Note: This is the fourth and last post on my Wyoming trip. Over 4 days we fished the Lower Shoshone, Upper Shoshone, Greybull, and Clarks Fork rivers. If you missed them, here are links to Part One, Part Two and Part Three.
For our last day together we decided to keep it local. We started the morning on the Clarks Fork of the Yellowstone River, near our cabin. This river is 150 miles long and runs through Montana and Wyoming.
It’s a big river that has fast water and riffles, followed by long pools. All held fish. We tied on various hopper/dropper combos and hit the water.
I’m not a biologist, but I was told that the fish below is a cutbow, based on the white-tipped fins.
The brown below was in shoulder water. The hopper/dropper worked and he fought me into the grass.
We also fished up in the canyon section, where the water got faster and deeper, and the wading got tougher. The fish were wild and hungry. No fish pics, but if you decide to fish near Bridal Veil Falls, be prepared to split your time climbing over minivan-sized rocks and casting to stealthy trout hiding in the pocket water. I came back with scraped shins from climbing and sliding into remote areas.
When I look at the pictures from this trip, this has to be one of my favorites. The Clarks Fork at dusk, with the Beartooth Mountains in the background.
This trip was well worth it. I caught 3 new species of fish: native Yellowstone cutthroat, cutbows, and the beloved and much maligned whitefish (or as I referred to it, western grayling). The views were spectacular. Very different from what we see back east.
If you are interested in making a similar trip, please let me know. I’ll be happy to share what we learned and what we packed for this trip.
Enjoy!
