caddis75
Well-known member
I was solo on this trip, so the only fish photo was when I caught one nearby another group. I decided to fish for some Fall run browns out of Hegben lake.
The first leg of my flight from Philly was filled with Eagles fans flying to Chicago for the Green Bay game. The second leg of my flight to Bozeman I counted five proper Cowboy hats. I landed In Bozeman on Thursday at 12, picked up my rental car, stopped at Walmart, then headed down the Gallatin gateway. I first visited Blue Ribbon Flies, got a map and some flies, and had a great conversation with Aaron. He was super helpful and gave me some good ideas about what was fishing well. I got down to Baker's hole campground around 4 pm and putzed around and fished around camp till dark. I caught a few small fingerlings and some 8 -inch trout.
On Friday, around 7 am, I went to Barnes hole #2 in the park on Friday morning. The fog was heavy on the river. It was my first time there, so reading the river was tricky. I mainly stuck to deeper soft water. I had a few misses on large soft hackles, but no takes. I hiked a few miles to see some gorgeous country. In the afternoon I went down to a spot about a mile hike in off of 191. Saw two river otters! Lots of water, but no fish. Yeah, I drove a lot, but I'm out there and wanted to see a few places. It was still warm out, so I cooked dinner and headed to bed around 8.
On Saturday I woke up and decided to fish between the lakes at sunrise, just below the island. Hot damn. I'm a white fish whisperer. Pulled out 5 including an 18 or so inch whitefish. As I was handling the whitefish I slipped and cracked both my knees on a rock yet I kept the fish on! The highlight just after that was a solid rainbow, maybe 17 inches in size. It took me 30 yards. Larry would be happy to know I kept my hand off the line. All of these were caught on a #20 half-pint midge. Later in the day I went back to Barnes hole and landed another whitefish in a pool about a mile down from the parking lot. It rained on and off all day and I wanted a dry warm place for a bit, so I went into West Yellowstone and had dinner at buffalo casino kept me warm in the tent.
On Sunday, I woke up after a few inches of snow and decided to drive into the park. I parked at mile 9 on the Madison. It was just me and a lot of snow. It took me a while to find the hole above the parking lot. To reach it I was in water up to my chest. I had one solid fish and lost my footing in the current, then lost it, it was a big brown for sure. The snow was coming down so bad I lasted about 2 hours then headed to my car to warm up. Stopped by BR to get coffee and a few flies, then back to bakers hole as the roads were terrible and I didn't want to drive anywhere in my rented Toyota Corolla. I caught a few 10-inch trout on a Juju Baetis and a Gallup BWO nymph in between warming up in my car and tent. I needed to get warm a bit, so I had dinner at the Slippery Otter in hopes for another good night's sleep. I made it through the night pretty well, my feet got a bit cold. My tent was frozen solid!
On Monday, I woke up in my tent to a crisp 22 degrees. I packed up my gear and did a quick detour for an hour to fish again between the lakes. Less prolific than Sunday, but pulled out a nice rainbow and two more whitefish, all over 16”. Saw some mountain sheep cross the road on my way back to Bozeman. The flight back had no cowboy hats.
Overall I saw some amazing wildlife- Elk, Mountain Sheep, Eagles, River Otters, Buffalo, and Deer. My successful flies were a size 20 black half-pint, a size 16 radiation baetis, and a size 20 juju baetis. My gear handled the bad weather pretty well and big water. I think I will get better gloves, a waterproof pack, and a 10 ft rod for mending on large rivers.
I'm tentatively planning my next western trip next Summer as a two -week road trip. It's 30 hours of driving, but I just strongly dislike renting a car while I'm out there. For those of you who live out West, I am a bit jealous.
Edit- I forgot to mention I bought three streamers from THE Kelly Gallup himself. Super nice guy. Also a great shop.
Take care all,
Caddis
The first leg of my flight from Philly was filled with Eagles fans flying to Chicago for the Green Bay game. The second leg of my flight to Bozeman I counted five proper Cowboy hats. I landed In Bozeman on Thursday at 12, picked up my rental car, stopped at Walmart, then headed down the Gallatin gateway. I first visited Blue Ribbon Flies, got a map and some flies, and had a great conversation with Aaron. He was super helpful and gave me some good ideas about what was fishing well. I got down to Baker's hole campground around 4 pm and putzed around and fished around camp till dark. I caught a few small fingerlings and some 8 -inch trout.
On Friday, around 7 am, I went to Barnes hole #2 in the park on Friday morning. The fog was heavy on the river. It was my first time there, so reading the river was tricky. I mainly stuck to deeper soft water. I had a few misses on large soft hackles, but no takes. I hiked a few miles to see some gorgeous country. In the afternoon I went down to a spot about a mile hike in off of 191. Saw two river otters! Lots of water, but no fish. Yeah, I drove a lot, but I'm out there and wanted to see a few places. It was still warm out, so I cooked dinner and headed to bed around 8.
On Saturday I woke up and decided to fish between the lakes at sunrise, just below the island. Hot damn. I'm a white fish whisperer. Pulled out 5 including an 18 or so inch whitefish. As I was handling the whitefish I slipped and cracked both my knees on a rock yet I kept the fish on! The highlight just after that was a solid rainbow, maybe 17 inches in size. It took me 30 yards. Larry would be happy to know I kept my hand off the line. All of these were caught on a #20 half-pint midge. Later in the day I went back to Barnes hole and landed another whitefish in a pool about a mile down from the parking lot. It rained on and off all day and I wanted a dry warm place for a bit, so I went into West Yellowstone and had dinner at buffalo casino kept me warm in the tent.
On Sunday, I woke up after a few inches of snow and decided to drive into the park. I parked at mile 9 on the Madison. It was just me and a lot of snow. It took me a while to find the hole above the parking lot. To reach it I was in water up to my chest. I had one solid fish and lost my footing in the current, then lost it, it was a big brown for sure. The snow was coming down so bad I lasted about 2 hours then headed to my car to warm up. Stopped by BR to get coffee and a few flies, then back to bakers hole as the roads were terrible and I didn't want to drive anywhere in my rented Toyota Corolla. I caught a few 10-inch trout on a Juju Baetis and a Gallup BWO nymph in between warming up in my car and tent. I needed to get warm a bit, so I had dinner at the Slippery Otter in hopes for another good night's sleep. I made it through the night pretty well, my feet got a bit cold. My tent was frozen solid!
On Monday, I woke up in my tent to a crisp 22 degrees. I packed up my gear and did a quick detour for an hour to fish again between the lakes. Less prolific than Sunday, but pulled out a nice rainbow and two more whitefish, all over 16”. Saw some mountain sheep cross the road on my way back to Bozeman. The flight back had no cowboy hats.
Overall I saw some amazing wildlife- Elk, Mountain Sheep, Eagles, River Otters, Buffalo, and Deer. My successful flies were a size 20 black half-pint, a size 16 radiation baetis, and a size 20 juju baetis. My gear handled the bad weather pretty well and big water. I think I will get better gloves, a waterproof pack, and a 10 ft rod for mending on large rivers.
I'm tentatively planning my next western trip next Summer as a two -week road trip. It's 30 hours of driving, but I just strongly dislike renting a car while I'm out there. For those of you who live out West, I am a bit jealous.
Edit- I forgot to mention I bought three streamers from THE Kelly Gallup himself. Super nice guy. Also a great shop.
Take care all,
Caddis
Last edited:
If you drive that will change things up a lot but if you were to fly out again just rent a larger rig and insist on 4 wheel drive.
