Dreamcatchers: September 2015

It had been over three years in the making. Day after day reading fishing reports, checking flights, wondering, pondering when could I finally make it back to that mecca of trout fishing. A place where it seemed there was no limit to the rivers you could explore and the fish that would be waiting. I had often thought of my first trip out to Yellowstone and the fun that I had. That trip, brown trout on the Madison river became our focus and did not disappoint. But deep down inside we always desired to make it to that famed Northeast Corner. We wanted to wet our line in what is most likely the best Cuttthroat trout fishing in the entire world. Well I would have to wait no longer. After my backpacking trip out to the Winds I decided to finally make it back to the place I had dreamed about returning to. I was ready to touch my feet in cool waters of some of the best fly fishing in the entire world! I started on the Lamar River where it took some time to get used to the fishing. But I soon found a run that produced numerous strikes. I didn't even attempt a dropper fly. These Cutts were sipping off the surface as effortlessly as you possibly could imagine. Barbless hooks proved to be a major issue for much of the trip but lucky the number of strikes made you quickly forget about the ones you had lost. I caught a number of good fish on the Lamar River that day and decided to try my luck at Slough Creek the next day. Slough Creek was on fire. Easily my most productive fishing day out west this year. If I had a barb on the hook it probably could have been my best fishing day ever. The famed creek did not disappoint as Cutts would rise in almost every pool. After hiking and fishing a bit we returned to the campground to work the meadows below. On my first trip out to Yellowstone we had stopped at the blown out Slough Creek just to throw in a line. My brother got a hold of a very nice fish down there and spotted a few more. I figured I would pay a return visit to that hole and I found numerous BIG BOYS lurking in all these runs. I was having great luck getting these fish to rise until the wind picked up so much that I couldn't even cast. We finished the day on the Lamar River as sunset was rolling in. That river was on FIRE that night. Fish after fish were smashing my little grey wulf over and over again. It made for some of the most fun fishing I have ever experienced. The next day we had planned to go to the Black Canyon of the Yellowstone to do some big water fishing, but we ended up heading out to Jackson. The taste is still in my mouth of what we might have encountered down on the Yellowstone and I suppose that will give me the motivation to make it back once again! All in all the trip was great! The fishing was unreal! The scenery was beautiful! Because my ignorance of not bringing a net I was only able to snap a few fish pictures..Enjoy what I got!!!...til next time

-Dreamcatchers

This run I will not soon forget

Caught my first fish from the Lamar River right through here

This was a feisty cutt that didn't want to stay in his pool I made him

Lamar River Valley

Yellowstone Falls

Cutt!!!!!

This guy was a real challenge to bring in without a net

One more look

It had only been a month since I returned from backpacking and exploring the Wind River Range but I knew it was time to go back. In late August I packed up the bags and prepared for another adventure out in the wilderness and a side trip to Yellowstone immediately following. The trail would be one that I had done before but it had been a few years and I was excited to refresh my memory of the beautiful scenery. We were greeted with smog from the fires out west. For the first part of the trip it made it hard to really appreciate the scenery, especially having been there when it is so clear. But this eventually cleared up and allowed for some spectacular views. We stopped to fish at numerous locations and had just the luck I was expecting. Big Cutts were ready to play. Excellent dry fly and active subsurface fishing made for an incredible couple days at our destination lake. With a little rock climbing I was able to get to some parts of the lake that were ON FIRE!! You could see large fish cruising around just searching for something to attack! I soon came to realize one of my biggest regrets from this trip...WHY didn't I bring a net??!!! It was hard to get a picture if any of the fish I caught and it didn't take long to realize how much I missed my net! But I was still able to get a few pictures. Check them out and get out and fish some yourself! til next time...

-Dreamcatchers