Six FATC went to Yellowstone National Park to test their skills fishing in the many rivers and creeks of one of our country’s national treasures. If you have never been to Yellowstone, what are you waiting for?? Mike Oldani, Scott Payne, Matt McClure, John Muckerman, Kenny Klimes and Jim Craig (who planned the entire trip) took a week off to fish and fellowship in Yellowstone.

First, a few kudos. Thanks to Jim who planned an awesome trip from start to finish. Thank you, Jim, for all your hard work on this trip. Also, thanks to Jim and Scott for doing all the driving in and around Yellowstone. After fishing all day and then having to drive a bunch of grownup kids home is not easy. Thanks to Matt for bringing the snacks for the trip (and the entertainment?) A big thanks to Mike for buying us all dinner on Friday night. John Muckerman was the surprise player as his gourmet chef talents graced us for three nights. John made some awesome evening meals from “scratch”. If you ever plan a long trip definitely get John on the trip.

The trip overall was fantastic. We had some great fellowship, caught a lot of Yellowstone cutthroat, and “learned” a lot about each other – becoming closer friends. That’s what it’s all about. It isn’t just about the fly fishing! This was my fifth trip to Yellowstone, and it was the least crowded I have ever seen it. We were able to drive everywhere with extraordinarily little car traffic to slow us down. BUT what did slow us down were the Bison. Many a time the big Bison felt that they owned not only the prairies but the roads and trails too. Check out some of the pictures.

Day One: When we arrived at Lambert airport early Saturday morning, we found out our aircraft had a maintenance issue and the flight was CANCELED!! Now what to do? They got us on a later flight, but we would miss our connection in Salt Lake City and would have to wait all day for the last flight of the night to get to Bozeman, Montana.  But Delta airlines did their best to get us on an earlier flight in Salt Lake and we arrived close to our normal scheduled arrival time. Thank you, Delta! We then hit a fly shop in Bozeman, bought our Yellowstone fishing license and a few flies and drove off to our cabin for the week in Gardiner, Montana (just outside of the Northwest gate).

Day Two: We decided to fish what is my favorite river to fish in Yellowstone, Soda Butte. Scott wanted his first cutthroat ever and he was rewarded early. The rest of the group had an awesome day of catching. Even though the fly shops said hoppers and PMD dry flies were the way to go we found out early that was not the case. Guys went deep with P&P midges, Copper Johns, Perdigons, and nymphs. Ok, hold on to your hats but at the end of the day the cutthroat count for all six of us was somewhere at 140+.

Day Three: Our next fishing spot was the Gallatin river on the western border of Yellowstone Park. We left our cabin early to have breakfast in West Yellowstone and then drove due north to fish the Gallatin section that was in the park. Here the river meandered winding its way through shrub brush and sage. The water was low which led to a lot of walking to find holes and cutouts to fish. A lot of walking but a few guys found some nice holes to pull some fish out. Not as good as Soda Butte fishing, the guys realized that it was going to be a little tougher here. White fish and cutbows were caught. After a half day of fishing and a lot of walking we decided to go see Old Faithful Geyser in the afternoon.

Day Four: We planned to fish Slough Creek this day but changed it to Soda Butte again because we got back to our cabin late and needed an early start for Slough creek.  We did not fish the Madison or Firehole rivers because the water was too warm.  Soda Butte was good to us again and some took the time to practice different techniques. A few guys even did some Euro-Nymphing with much success. Just so you know, yes, the Bison stopped traffic by leisurely walking on the road causing several traffic jams. Man are those things BIG!

Day Five: THE DAY we would tackle Slough Creek. We left at five in the morning to get to the trailhead early. Trailhead? Yes, this would be a 2-hour hike just to get to Slough Creek. With backpacks on carrying our gear we started on the long hike to the second meadow of Slough Creek. Along the way, with a few “hey bear, hey bear” to keep the grizzlies away, we ran into not once but twice big bison walking down the trail also. Up close and personal with the bison they knew that they “owned” the trail. So, we just went around. We reached the creek to find the water on the low side, but several fish were caught throughout the day. By 3pm a thunderstorm chased half of us out as Kenny, Matt and John decided to take the “painful” hike back a little earlier than planned. Jim, Scott, and Mike followed about an hour later.  That night most of us went to bed in “pain” from the long hike and day of fishing. We all agreed to a late start in the morning.

Day Six: On this day we split up, three and three, to have more room to fish on the rivers we chose. Jim, Kenny, and John decided to fish the Lamar river. This was one of the prettiest rivers with deep canyons and big boulders. Reminded me of Cheeseman canyon in Colorado. It was tough fishing because I think our “bodies” just were not into fishing – still hurting from the Slough Creek hike. But we tackled this beautiful water for about a half day with no luck. We learned a lot though and that is what it is all about. Plus, the beauty was everywhere. Scott, Matt, and Mike headed back to Soda Butte (go figure) and they did well working downstream from the parking lot location. Many cutthroats in the net for these guys.

Day Seven: Our last day of fishing we were getting tired but come on, it was the last day and of course, we were going to fish. Again, the guys split up with Jim, Kenny, and John heading to Soda Butte one last time and Scott, Matt and Mike finding a way to fish the Gardner River. The Gardner River was essentially closed from the hot springs downstream and all of the pull offs were closed (we thought). The park did not want people congregating in the hot springs because of COVID 19. But the guys did find a pull off to park and hiked down to the Gardner River for some particularly good fishing. The others (Jim, Kenny, and John) had a surprise waiting for them. As they dressed in the parking lot four genuinely nice college kids (three young ladies and one gentleman) asked them about fly fishing in this location. Kenny offered some suggestions and because they were so interested and nice, he offered to take them on the river for some “lessons”. They jumped at the opportunity. So about four hours of their day Kenny and Jim helped the four get on to fish as John practiced his fishing techniques nearby. What a blast for Kenny as he was definitely in his element. The kids listened intently and followed instructions to a tee. They caught their first cutthroats (and nice size I might add). It was fun to see their excitement. Once they got the hang of it, we departed and fished ourselves for about another 3 hours putting more cutthroats in the net.

Day Eight: The long travel home was uneventful as the Delta flights were all on time. Six very tired guys said goodbye at the airport in St Louis and thanked each other for a great trip. A lot of lessons learned on the trip.

Lessons Learned:

1. Flies we use here in Missouri are just as effective elsewhere (P&P Midge pattern)
2. When on a weeklong fly-fishing trip, you need to “pace” yourself
3. Observe before you jump right into fish
4. When Bison are in the way – they are big enough to go at their own pace.
5. Bring a gourmet chef on every trip
6. Never hike behind Matt
7. If you cannot find something look in the secret pocket
8. Never put dish soap in a dish washer
9. If you are going to tell a joke, then work on your “accents” before the trip
10. When driving and you need to make a turn think about slowing down BEFORE the turn
11. If you carry a staff when walking in boulder filled waters, then USE THE STAFF
12. Have fun – and “lighten up Francis”