Cutthroat Diary, Homage to Summer

After four days of driving, I arrived home on October 19^th. There are many more stories from Yellowstone to share in coming posts. But, it’s deep into fall. Halloween has passed. We’ve turned back the clocks. Chilly weather is telling us of what’s to come.

I can’t turn up the thermostat for you, but I can share my memories of warm weather fishing in the heart of summertime.

Lamar River, July 19th

In the July 29^th post, I wrote about how much I was looking forward to fishing for cutthroat trout up in the Park’s Northeast corner. This is the place to be in the Park during the summer months when the Madison and Firehole Rivers get too warm for fishing.

It takes two hours to drive to Lamar Valley from Old Faithful. A challenge to fishing there is where to stay. Nearby campgrounds (Slough Creek, Pebble Creek, Tower) are always full, and don’t accept reservations. Roosevelt Lodge is always booked solid too. Cabins and motel rooms may be rented up in Cooke City out the Northeast Entrance, but the travel time eats into the fishing time on precious weekends. Besides, my paltry paycheck only goes so far. That money pays for gas, trout flies and beer, not lodging.



Fishing with Mike Rogers & Ted Weglarz, Aug. 1st

Ted worked the summer up at Roosevelt Lodge. He likes fishing as much as I do, and our weekends overlapped. Thanks to his hospitality, I got in more time on the Lamar and Yellowstone Rivers than I ever expected. His cabin is like the Taj Mahal for that part of the Park: room for a roll-away bed, private bath, even a small electric furnace (most of the cabins at Roosevelt have small wood stoves, and yes, you need a heat source even in summer).



Yellowstone River below Tower Falls, Aug. 2nd

My log book records 11 days of fishing on the Lamar, Yellowstone, Soda Butte and Slough Creek; July 14^th to September 6^th. Cutthroat trout are so amenable for summertime fishing. They are active feeders throughout the day, even under bright, sunny skies. They are not terribly finicky about what they eat…well, most of the time. They are a marvel to catch; the Park’s native trout, evolved to thrive in these fast currents and infertile waters. And, they grow big.

It is summertime fishing at its best. Warm temperatures, but never hot. Many hours of daylight, so you are never trying to beat the clock.  Big, eager fish. The wide open panoramic Lamar Valley surrounding you.  And, while Lamar Valley is notorious for getting dirty and unfishable from thunderstorms that build up on warm summer afternoons, this season was exceptionally free of those disappointments. We only got blanked out on Labor Day weekend with a rare, weekend-long rainy spell (does it rain everywhere in the country on Labor Day weekend?).

Big Cutthroat, Yellowstone River, July 18th

The Northeast corner of the Park draws a lot of fishermen, especially in recent years. The collapse of cutthroat fishing on the Yellowstone River above the falls has pushed many anglers into Lamar Valley.  But, “a lot of fishermen” is a relative term. This is nothing like fishing in Michigan or the Northeast.

Anglers tend to bunch up on the more accommodating waters of Soda Butte Creek (closer to the road, easier to wade). In contrast, the Lamar River gives you a whole lot of water to spread out on as it meanders far from the road all the way down the miles-long meadow valley. For me, the ever-present bison are much more of a concern. While they pose no threat of attack, you don’t want to be between them and where they want to go.



Mike on the Lamar, Aug. 1st

The salmonfly hatch on the Yellowstone River below the falls was a real highlight to the fishing this year. They lasted for more than a month, and kept the fish actively feeding and looking up. These two-inch long insects flying around the river sure do add excitement to the scene.



The Lamar/Soda Butte Confluence, always fish here

Mayflies were also a highlight. The main lesson I learned this summer can be summed up simply: there isn’t a mayfly that a cutthroat trout will pass up. I know  the fishing books talk about terrestrial and attractor patterns for these waters, but my go-to flies for most of the summer were mayfly patterns (smaller as the season progressed).



Big trout on a #18 ant; Lamar River, Sept. 6th

Still, it always pays to try different flies when the fishing slows. One joy of cutthroat fishing is that the fish reward you for doing so. They will come up and take a look at whatever looks like an insect. I had a number of successes switching flies until I found a winner. My largest cutthroat of the summer came on a green caddis pattern on the Yellowstone, and the last trout of the summer on the Lamar came on an ant.

It was an idyllic summer of trout fishing. I can’t wait to go back.