SEPTEMBER TRIP: A FLY FISHING ODYSSEY (part 2)
| Sysadmin Note |
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| Part One can be found here. |
A couple of months ago I wrote about our dream trip to fly fish our way to the Idaho Fish-In and promised an update every couple of months.
This started as a "What If?" last year at the Michigan Fish-In. Brad Sherrick (aka kaboom1) was asking about the Idaho Fish-In and was thinking about attending. "What if we drove and did some fishing along the way?"!!
A search of the Internet (what did we ever do with out it??!!) showed that while we would pass through some places famous for the trout fishing the hotel/motel were prohibitive. The hotel/motel route also dictated arriving and leaving on a strict time table. This, of course, was not to our liking; we needed an option that would give us some leeway on our stays in each location.
I believe it was Brad that suggested that we "Camp" our way to and from the Fish-In. As we both have done our share of camping it was it ideal way to go
So it was back to the Internet and search for campgrounds along our planned route. As both of us are too old for the "Primitive Camping" experience I looked for campgrounds with things like electricity, water, flush toilets, laundry's, showers and WiFi.
Just last month Brad found a very nice 10' Jaco Popup camper so we will be traveling in style. A couple of "Shake Down" trips are planed before we head out in September
With the help of "Google" and several members here is a rough itinerary of our planned trip.
First Richland Center, WI and a day or 2 fishing the "Driftless Area" with Spinner1. This will be the first in long series on "Firsts" for us on this trip. Meeting Spinner1 and fishing his home waters will be a great start for "Our Excellent Adventure"!!
Then an overnight stop in Mitchell, SD on the way to Hill City, SD in the center of the Black Hills for several days of sightseeing and fishing with Cary and Betty Hiner & 8wt.
The next stop will be Gardiner, MT to visit Yellowstone National Park, sight see as well as get in some fishing. The full service camp ground are very expensive in Gardiner and it will be cheaper to stay in the Super 8 motel!!
Then it's over to Worley, Idaho to mooch off my brother and his wife for a couple of days while we rest up, do our laundry and clean the camper. Of course we may sneak off to spend a day on the St. Joe.
On Tuesday the 20th of Sept. we will all head down to Lowell, ID and the Three Rivers Resort to catch up with the gang at the Idaho Fish-In. (Brad plans to bring his motor driven furling board and may give a demonstration one evening in the Rumpus Room.
After the Fish-In we will head over to Hamilton, MT and the Anglers Roost campgrounds where we hope to spend some time on the Bitterroot River.
Then a quick jaunt up to St. Regis where we will have an afternoon to rest up before we meet up with Sagefisher and his gang of West Coast Pirates to fish the Clark's Fork River for a day or two. This will also be a good time for another "Time Out" day to do laundry. etc.!
From St. Regis it's on to Livingston, MT to pay a visit to Neil and LadyFisher. And try our luck in the Yellowstone River.
A stop in Hardin, MT is next to visit the Little Big Horn and the Battlefield (Another highly rated stop)
Then back to the Black Hills and Spearfish, SD where we maybe can get 8wt to show us how to fish Spearfish Creek. I have it on good authority that Spearfish Canyon is a must drive!! I have a feeling we are going to love the Black Hills! (Although Betty says there are no Trouts there!!)
About this time we will be ready to head for home. I'm sure we will be a couple of worn out happy dudes and probably several pounds lighter!! We will have traveled well over 5,500 miles, spent several days fishing some of the best known waters in the U.S., with some of the best friends anyone could ask for!
When our adventure begins we'll be reporting almost daily. I'm sure the administrators will make it "Sticky" in the Fly Anglers on Line Forum so you all can follow along.