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Just my fishing log notes from this week.

Sunday September 06 2009

Breakfast was coffee, bagels, and instant oatmeal. We decided to loo at Elk lake since it had appeared in Northwest Fly fishing. We left Craig's truck in the woods and went to the top of the mountain to contact Madison Junction Campground and get a camping spot for the night. We got a spot and started the 12-mile drive to the lake. Initially the road was good and we got to the lake and see all of the campers. There were about six boats on the lake trolling for trout and decided to head for Hidden Lake.

The road got a little rougher and I had go to four-wheel drive. We found a head for Criag to use and looked at the trail to the lake. We decided we wanted to fish rather than hike and headed back down the road and headed for the river. We stopped at the bridge and went upstream. The river was easy to wade and work the holes. We swapped holes as we went up river and found some grayling in the 16-18" class one each on a hopper and one each on a nymph after we moved them with a hopper and got a refusal. We also got an 8" cutt and a 6" brookie. We moved up river towards Craig's truck and Yellowstone Park. We did not see any fish and the holding water was a little skinny.

We made a sandwich and headed for West Yellowstone and Blue Ribbon so Craig could get a park license. We drove into the campground and got the spot and headed for the Firehole to see if we could get a couple of fish.

We stopped at Fountain Flats and had the river to ourselves. We caught a few fish and decided to head to the junction of Firehole and Nez Perce at the picnic area. We waded down river and each caught a couple of fish. We decided to drive back to west for our annual pizza at Gusher and to get a few groceries. We stopped at the hole above the falls on the Firehole between 6:30 and 7 pm. There were a lot of caddis on the water and the fish were showing themselves jumping into the are to get the caddis. Pizza and service were good and we got what we needed to sustain us. We had a nice fire and shared a few more stories and decided to get an early start for the Northeast corner of the park and the Lamar.

Monday Labor Day September 7, 2009

We got up and broke camp after breakfast and I had a shave in the heated rest room. We drove down and around the lake since the Norris to Junction was closed. WE had a leisurely drive to Fishing Bridge for a look at the trout hanging at the bridge. Because of windy conditions the river was dirty and you could not see about 1 foot into the river, so no trout. We got caught up in a Model T and Model A tour of the park with about a dozen of them making about 30 miles an hour. We finally got by them at the last over look of the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone.

We made our way to the Pebble Creek Campground about 11:30 after a 3 hour drive through the park. We got the last best camping spot and set out the lawn chairs to dry out after the light rain on Sunday. We left Craig's truck and headed for the Lamar and to see if we could get a couple of fish.

The water temp was 52 degrees and clear. There were not bugs showing and I stayed with the Quad because of the windy conditions. I walked into the old picnic area and the log jam below the Lamar Ranger Station. I tried a few dry files and decided to try a soft hackle. The Partridge and Orange and got two good pulls and finally a hook up out of the eddy below the log jam.

We headed back up river and got into Dale's hole on Soda Butte. I put on a renegade and pulled it back to me under water. I caught about 12 fish running 6-10 inches all cutthroats. I would guess I got the hook in one of five takes on the fly. Many of them I saw rather than felt on the Renegade. Craig had similar results on a nymph. We did see a few fishing rising in the tail out and we decided to head for Cooke City and Dinner.

Dinner was a disappointment at the Beartooth Café. Craig sent his meal back and the diner next to us sent his back. The service was okay, but we did not complain enough to the management. This will be the last time we have any meals in Cooke City as we had a similar experience on Tuesday Night at another restaurant. We will take something to have for a hot meal in the evening an save the drive and dinner time.

We did stop to pick up wood for the fire, mostly small stuff to get the fire going. We had a nice fire on Monday Night.

