Somehow everyone was able to curb the excitement last night and actually get some sleep to prepare for the first official day on fishing on our 2014 Hosted Yellowstone Trip. In addition to the rest, a big breakfast was served to make sure everyone had the energy to match wits against our finned adversary. Two float trips were on the Yellowstone for today and the rest of the folks were fishing on their own.
Bill and Tom floated the upper section of the Yellowstone and had great success. Better yet all on dries, and even a double. Robert and John went further down river with their guide in hopes of catching a bruiser.Unfortunately it was not in the cards for today. Both trips were met by heavy winds and rain for the last hour or so of the trip.
Brad, John, and myself decided to start out at the beginning of the Lamar canyon and were greeted eagerly by some hungry fish. Many good strikes on the hoppers came our way but buttoning of the hook set proved easier said than done. Nymph rigs proved to be the most effective but, we were able to find some fish ready and willing to eat a streamer. After lunch we relocated slightly down river and witnessed many a bug making their way off of the water. Unfortunately the fish were not actively feeding on them. We were able to corral a few off the deep nymph rig and received some attention on dries and hoppers but got more refusals than eats.
Jeff, Spencer, and Jim made their way over to Pebble Creek to start the day. Always one of the groups favorites if nothing else just for the scenery and gin clear water. The fish are not huge but they tend to be eager. Once they moved down to the bigger water of Soda Butte Creek, fishing was a bit slow to begin with but thanks to a hatch that materialized, fishing and catching picked up greatly. PMD Brook’s sprout emerger was the ticket.
Clive, Nick, Parker, and Chris started out on the Lamar and had some success and also some heartache. Prince nymph was the scale tipper. Afterwards they hiked into the back country part of Lava Creek where hundreds of brookies were ready to pounce on anything hitting the water. The fish were beautiful and some might have even been caught more than once.
Check back tomorrow to find out about the next round of guide trips and maybe even a Slough Creek trip.
To see all of today’s pictures click below