Yellowstone National Park

[DarkShadow]

This whole report is bull$h!+! I call Photoshop!!! Everyone knows trouts that size don't exist anywheres any more!!!

CD, I had a fish take me into my backing. MY BACKING. I haven't seen my backing since I put it on in 1985. I must have hooked a bear that was swimming in search of fish.

What color power bait was working the best? Did you use sauce?

Any jig fish?

Hatchery dust was applied on all my PowerBait™ flies. They were focusing on the chartreuse, although the orange salmon flavored with glitter was also getting looks. The trick is to enlarge your PowerBait™ ball if you keep getting refusals. No trout can resist a golf ball chunk size of PB. If they do, go up to a baseball size chunk. And, in Yellowstone, the trout are huge so you may need to increase the size of your PowerBait™ ball to something resembling a softball. The softball hatch was full on, and you needed to match the hatch.

There were no jig fish, because I forgot to bring my specialized and customized Phenix 9' jig rod with me. The Pro Staff will be disappointed and I might lose sponsorship.

[cutbait]

That Phenix jigstick paired with the stradic is unmatched. I'm surprised you would leave home without it.

With the sensitivity and yet back bone the rod has and the smooth drag of the stradic, well let's just say its an unfair advantage against the fullest of full tails


On a side note. Vidal Sassoon has been producing for me way more than the "sauces"

Mix in some garlic salt, anise oil with the Sassoon gel and HOLD ON!

[City Dad]

how crowded was it?

[DarkShadow]

On a side note. Vidal Sassoon has been producing for me way more than the "sauces"

Mix in some garlic salt, anise oil with the Sassoon gel and HOLD ON!

Nothing beats The Dust, bro. The only sauce that was being passed around was in a flask.

how crowded was it?

If you're the type to drive on the 91 and get off on Katella, and walk 5 feet from your car to wet a line, then yes, it was crowded.

If you're the type that can't see their parked car from where you're fishing, the park was wide open.

And, I've never seen so many AARP members concentrated in one place at once. You could've made a killing selling Geritol and Fixodent on the side of the road. Too bad I didn't get any cell service or else I would've had a sign saying, "CALL YOUR GRANDKIDS HERE FOR $2 A MINUTE."

[City Dad]

Nothing beats The Dust, bro. The only sauce that was being passed around was in a flask.



If you're the type to drive on the 91 and get off on Katella, and walk 5 feet from your car to wet a line, then yes, it was crowded.

If you're the type that can't see their parked car from where you're fishing, the park was wide open.

And, I've never seen so many AARP members concentrated in one place at once. You could've made a killing selling Geritol and Fixodent on the side of the road. Too bad I didn't get any cell service or else I would've had a sign saying, "CALL YOUR GRANDKIDS HERE FOR $2 A MINUTE."

nice! Lots of space and lots of silver foxes for eye candy.

what patterns produced? (for trout)

[Fishingdachronarch201E7]

Wow!! amazing!!! real beautiful!!! awesome colors and pictures Darkshadow!!!!! awesome report, good stuff! WTG

Tony G

[DarkShadow]

nice! Lots of space and lots of silver foxes for eye candy.

what patterns produced? (for trout)

CityDad,

On the Yellowstone, there was a full on grasshopper exodus so chucking big foam did the trick. I looked at some of the patterns and they looked like the arts and crafts projects I used to make my mom during summer camp.



Just add a hook, crimp the barbs, and you'll be catching fish in no time.

Although Dave's Hoppers, Letort's Hopper, and Chubbys were all producing. I've never seen so many grasshoppers in my life. "White hoppers, black hoppers, Spanish hoppers, yellow hoppers, hot hoppers, cold hoppers, wet hoppers, tight hoppers, big hoppers, bloody hoppers, fat hoppers, hairy hoppers, smelly hoppers, velvet hoppers, silk hoppers, Naugahyde hoppers, snappin’ hoppers, horse hoppers, dog hoppers, chicken hoppers, fake hoppers! If we don’t have it, you don’t want it!”

To add to the fun, I dropped another terrestrial behind the hunk of foam, and got several moments were multiple fish would rise to each.

Then the weather ruined that fun.

In the Northeast section, your BWO, PMDs and PEDs (size 14s to 18s, depending on the species) were all producing, you just needed to know when to throw them. Purple Haze got a few looks as well as did the trusty rusty spinner. As far as the nymphs went, you didn't have to be too particular and literally throw your attractor patterns (Hares Ear, Prince, etc) but, you had to throw some pretty larger sized ones (12s, 14s). Now I know why people suggested I swing a 5 and 6 weight. Ever try to roll over a Green Drake pattern in a size 12 with a size 12 Tungsten BH Prince Nymph behind it? It was a lesson in futility.

The killer was a size 18 Pale Evening Dun, which resulted in a 2 hour session where I wish I hadn't forgotten my GoPro in the cabin. Ever had 100 rises from 12" cutthroat in a 2 hour period? I must have landed 60+. All on the PED.

I'm glad I spent months researching the different types of species of food that these guys would be eating, because matching the hatch was somewhat important in the more pressured areas. In those areas (Lamar, Slough, parts of Soda Butte) you need not make one mistake, or else you'd be wondering what you were doing wrong. Any type of unnatural drag and it was curtains. Mending was important, as was a lengthy leader and thin tippet.

[tacklejunkie]

Dinks.
Go big or go home.

(It my jealousy obvious enough?)

killer fish, those are some beautiful Heffers. Gonna have to scroll through those pics a few more times. Lots of colors. Looks like I took some... Oh yeah n/m.

[fishfrenzy]

What an amazing trip! Thanks for sharing!

[DarkShadow]

What an amazing trip! Thanks for sharing!

No prob, fishfrenzy.

I expect next year's trip to be even more epic, this time with more fishing and less sight seeing.

(Old Faithful is great, but seeing it once is enough)