Tuesday September 8, 2009

We woke to frost and 30-degree temperatures. I started a breakfast fire to warm up and got the coffee started. I did learn something this trip to let the coffee perk before lighting the other burner as it slows down the heat on the coffee. We had breakfast and headed to Slough to get a cell signal and top check messages

We stopped at the Lamar and watched wolves for a few minutes and decided to head for Soda Butte to get away from the crowds. We stopped at the first pull out below Pebble Creek junction. We shared the river and traded pools. We each caught a few fish. I had my Rams Howells 7'9' for 3-4 and fished different dries. We moved a few fish and managed to hook a half dozen each. The water temp was 44 so we felt the fish would be working after the water warmed.

We managed to see al three canine species in the park on the this trip. We saw four wolves in the morning, a coyote in the afternoon, and a fox on the way to Cooke City in the evening. This was quite a trip for wild life watching.

We drove to the Lamar in the afternoon after lunch in cam. We arrived and we both took some nice Cutthroats in the afternoon. The Lamar was 58 degree and the air temp reached 70. We each got 4-5 nice 16-20' cutts on dries. Craig got two nice fish on Large Royal Coachman to my disgust. Got two 16" cuts on a black caddis. About 5 pm we decided to head to Cooke City for dinner at the Bar.

The service was slow and we both ordered Buffalo burgers and Craig ordered a Trout Slayer. We got hamburgers and Craig got a Bud Light for a trout slayer. This finally convinced us to give up on Cooke and I will be cooking prior to the trip and have hot meals packed in the cooler.

We stopped and picked up wood for two fires, tonight and in the morning. We stopped at our favorite logjam on Soda Butte at the picnic area. We got the wood and tried a final time on Soda Butte. Dales hole was alive with fish rising every where. We grabbed the rods and made a few cast to the fish. We fished about 15 minutes and I got two cutts on a lime Trude. We stopped and watched a beaver feed on some of his cuttings at the tail of the pool. We left for camp and a fire.

Wednesday September 9, 2009

It was cold on Wednesday a balmy 29 in camp. Started the fire first and the coffee second. We had coffee in 20 minutes rather than 45. The fire felt great and the coffee was a great thing to warm up with. We had breakfast and all of the logistics worked out with the end of the oatmeal and the bagels and just enough bread for lunch.

After breakfast we headed down river and saw a large traffic jam at the second turn out at Dale's Hole and I glanced over and saw a large bull moose laying in the meadow across the river and there was a cow behind him. This is the first moose I have seen in the park in 30 years. I have seen them on the edges of the park (actually they may have been in the edges of the park.) We stopped and took a few pictures and headed for the second log jam on the Lamar. There was a wolf watch going on so we walked up the hill. The wolf was moving right to left in the valley and was almost out of sight.

The ranger left along with the crowd and we rigged up and headed for the river. I took the Reams Howells just to get it on the water. We moved a lot of fish and I got the first one on a caddis almost dragging. Nice 16' cutt on a dry fly and on a great rod. We did sit down for about 30 minutes to let the water warm up as it was 44 when we got in. I also had a leak in my waders (5 years old on Dan Bailey waders). We watched four wolves working the valley across from us. We both kicked ourselves for not bringing our Binoculars. We also had a coyote walk the bluff above us and we heard the buffalo grunting all over the bluff above us. About 11 am I went back in and managed to catch another cutt and gave the hole to Craig. He took a fish and then it was a while before we got another fish. I would guess we moved 25 -30 fish and managed to each hook 5-6 of them in two hours of fishing. All of the fish were very healthy and great to catch on light tackle. We decided to give the fish and break and head home to wash the trucks and our selves.

We stopped at a pull out for a sandwich and then off to Gardiner for gas and a visit to Parks Fly shop. I got gas ( and driving around in the park got 23.5 MPH) in the Tacoma. We drove to Three Forks, cleaned out the trucks, got the water ready and washed the dust off the vehicles. We had a shower and a shave, relaxing dinner.

Overall it was a great final trip of the year and great to do before the start of the new project next week. I did not pack enough wood for the fires, and learned a lot about how to cook breakfast or anything needing heat prior to starting something else.