Yellowstone National Park

After getting the group off and on their way back home, Nate and myself, started a journey north to try out some water that we had never fished. The Missouri! En route we were constantly reminded that the warmth of summer was on it’s way out. We continued north and stayed in the small town of Craig MT the first night, and managed to sneak some fishing in that evening and were pleasantly surprised!

After battling the anticipation of the Land of Giants, the sun finally poked up and off we went. The access point was between Craig and Helena MT and we had to use Wally’s jet boat to scoot across the Gateway to the Mountains lake and  up into the river.

The scenery was absolutely gorgeous around every corner and the bug life was second to none!

And small too!

Luckily we weren’t planning on throwing dries. After motoring up river and getting our rods rigged up, It was time to hand out some sore lips. Well it didn’t take long.

Not only were the fish long but they were thick too. From battling the constant current in this stretch these fish had developed large shoulders.

As soon as you set the hook on these beast they would set off in a blistering run, a couple even tried to sneak up on the backing.

Luckily these fish weren’t leader shy like their eastern cousins so we were fishing 4x tippet and was able to put a little more muscle into it.

The power of these fish was purely amazing! The leaps and runs gave us all we wanted and then some on occasions. We didn’t break any off but we did straighten a few hooks. All the fish were rainbows except for one lone brown.

This truly was a trip of a lifetime. Great friends, Great fish, in a spectacular place!

To be put on our mailing list for next year’s trip email:

joshgarriscwo@gmail.com

Well like the title says all good things must come to an end, but all of our folks were determined to make the most of their last day in Yellowstone. Today we had 3 float trips and 1 wade trip going out and guess what we woke up to? SNOW!

Yea, I know. What kind of weather have we not seen? Well the snow didn’t stay on the mountains long and neither did our folks. Jim and John Williams had a float trip and had a spectacular day on their float with unreal numbers of fish being caught. A ton of them were whitefish, but a great deal of them were trout.

Chris and Parker had a similar experience but floated Yankee Jim Canyon of the Yellowstone. Clive and also die really well on the day!Bill and Tom chased down the beautiful brookies in the Park.

My good fried Nate and I played on the Gardiner and a lake. Fishing was not on fire but some nice fish were caught. Even a nice brookie.

We are sad to see everyone go but know everyone is ready to get back home. Thank for everyone that joined in. Here is a picture of the 2014 Hosted Yellowstone Trip!!

To see all of today’s pictures click below

Day 6 pictures

Welcome to late summer in Yellowstone Country. After waking up to rain in the morning we were a bit concerned about our float trips going out for the day.After consulting with the guides and checking the water they decided it was good to go.

Although the conditions were not perfect, everyone managed to wrangle fish into the net. Brad was even able to persuade some larger fish to eat. Fishing in the morning was a bit slow, but it picked up in the afternoon. When the BWO hatch came off, even the whitefish and the swallows got into the mix. Almost too much of the mix when one picked up Johns fly off the water but then quickly dropped it.

Due to most of the other water in the area being blown out due to the rain, the rest of our group headed up the the lower meadow of Slough Creek. Fishing was a bit tough with the rain and adding in wind did not help at all. Some fish were caught but they did not come easy.

After a long cool day of fishing, we had dinner ready and all the guides from Park’s fly shop came over for burgers and hot dogs. The conversation was great and we even got to see the newest addition to the Jewel family, Lahauna!

Check in tomorrow to see how the final day of fishing went with 4 guide trips on the water, and the rest of the folks on their own!

To see all of today’s pictures click below

Day 5 pictures

Day three came and brought a bit more rain, but that didn’t stop all of our guide trips from having a great day on the rivers. Jim and Spencer floated with Walter and started off with a slow morning but ended up with a stellar day.

I was able to sneak out for a few cast on the Firehole River as well and was lucky enough to stick a few!

Jeff and Susan went on a hike and got this great view of the confluences of the Firehole and the Gibbon River creating the Madison.

Parker and Chris went on a wade trip with Ben and really worked over the fish, Several in the 15-18″ range were put into the net. Clive and Nick went out with Wilson and did really well with the rainbows in a remote section.

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Day 4 Pictures

Things can change fast out west and we found out first hand today. We woke up to cooler temperatures, low 50’s. After eating breakfast gearing up and heading out to fish. It cooled off even more.  Our first cast were made with temps at 47. That being said, everybody was ready for a great day!

Once again we had a few groups on guide trips With Park’s Fly Shop. Two on wade trips and one on a float. Bill and Tom were floating again but on a different section of river. They came back with reports of decent numbers of fish but also that the whitefish had made an all out assault on surface which is fairly unusual. Once again though they unfortunately did encounter some more rain, as did everyone else.

Robert and John were on a wade trip and went to several spots on Soda Butte. Fish were caught but it was much slower and more crowded than expected. Just about every trick in the book was thrown at the fish but the golden ticket was never found. A hatch can be a quick fix for cooler temperatures, but it never came. John and Brad went to the upper Gardiner and handed out a bucket full of sore lips to the brookies that call that water home. After losing count of fish caught, they moved a good bit down river to the middle Gardiner to case some more sizable fish and were obliged. Even given a chance at a LARGE brown.

Chris and Clive started out on the lower Gardiner and found a bit success but then decided to head over to Tower Creek to try out the pocket water and meadow section and were welcomed by several nice fish and some spectacular scenery too.

Jeff, Nick, Parker, and Jim made the long hike to the 2nd meadow of Slough Creek. They dealt with a bit of rain and the cooler temperatures as well but they were greatly rewarded.

Spencer and myself started in the canyon section of Slough and were able to catch several fish. Elk Hair Caddis and split case emerges. After lunch we moved to the Lamar and got into several really nice fish. One with his stomach so full you could see the bulge from it’s recent feasts. All fish in this section were caught subsurface on extremely deep rigs.

Part of our group will be getting in some sight seeing tomorrow while the others will be on guide trips. Check in to see how the weather and fish treat us!

To see all of today’s pictures click below

Day 3  8/21/14

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

Day 2 Photos

Well one of our favorite times of year has finally arrived. Our annual Hosted Yellowstone trip to Gardiner MT is under way. Everyone arrived today geared up and ready to give the fish of Yellowstone a hard time. This year we have 14 people visiting Yellowstone with us, many of them for the first time. A few managed to sneak out and wet a line, but today was mostly everyone getting settled in and meeting the other folks on our trip.

Temperatures are already starting off a bit cooler than we have seen in the past. Forecast for the week are for temperatures in the 70’s with a slight chance of rain most days. Slightly south, in Jackson Hole, snow is even in the forecast. WHAT??

For the introductory meal for the week we were grilling out steaks. Throw in some back potatoes and some fresh green bean and salad and the tanks are full for the first official day of fishing tomorrow.

In years past I have come out a week early to get in some personal fishing and to scout the water. This year I was lucky enough to be able to take my family out for their first visit to Yellowstone, and we even managed to sneak in a little bit of fishing! Here are some pictures from our travels.

And we even managed to sneak some fishing in too. The kids really worked over the fish, and put a few nice browns in the net!

Check back with us tomorrow to see how the first “official” day of fishing goes!!

See all of the pictures

Garris Family Yellowstone photos