We drove from Yellowstone Lake up along the Yellowstone River, through the Hayden Valley, over the rim of the Caldera, to the Lamar Valley located in the North East corner of the park. On our way through Hayden Valley we saw a coyote cross the road, a buffalo heard, and a momma grizzly and her cubs (from a distance using a scope).
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| Morning mist on the Yellowstone River |
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| Looking out across the Hayden Valley |
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| Photo credit: Cobalt on YNet Forums |
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| View from the rim of the Caldera |
The Lamar Valley has been described as the Serengeti of North America because of all the animals that call the valley home. There was wildlife everywhere. On the drive along the Lamar River there was a traffic jam caused by bison standing in the middle of the road. As we passed by the giant animals they were close enough to the road to reach out and touch. We were surrounded by bison almost everywhere we went. I was sort of surprised how "cow like" the bison were. They didn't seem to care about our presence, they just went about grazing or lounging in the meadows and ignored us.
The plan was to fish the Lamar pick off a fish or two and then head to Slough Creek for the better part of the day. My wife wanted to hike and see wildlife, I wanted to fish. The Slough Creek Trail seemed like the perfect place to accomplish both of these goals. Our first stop was a pull-off along the Northeast Entrance Road that was about one hundred yards from the banks of the Lamar River. It was a quick jaunt down to the river. My wife found a spot to observe the bison herd that was grazing on the far side of the river. I worked a nice run with a chubby Chernobyl. I fished through a good stretch of water without so much as a look from a fish. I moved downstream to a nice drop off. I provoked a few fish to rise, I missed the first and stuck the second and third. The second fish was an average cutthroat, a good start for the day. The third fish was a hog! After a quick fight the line went limp, I pull it in to find nothing at the end of the tippet. That hog robbed me of my fly. I worked downstream a bit further and decided it was time to head to Slough Creek. I could have fished the Lamar all day, but we had a lot water to cover and there was no way we'd get it all in if we didn't get on the move. I did what I came to the Lamar to do, I provoked a few rises and landed a fish on this famous river.
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| Lamar River |
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| Both fish were hooked by this rock pile where the river bottom dropped off |
We pulled into the dirt parking lot at the Slough Creek campground, parked the car and grabbed the gear. The parking lot was a mess, I almost got the car stuck in a pot hole the size of a garbage can. I quickly rigged up and we headed off to the creek. I fished a drop off below a riffle first and had a few small fish slash at my hopper fly and hooked a small rainbow. These were not the giant cutthroat trout that legend has it occupy Slough Creek. As I was releasing the little rainbow, my wife brings my attention to a bull bison that moved out of the tall grass on the far bank from where I was standing. The bison was only about twenty feet from me. My wife was a bit concerned, but I thought it was pretty cool to see a bison so close in its natural environment. I figured with the stream between us, I was safe so I grabbed a few pictures of the animal. I decided to move and fish some water up stream, much to my wife's relief. I thought she wanted to see wildlife?
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| Beautiful Sough Creek |
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| A little to close for my wife's comfort |
I crossed the creek and began working a medium paced run that looked really fishy. Nothing, no body was home. As I was working this run a deer moves out of the grass into the creek just upstream from me. My wife got my attention thinking I was too busy fishing to notice the deer. I see deer at home all the time, but this was kind of different, this deer was much more wild than the deer at home when I moved it spooked and took off into the tall grass of the meadow.
I crossed back to the other side of the stream and as I was walking I noticed a big fish cruising through some slow flat water. This fish was clearly on the hunt for food. I was positioned on a high bank about fifteen feet downstream from where the fish was rooting around for food on the far side of a downed tree. I stopped, pointed the fish out to my wife, and put a hopper right between the fish and the log. The splat of the fly on the water grabbed the fish's attention and it turned towards the fly, slowly rose to the fly scrutinizing every detail as it sipped in the fly. Wait, wait for the fish to turn its head and STRIKE! The water erupted with the splashy fury of this angry fish. I was on a high bank about ten feet above the water and I had a huge fish on. I took me a second to realize I was in a bad position to fight and land this fish. I had to get down into the water. The fish was running for the cover of the downed tree as I was sliding my self down into the water. I steered the fish back into open water, I could feel the light tippet straining at the weight of the fish. I gave the fish a little line to run and run it did. The fish made a few long runs before it was finally ready to come to the net. This was the kind of fish I came to Slough Creek to catch. On the way back to the car, a bison popped out of the tall grass and seemed to follow us. I stopped to take a picture, my wife got nervous and kept telling me to walk to the car.
