBON RIVER

So, on the road again (can you hear the song)....we started our drive into the caldera that houses some pretty amazing water and volcanic features! So, with rods readied, we meandered the region of steam vents, geysers, and rather hot Firehole River.

DRIVING THROUGH YELLOWSTONE WITH THE RODS READIED!

Upon our arrival on the Firehole, I was caught off guard when I stepped in a side channel only to feel water that I guess had to be somewhere in the 110-120 degree range hit my skin! No wonder this is an early season fishery! This water is great in the winter I imagine! However, due to all of the volcanically heated water that flows into this river, it also shuts down much faster than other rivers.

The river aside from it's hot waters, was yet again, a totally different kind of river in it's features. Within a couple of minutes of my arrival, we found fish. Here is where the distinct difference was noticed! These fish were as spooky as any fish I have ever fished for....bar none!

On several instances, I walked up behind fish and at a distance of twenty yards or more (again from behind them), I watched them scatter like I had just thrown a rock at them. These fish were not going to come to a fly easily. Fly line in the air would spook them, too much ground vibration or water disturbance would spook them, shadows, talking to loud, cloud shadows....I mean, it got to the point that I think getting a fly out of my fly box spooked them.

Needless to say, the Firehole River was the only river we visited that left us with our tails between our legs. It was a challenging fishery, at least in the area we fished her, but was extremely unique in it's features! I hope to return to this water during a cooler season to see this place in greater splendor!

DON MAKES AN ATTEMPT AT SOME VERY SPOOKY TROUT

The photos were few due to me shooting video most of the time, so I apologize for the limited photos. Hopefully I will find some more time to get some video of this place put together for all to see.

Next time I will get started on another amazing fishery where we shot a lot of video and shot a lot of photos and that is the amazing Teton River.

Until then, tight lines...

Patrick "Flybum" Robinson
Head Guide
Steelhead Alley Outfitters