I would like to hear some suggestions for a 2 week summer travel/fishing trip.
I would like to leave in mid July form Northern California and start fishing in eastern Oregon on the Owayhee River (which is about 12 hours from my house) and then take off north or north east from there – eventually heading west and ending in the Seattle area.
I would like to make it to some of the Idaho, Wyoming and Montana rivers and streams. We would be camping for the most part. Would even entertain a couple of guided float trips along the way.
I would go back to Yellowstone NP in a heartbeat. Make reservations now for a designated campground and spend a few days fishing and sightseeing. Also the FEATURES catagory on FAOL main page menu can direct you to wonderful places, guide services and so forth. I’m planning a trip this summer to check out John Scott’s waters in SE Idaho. Good luck on your decisions. So many fish, so little time. Jim
If you have not fished the Big Horn I would recommend making a trip there this summer. There is some camping available in the Fort Smith area and if you want camper hook-ups and or running water the Cottonwood Camp ground is practically on the river.
You can wade fish the Horn, but having access to a boat is a major advantage. The lake is full and if we keep getting a decent snow pack there will again be plenty of water in the Horn. At the current flow, ~2400 cfs, the Horn is easily waded. If the flow is much higher then being in a boat to get from wade spot to wade spot will be a major advantage.
Let me know when you’re headed for Idaho and I can be a bit more specific on how to access places that interest you.
Also, be aware that as of right now, these areas are below normal for precipitation. Things will most likely be okay through the end of July IF we get decent precip between now and the end of the winter.
I have been to Yellowstone several times but have not fly fished there. Been through the park a couple of times during the winter on snow mobile tips which was fantastic. Also been there a couple of times during the summer – and actually did fish in the lake but that was back in my spin casting and bait days.
Yellowstone would definitely be in the running for a couple of days.
Thanks for the ideas – keep them coming. I am plotting them out on the map
I suggest picking a smaller area and exploring it more thoroughly. A couple days won’t even get you dialed in on one stream in a given area, much less the other options. I’m still finding new places in the Yellowstone region and I’ve been living and guiding here for most of a decade. I suspect I could still be saying that in fifty years. Plus, choosing one region as a base will slash your driving vs fishing time overall.
Taking Yellowstone as a base, where you stay should depend on time of year and what you want to do. West Yellowstone is definitely better in the spring. There’s more nearby fishing to Gardiner (where I am) in the summer and things are even in the fall, but there’s always more famous water near West (non-famous does not equal non-good). Gardiner is less touristy and a little cheaper. Unless you want to focus on, say, Slough Creek, to the exclusion of other places, I’d stay outside the Park rather than in. It’s cheaper, there are a lot more lodging and dining options, fly shops are better than the sporting goods sections inside the park, and there’s plenty of water not far foutside the entrances that often gets less pressure than what’s inside.
I’ve done a few of these road trips in the past, and have flown into Salt Lake City, Portland, Denver, Seattle, Billings, Bozeman, and a few other places in between, where I rented a car and then drove into Wyoming, Idaho, Montana and elsewhere, fishing and camping along the way.
In fact, 2 times I even left my home in SE PA and drove to MT in time to catch the evening hatch on the Bighorn in SE MT the following evening - a distance of about 2100 miles give or take.
More recently, I spent 4 or 5 summers and falls in these western states and British Columbia, moving from place to place, following the seasons and the fish.
My point is, I know what you’re getting yourself into when you plan to cover so much distance in a short 2 week trip – you’ll end up spending most of your time on the road.
I’m with Walter on this one – it’s much better to pick an area, camp in one or two places, and then make the most of your relatively short vacation time in that area. (After all that moving around, I now stay on the banks of the Yellowstone River 35 miles north of Yellowstone Park, where there is a lifetime of fishing opportunites within casting distance of my Lazy Boy recliner! (lots of camping and fishing closeby - everything from small mountain streams to large rivers)
On your way back west from Yellowstone, I would recommend Twin Bridges, Montana less than two hours from West Yellowstone. It’s where the Big Hole, Ruby, and Beaverhead meet to form the Jefferson. Also you’re less than an hour to the Madison in Ennis, two hours to Rock Creek and I think two and a half to the Missouri. All are great rivers but distinctly different from each other. We stay at The Stonefly Inn, which has cabins for rent as well as hookups for campers at a reasonable price. You could spend the whole two weeks in Yellowstone or Twin Bridges and still barely scratch the surface with all the waters to fish.