From Slough Creek we headed to Roosevelt Lodge for some lunch. After lunch we drove over to Tower Falls. A sign indicated that the trail to the bottom of the falls was closed. What? Can't get to the bottom? I was worried that I would not be able to get down to the river to fish. I took the rod anyway. I was determined to find a way down to the water. About half way down there is a spot to view the falls from where we stopped to take some pictures. I continued on down the trail and noticed that there were people down by the water. There must be a way down. When we got to where the trail was closed, we picked up an unimproved path down to the water. I was standing on the bank of the mighty Yellowstone River. I began fishing a back eddy behind a big rock. A fish came up and took my fly, a few head shakes and the fish was gone. I kept working the soft water along the bank of the Yellowstone on my way to the mouth of Tower Creek, another fish rose to the fly and refused at the last moment.
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| Tower Fall |
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| Yellowstone River |
I worked up into the mouth of Tower creek where there is a fast pool. I had two rises here and one fish one and off. As I moved up tower creek, the water was bolder strewn pocket water. The current was fast and the only fishable spots were in the pockets of slow water created by the big boulders. I fished upstream a little bit with no rise even after switching flies. It was time to go back to the Yellowstone. As I turned to work my way down, there was a deer standing in the water behind me, as if it was following me upstream.
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| Mouth of Tower Creek |
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| Looking upstream on Tower Creek |
I worked my way back down to the Yellowstone and fished the bank of the Yellowstone on the downstream side of Tower Creek before I walked way upstream and worked the drop off in the between the bank and the seam of a heavy run. Several fish rose to the fly but wood not eat. I changed flies several times. Seeing these fish come up sent a shot of adrenaline through the system. Watching the fish disappear again without eating was disappointing. Every fly I tried was refused. Some of the Yellowstone Cuts were HUGE. The sun was high and bright. There was all sorts of commotion from all the people that came down to the bank of the Yellowstone to enjoy the "beach" like environment a large sand bar made. This spot must get a lot of pressure since its right at the bottom of an easy trail into the canyon. None of these were working in my favor. These well educated Yellowstone Cutts won this round.
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| I was able to provoke several huge Cutthroat trout to come to the surface only to refuse my fly on the stretch of river. |
After getting skunked on the Yellowstone, I put the rod away and we drove over to Yellowstone's Grand Canyon to see the upper and lower falls. This canyon is an amazing site, the water falls are breathtaking and the colors on the canyon walls seem to change in the light and mist. Artist's Point is a place everyone should see at least during their life. Truly an amazing sight to see.
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| Upper Falls in Yellowstone's Grand Canyon |
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| First glimpse of Lower Falls, the tallest water fall in YNP |
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| View from Artist Point |
Mud Pots
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| Dragon's Mouth Spring |
The sulphur cauldrons are filled with boiling sulphuric acid and smelled like rotten eggs.
Sulphur Cauldron
There was about a half an hour left after the sulphur cauldrons before we had to leave for the hotel to make our dinner reservation. I used that time to fish a section of the Yellowstone River that used to be legendary, but today this part of the river is a shadow of its former self. Whirling disease and lake trout has decimated the cutthroat population between fishing bridge and Yellowstone's Grand Canyon. There are still fish, but not many. The fish that remain are reportedly big, real hogs. Bugs were popping all around me, I fished a caddis and a parachute adams dropper. I didn't see any fish rising and I fished all the fishy spots, but I came up empty. Not even a rise. Oh well. At least I was fishing the Yellowstone River, that was much better than going to dinner early.
When we were walking to the dining room, there was a little bat that had clung to a concrete retaining wall by the sidewalk. I thought it was pretty cool, I've never seen bat up close before. I was concerned it was sick or injured because when I saw it in the same spot in the morning.
