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Day 1: Drove to Cooke City, MT
Introduction VideoOn the first day of our trip, we drove from Spearfish, SD to Cooke City, MT. We drove across Wyoming, and entered the Shoshone National Forest before making our way to Cooke City. Cooke City is just outside of the NE entrance to Yellowstone National Park. The city was originally established as a gold prospect town in the early 1870s. -
Day 2 - Drove up near Crow Butte above Cooke City
Ariel View of Yellowstone's Mountain PeaksVideo OverviewWe drove my Dodge truck up near Crow Butte (I believe O'Neil Pass was the name of the Pass we were in when I took the pictures below). It was the 29th of July, and we were up near 10,000ft, well above the tree line. As you can see from the pictures, there was still snow up that high. Many of the peaks in this area, and the rest of Yellowstone reach up around 10,000-11,000 ft. -
Day 3 - Fished the Lamar River in the Lamar Valley
Lamar ValleyVideo Overview
The Lamar River is glacier fed year round. The river can be difficult to fish due as a result because of the dirt carried by snow melt high up in the mountains. The Lamar River is typically one of the last rivers to clear of snow melt late in the summer. Great herds of buffalo, pack of wolves, and occasional sighting of bears, moose, and elk make the Lamar Valley a beautiful place to visit. -
Day 3 & 4: Hikes down Lamar River to Cache Creek
Against the CurrentVideo OverviewCache Creek is a major tributary to the Lamar River in the NE corner of Yellowstone National Park. The river contains Cutthroat trout, which are a native species to Yellowstone. Although the hike to Cache Creek is only 3-4 miles from the highway, watch out for large buffalo and grizzly bears! Make sure you check in with park rangers before entering the back country wilderness. -
Day 5: Visited West Yellowstone and Fished the Madison River
Yellowstone Cuttthroat TroutWe stopped and spend an afternoon flyfishing the big slow moving Madison River after spending the morning just over the Idaho border in the town of West Yellowstone. The Madison River is a major tributary of the Missouri River that flows out of Montana. The Madison River was named in 1805 by Meriwether Lewis of the Lewis and Clark Expedition. It was named after James Madison. The river is approximately 183 miles long, and runs out of the NW corner of Yellowstone into Montana. -
Day 6: Firehole River
Firehole RiverVideo OverviewMuch of the water that flows down the Firehole River comes from underground sources. This water is the same water that you see when Old Faithful erupts. As a result, the fish typically get killed out late in the summer in the Firehole river due to the high temperature of the water. We caught the tail end of the fishing season on the Firehole. By the time we fished it, the water temperatures were getting pretty warm. Because of the high water temperature, the river is a favorite for swimming -
Day 6: Visited Old Failful and the Geysers
Yellowstone: The Worlds Largest Super VolcanoOld Faithful EruptingHow Yellowstone was MadeOld Faithful is a cone geyser located in Yellowstone. It was discovered in the early 1870s. It erupts nearly every 91 minutes, and shoots thousands of gallons of water hundreds of feet into the air. It is not the largest geyser in Yellowstone National Park, however, it's eruptions are the most preditable and frequent, which makes it attractive for tourists. -
Day 6: Spent the night at a camground near Yellowstone Lake
Yellowstone LakeVideo OverviewWe spend a night at a campground right next to Yellowstone Lake. We took a little break from fishing, and just enjoyed the scenery. On the West side of the lake, you can see some hot springs boiling up from underneath the lake. There are also geysers scattered around for people to see as well. I do not get any pictures of us at Yellowstone Lake, however the video below offers many scenic views and interesting information as to the lake and how it was formed. -
Day 7: Visited the Grandcanyon of the Yellowstone
The Grand Canyone of the YellowstoneThe Grand Canyon of Yellowstone is a magnificent view. The waters were too big and rough for flyfishing, but the stop was well worth the view. -
Day 7: Fished the Yellowstone River
Against the CurrentThe Yellowstone River is the largest river in Yellowstone National Park, and the largest river I have ever fished. The Cuttroat Trout we caught on the Yellowstone River were some of the biggest trout we have ever caught. We saw buffalo crossing the river on many occasions. We also saw four Grizzle Bears, and two Black Bears just upstream from where we were fishing. They were all fighting over a moose carcass.
