Sun and Moon On Yellowstone Lake

Sunset Over Yellowstone Lake


Moon Over Yellowstone

Every fisherman knows the importance of spousal maintenance so I took a few days off from fishing and toured the region with The Wife. Mrs. Flytimes flew into Billings Thursday afternoon. We spent one night in Red Lodge, one night at the Lake Hotel on Yellowstone Lake and one night in Cody, WY.
Sunday afternoon I dropped her off at the airport and drove over the Beartooth Pass for the third time in three days. Back in camp Karl had a steelhead cooking over the fire, Ken had a tent set up for me and good 'ol Sven had just mixed up a Manhattan with my name on it.


Shoshone River

Dozens of Trouts

Lamar River Valley Above Soda Butte Creek

At noon Thee Sven and I stood at the parking lot end of the 3.3 mile trail into Cache creek. Not exactly an alpine start so we had to go fast and light; rod, reel, small box with assortment of dries, tippet, coat, boots, waders, one water bottle and a chocolate bar.
Half way into the hike we started up the only hill on the trail. It didn't appear to be much of a grade so I kept the pace up as if we were still on flat ground. Seven false summits later it became apparent that I should slow down a little, save some for the hike out. 'ol Sven caught up with me just before the top. From there it was a short downhill to the creek where we dropped our rucks had quick snack and strung up our rods.
Sven got into fish right away. He was using a parachute hopper so I tied on my Jimmy Legs Hopper. When those cutts get selective you better have something, anything, big and hairy on the end of your line.
A couple of hours later there was an actual hatch, complete with big mayflies and rising fish. I always get into the spirit of things like this. I tied on the one fly that loosely resembles a mayfly yet maintains the strict "big and hairy" protocol one tries to follow in cutthroat country, the Parachute Hare's Ear.
I caught my two biggest fish of the day on that parachute, 14 and 15 inches, both Yellowstone Cutts. I landed a few rainbows too but most of the dozens of fish that Sven and I caught were cutts.

TIME!!!

Six minutes, twelve and two tenths seconds! That's the time Thee Trouthole and I put up when we broke the tent raising world record for two six man tents. Strong work if I've ever seen it.

Money Creek

Lower Meadows

Slough Creek

The sign at the turnoff told us that the campground was full but we drove the two extra miles to check for ourselves, had too.
Yup full. Plan B, head out the NE Entrance and get a motel room. Half way there we drove past a perfectly good campground that, for some reason, the Park Service closed that very day. Brilliant.
Booked a room in Siver Gate. Down the road in Cooke City we got into our cups.
The next morning found Me and Sven canvasing the Sough Creek Campground. "Are you leaving today? No?! Okay." Repeat as necessary.
We ended up next to the site we stayed in last year, not so bad. Set up our camp in near record time. Rodded up, wadered up and surrounded by great trout water Sven and I went downstream to work the big pools.
Those trouts in Slough Creek are notoriously finicky about dry flies yet have few (if any) reservations about big streamers. "Would you like some bunny with that fly Mr. Cuttbow? Okay here you go. Nggh nghh nghhh!"

I needed that.

Soda Butte Creek

Three weeks, six streams, and several trouts later I feel, for the first time this year, like I got out there and did some fishin'.

Gone Fishin

Off to Yellowstone Country. Check out the blogs on the sidebar,especially Opax Fly Fishing.

Small Flies

Blue Wing Olive

#20 olive polly. That's as small as I tie 'em. Sometimes its too big but I'm not interested in tying anything as small as a #22. There are better ways to go blind.