Yellowstone

[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.