Yesterday I ran down to Slough Creek in Yellowstone with my buddies Mike and Tracy. We all work at the same store back in Bozeman and had been planning the trip for a few days. And so, with it pouring rain, we left town at 7:00 am.
It rained all the way to the Tower turnoff. Once Tracy pointed the car toward the fishing grounds, it cleared off and the sun was out. There was hardly a breath of wind as we geared up and headed out. The sloughs that the creek is named for resembled a lake, reflecting the mountains in the background.
The calm did not last long however. About two hours after we got there, a wind came up that lasted all day. It was one of those days when you are thankful for a 6-weight.
As we walked through the waist deep green grass toward the river all of us were thinking of the fishing that lay ahead of us. PMDs were the predominant hatch early in the day. Both Tracy and myself caught a handful of nice native cutthroats on small PMD dries.
Mike fished a gray drake all day and did quite well. This hatch lasted almost all day. These big bugs were highly visible even from across the river, and were driving the trout crazy. After the PMDs died down, we all switched to drakes, both green and gray. We hiked down the river to the *name removed* pool, all the way catching small rainbows and big, hefty cutthroats. The dry fly fishing was fantastic.
Tracy eventually switched over to a streamer and pulled some big cutts out of a deep hole. Mike and I both put on beetles, which when fished near the banks drove the fish crazy. It was a good day.
One of the best things about the fishing yesterday was the feeling of wilderness all around us. There was no road noise, no cars going past, no buildings, fences or civilization anywhere. We only saw five other fishermen all day. Catching native fish that have lived in that river since the dawn of time only added to the experience. Everyone needs to unplug from modern life and get out in the wild now and then.
Due to some heart-stopping technical difficulties encountered earlier today, the pictures from the trip are going to be put into the following two posts. Enjoy.
