Yellowstone

[sneakyjake]

I'm taking my family to Yellowstone in June for the first time.  We will be staying at Madison campground.  I want to teach my kids how to flyfish. Does anyone have some good ideas of places around there to try?  My kids are 11 and 14.  I have everything for them except waders. Are there plenty of good places to nymph from the banks so they won't have to wade?  Should I invest in the waders or tall boots? I also have float tubes and a small pontoon boat that I have never used.  Should I take them?  Any advise will be put to good use.  Thanks.

[jackelope]

Where are you staying at?
There's tons of fishing opportunities in the park and outside the park from little creeks to big rivers. June is about prime time too. Make sure, whatever you bring, that you have some salmonfly patterns. They could be going off at that time and they are gourmet food in a trout's eye.

[HUNTINCOUPLE]

Also have a selection of woollybuggers . If the fly rods aren't working out use a light weight spinning outfit and a clear torpedo style float with the fly about 4' from bobber.

[trophyhunt]

If you get a chance stop by Jackson hole Wyoming, just out of the park. Beautiful country, the fly fishing was incredible.

[WAcoueshunter]

That whole stretch of river right around your campground is good. 

I spent quite a bit of time up the Lamar Valley last summer.  It would be worth the drive to hit Trout Lake, it was full of big fish.  Good chance you could have it to yourself - we did in mid July last summer.

http://www.greater-yellowstone.com/Yellowstone-Park/Trout-Lake.html

As an additional benefit, the Lamar Valley is the best place to see critters in the whole Park.  I've been in and out of each entrance and pretty much everywhere in between (Grand Teton as well), and the Lamar Valley is hands down the best place for animal watching.  The Lamar River itself can be great fishing, but it was pretty high and colored up when we were there last July.

[actionshooter]

This is an awesome thread, I'll be there in July and was wondering the same about the fishing.

[jackelope]

Hit Slough Creek. It's small enough and there was a lot of fish there. I bet the kids could fish it without waders.
The Madison is great fishing but it's fairly large to try and fish without waders. There's a bunch of little creeks that hold fish too.
The Yellowstone is huge and would be tough fishing.
I've got a few books at home on flyfishing the park and surrounding areas. I'll have a gander and see what I can come up with. I can't remember all the names of the little creeks.

[Slenk]

http://www.nps.gov/yell/planyourvisit/fishdates.htm

[fly-by]

There are nice fish right at the campground.  I caught some 14" Browns while a bunch of kids were swimming and skipping rocks just yards away.  The  Firehole dumps in across the river from the campground.  Depending on flows you should be able to wade across the Madison and Fish up the Firehole a good way.  If you go to the Lamar Valley check out Soda Butte Cr.  Similar to Slough but easier access.

[sneakyjake]

Thanks for the help. I read all day at work and am a little bit more acquainted with the park now. I got the 100 best hikes on kindle so I could see where the hikes were and which ones might hold fish and the kind of hike it would be so there would be no whining.   I have the app Youneedamap. It has the trails plus topo on it. A great help. Early summer experience would be nice because a lot of trails are not open due to bears and the flow rates might be too high.  How about skeeters?  Do I need head nets for all this early?  Would it be worth it to hire horses to day trip further in.  Some of the valleys look amazing, but the fam is not prepared to overnight on this trip via backpack. I feel like quitting my job and going for the whole summer to do some of the multi day backpack trips. Keep it coming. That was a great link slenk, I missed it. It will help me plan for the future.  I also didn't think to bring spinning rods and use bobbers with the flys like on trout lake.  Will the kids be able to ride their bikes?

[flcracker]

I'd imagine that most creeks (even small ones) will hold fish, at least that's how its been for me in other parts of the state, though they may be small they are generally eager to take a fly. Shouldn't need waders for the smaller water plus it'll most likely be a lot warmer then here. I fish in old tennis shoes with shorts and works great plus you can hike in them.

[quadrafire]

Tag

I'm going down in Oct. Save some for me 

[Ridinshotgun]

Haden valley is the best place to see animals.Elk, bear, moose, buffalo, and deer.

[kenzmad]

One thing about Yellowstone that nobody told me was, everthing will get pressurized at that altitude. Sunscreen, ketchup, everything. We got a surprise when we went to open a few things and they just squirted everywhere. Gotta drive out beartooth pass. We didnt since the wife is scared of heights but it is incredible I have heard. I also second Lamar Valley. Absolutely beautiful with tons of critters.

[WAcoueshunter]

Gotta drive out beartooth pass. We didnt since the wife is scared of heights but it is incredible I have heard. I also second Lamar Valley. Absolutely beautiful with tons of critters.

Yes, the Beartooth Highway is incredible.  Not too many highways above treeline like that.  That's a great route to the park if you have a little extra time.  We stayed a few days at the entrance to the park there on the NE side, Cooke City, and could glass up sheep and goats from town.  I brought my own glass, but one store there in town has a Swaro spotter set up looking at the hills - you can just swing by and glass from their front porch.  One morning we woke up with a big bull bison eating grass in the front yard.  Good times.

