SWMBO (she who must be obeyed) and I decided a road trip to fly fish and see friends was in order. I suggested the area where Idaho, Montana and Wyoming come together. This area is known as the Yellowstone Area, for obvious reasons.
Our first stop was in Idaho at the Railroad Ranch on the Henry’s Fork River in Harriman State Park. I have written about the Railroad Ranch and Harriman State Park in previous columns, so I won’t bore you by restating past thoughts.
This stop was for nostalgia reasons. I have had a long love affair with this area and have not seen, or fly fished it, for a long time. The ranch is one of the most beautiful places I have been to, and my fly fishing memories from there are great.
I remembered the first time I fished it, on an opening day, with my friend Dick. He showed me how many fly fishers would sit on the bank, smoking their pipes, waiting to see fish rise, and then go into the water casting dry flies at them. They would then go back to the bank, relight their pipes and wait for the next rise. I lasted about thirty minutes doing this, but the memories of that day bring a smile to my face.
To bring more memories to mind and heart, SWMBO and I waded into the river, casting dry flies, looking for trout. Sadly the Henry’s Fork, as a great trout fishery, has declined over the years. The reasons are many, and I encourage you to contact the Henry’s Fork Foundation to learn more about these issues and what you can do to help restore this great area. I did manage to catch one very small trout. As I brought it in, I reminisced about all the big trout that I, along with good friends, had caught there in the past.
Our second stop was in West Yellowstone, Montana. At this stop SWMBO took the day to go to Bozeman to visit a friend she had not seen in along time. I hired a guide and floated the Madison River.
My guide, Alice, turned out to be one of the hardest working and best guides I have ever fly fished with. While the really big trout took the day off, I caught lots of smaller trout all on dry flies.
We started the day by letting all the other drift boats launch and get down river from us before we started fishing. We drifted slowly, casting to the locations the other fishermen were in too big a hurry to explore. It turned out to be a great float with fun conversation, good jokes, a great lunch and trout eating my dry fly. Proof positive fly fishing is best when you are not in a hurry.
Our third, and last stop, was in Cody, Wyoming. SWMBO and I took a leisurely drive through Yellowstone Park. It was Sept. 2 and most of the tourist had gone home. We saw elk, bison, a wolf, and the great scenery that Yellowstone is known.
SWMBO left me in Cody, in the care of three cantankerous fly fishing friends while she went to the Denver area to visit a high school friend. My three friends and I spent three days fly fishing the Shoshone River. I had never fished the Shoshone, and it was a great experience.
In the three days of fishing we experienced gale force winds, clear skies, heavy smoke from area fires, an extremely long float and the steepest takeout dirt ramp I’ve ever seen. We also had good guides that managed to put us on lots of trout, of various species and sizes. We caught them on both dries and nymphs; there was something for everyone. It was great to fly fish with three friends I don’t get to see and fish with often enough.
SWMBO and I meet back in Durango and after comparing notes, it was hard to determine who had the most fun. Should you be considering a road trip to fly fish, I strongly recommend you repeat our journey. The scenery is spectacular, the fly fishing epic and all in a small area. You won’t be sorry.