[sneakyjake]

Mosquito head nets?  Any crawdads?

[C-Money]

Has anyone drove the road from I-80 north to Jackson and on in to Yellowstone? I think its just a two lane highway?

[Bill W]

You can walk from your campground to the Gardner river.   I fished there in 2001 when we made our first trip to Yellowstone.  It's small water and some areas have lots of fish.  If you see what appears to be trout fry feeding on the surface, don't pass it by like I did.  It's trout and whitefish taking caddis or mayflies just under the surface.  It took me until the 3rd day until I checked out what the "small fish" were.  It was trout and whitefish in the 10-13 inch range and a hoot on a small rod.

We also went last year and had good luck up on the Firehole River.   The Madison campground is where the Firehole and Gardner come together to form the Madison.

There's more places that hold fish within a 10 mile drive.

When I was fishing the walk to area near the campground one night I did have to leave early because of a buffalo that wanted to drink across from me.   The stream may be 60 feet across...may be but is probably less.

[bradslam]

Has anyone drove the road from I-80 north to Jackson and on in to Yellowstone? I think its just a two lane highway?

Are you talking about 191 from Rock Springs or 189 from near Evanston?

[C-Money]

191 from Rock Springs. We are going to a family reunion in Colorado. Looking at going from Grand Mesa to Jackson and on into Yellowstone on the way home. Appears to be pretty much 2 lane all the way. Hwy 13 up to I 80, to Rock Springs north to Jackson. Gonna be a full days drive!

[bradslam]

Yes, I have driven that road a few times, but it's probably been 15 years since I've been on the section between Rock Springs and Pinedale.  Lots of sage and pronghorns and not much else.  These days, I'm sure you'll see plenty of gas wells.  From Pinedale to Jackson will be much more scenic.

[Slimdog350]

Lots of good ideas! Remember also if you are planning on any hiking bring bear spray! There is usually a sign at the trailhead that people write bear sightings on. There are plenty there. If you are in west Yellowstone go talk to the guys at Madison outfitters. They gave me a bunch of info and I also rented a rod and waders there too. We spent some time in Jackson. It's a ritzy town but neat. Loved the antler arch ways in town and the million dollar cowboy bar. They also have an old style theatre where they do old west plays and such. My wife begged me to go and we watched seven brides for seven brothers. I'll admit it was fun. The cast includes the audience in the play and it was a good experience. Yellowstone is a fun place but it's also a busy place. Watch out for idiots and bison in the road!

[Stein]

That whole stretch of river right around your campground is good. 

I spent quite a bit of time up the Lamar Valley last summer.  It would be worth the drive to hit Trout Lake, it was full of big fish.  Good chance you could have it to yourself - we did in mid July last summer.

http://www.greater-yellowstone.com/Yellowstone-Park/Trout-Lake.html

As an additional benefit, the Lamar Valley is the best place to see critters in the whole Park.  I've been in and out of each entrance and pretty much everywhere in between (Grand Teton as well), and the Lamar Valley is hands down the best place for animal watching.  The Lamar River itself can be great fishing, but it was pretty high and colored up when we were there last July.

   Lamar is fabulous, just be careful with the bears - lots of big brown ones.

[jamesfromseattle]

There are nice fish right at the campground.  I caught some 14" Browns while a bunch of kids were swimming and skipping rocks just yards away.  The  Firehole dumps in across the river from the campground.  Depending on flows you should be able to wade across the Madison and Fish up the Firehole a good way.  If you go to the Lamar Valley check out Soda Butte Cr.  Similar to Slough but easier access.

I had the same experience a couple years ago. Not the most picturesque fishing in the park but I saw more fish in front of the campground than anywhere else on that trip. Was especially productive with midges right at dusk.

[actionshooter]

So does anyone have advice for fishing near Canyon Campground? I'll be there in July.

[Bill W]

So does anyone have advice for fishing near Canyon Campground? I'll be there in July.

If I remember correctly from my 2001 trip when we were at Canyon we had to drive a tad to get to fishable water.

[KenPCPilot]

The Madasen near the West Yellowstone entrance is easy flyfishing with little to get hung up on the back cast.  be careful wading not all areas are solid surface.  I caught a few and argued with some flyfishing snobs.  The Gibbon is a better choice small broken water stream.  I caught a lot of smaller brown trout but it was a lot of fun.  Check the regulations can be tricky inside the park.  Some rivers have cut off fishing hours in the afternoon due to increased water temps.  The last time I was there the Gibbon didn't such strict regs. 

[sneakyjake]

Thanks for all the replies. Trip was fantastic!  I could spend the rest of the year in the park. I read some cool history books about the area. My family really had a blast.