Yellowstone Park

[jednorris]

My wife and I would like to travel from North Carolina to Yellowstone Park to do some fishing. I have tried several ways to get information, but it is all generic. We would like to fish with spinning outfits from lake or stream shore. We do not mind renting a boat if necessary, but we are both in our 70's and want easy fishing. I am not too concerned about accommodations, but a lakeside cabin would be perfect. We would plan to stay a week or less and rent a car from the nearest airport. We cannot handle a flyrod and are not interested in boating down river. Can anyone give me an approximate area to start looking.

[Kenstone]

Yellowstone fishing info here, click on it:

https://www.nps.gov/search/?affiliat...nps.gov%2Fyell

[Light attack]

The best place for info on Yellowstone that I have found is the National Park webpage /www.nps.gov/yell/planyourvisit/hours.htm
Good luck.

Gary

[abunaitoo]

Last time I went there was in the 60's.
Must be really different now.
I got a kick out of the mud pots, and Old Faithful.

[abunaitoo]

Last time I went there was in the 60's.
Must be really different now.
I got a kick out of the mud pots, and Old Faithful.
Remember driving to all the different geysers.
Feeding the squirrels.
Seeing bison, deer, moose and elk.

[MT Gianni]

I would tour the Park and keep heading North to Montana. Plenty of streams or lake to bank fish from. Out of state license should be affordable. I am 2 hours N of West Yellowstone, PM me if you head out this way.

[Minerat]

First off if you use spinning gear. Go with 4 to 8 lb test mono line on these western streams. I usually load my mitchell 300 with 6 lb stren and my penn 420 light reel with 4 pound. I use medium/light fast tip 7 ft rods with the mitchell and 6 foot light, fast tip or ultra lite with the 420.

We were in Yellowstone 2 summers ago and there are places along all of the rivers that have easy access with slack water where you should be able to fish. Unfortunately the area was in the middle of a drought that limited the fishing. There was no rafting on the Gallatin it was so low.

I have chest waders but a pair of knee high rubber boots would work just fine, or tennis shoes if you like wet feet. Be sure to check regs as in the park you may need to have barbless hooks on some rivers. Just bend them down with pliers if your tackle has them. Get a small long handled net too, 3 foot handle will be enough.

I used gold and silver panther martins, gold when cloudy, silver in the sun. I don't know size but they are about 2.5 inches long. The spinners are only gold or silver and have no other colors on them. Also, 1/16 oz round head jigs with chartreuse gold flake twin tail 1.5 inch rubber jig bodies. For bubble and fly try brown or black #10 hook pistol petes with silver blades and check with local fly shop for drys and emerges that are working when you are there.

Search the interweb for fly shops in Jacksons Hole WY, West Yellowstone MT or Gardner MT and check their web pages for current conditions.

One last thing, the animals in the park are wild and can hurt you, including the elk and deer, especially the moose, bison and bears so make sure you give them wide berth and be aware at all times. I attached a tinkle bell on my vest so they knew I was coming or there. I don't remember park regs on handguns but in Montana I carried my 454 SRH when on the stream. In the park I mostly fished close to the car so was not much worried about bear.

There are so many historic streams I wanted to fish but I only made it to 3 so will have to go back. The Firehole was my favorite, with the Madison second and the Snake third. But that's like rating chocolate icecream.

Good luck.

[farmer66]

I took my family on a very similar trip this last July. Flew into Bozeman, got groceries and drove to our rental house at Lake Henry, Idaho. That is about 15 miles west of West Yellowstone. Rented guides for the grandkids as they wanted to try fly fishing, I wanted to bank fish using a spinning outfit. Strange enough,we all ended up on the Madison about 7 miles west of our rental back in Montana. I am from Bozeman, so know the area. Everyone caught trout. Feel free to PM me if you want more details.

[Wag]

One of my buddies went there last summer and came back to say it was so crowded, they couldn't really enjoy it much. They left three days earlier than planned.

If I were going to go after hearing that, I'd try to get out there during their off season.

--Wag--

[iamdrglass]

I grew up just a bit South in Star valley Wyoming. Yellowstone is a AWSOME area to visit and explore. It will be crowded so plan on that. As far as fishing look at lead free spinners because of park regulations. You will be coming to the Mecca of Fly fishing/ trout fishing. Dont get completely locked into fishing Yellowstone Park it self you can find areas Like Star Valley,Wyoming, Ashton, Idaho, and others that border the park that you can look up on a map and (air b&b). You can spend multiple life times fishing and exploring out here and just touch the surface. Also pick up a couple of John Gerichs books to help you day dream. I have a buddy that guided for 20 plus years in this region, We have fish bummed all over the region. If you have any questions shoot me a PM.
Dan

[waksupi]

Considering the summer crowds, I'd do the tourist thing in Yellowstone, then travel north a bit to fish the Madison, Gallatin, or Jefferson. Lots of interesting things north of the park in an easy driving distance. Bannock, Virginia City, Nevada City, all old ghost towns.

[sundog]

We did the 5th wheel RV thing a few years ago. Granddaughter went with us. We had a great time. Went to Cody first - the museums are great. Then traveled to West Yellowstone via the park and stayed on the west side of town. Toured the park for three days. Have you considered a cabin at an RV park while at Yellowstone, or maybe even the lodge?

We went to Jackson Hole from West Yellowstone via Teton Pass. Great country! Cable car ride on Rendevous was interesting. So was the Million Dollar Cowboy Bar.

What was mentioned earlier - give the wildlife WIDE berth. I watched a really dumb woman try to get really close to an old bull bison for a picture at Old Faithful. Rangers were not enamored, and rightly so. They should have arrested her. Old bull finally picked out a spot near one of the viewing areas and just hung out for awhile. The rest of us just quietly vacated to another spot.

[popper]

Lake Yellowstone reportedly has large lake trout. In the 80's (right after the big fire) I tried fishing the park stream, no trout but the buffalo will walk across the stream next to you. Don't let kids get around the moose.

[Beerd]

The summer season can be crowded, so plan accordingly. Make your reservations early.
The West Yellowstone Chamber of Commerce might be a good place to contact for info on cabin rentals. Also try the Cody Chamber.
Cooke City at the northeast entrance and the Beartooth Highway are worth considering.
With Grand Teton NP next door to the south and all of Montana to the north there are plenty of options.

[TheGrimReaper]

My father goes about once a year flyfishing there.

[MT Gianni]

Lake Yellowstone reportedly has large lake trout. In the 80's (right after the big fire) I tried fishing the park stream, no trout but the buffalo will walk across the stream next to you. Don't let kids get around the moose.

The park has done all it can to eliminate the Lake Trout. They are almost non existent now and the native Cutthroat are the main species.

[Beerd]

Good to hear about the lakers being almost gone.

Another thing to consider is getting a "Senior Pass" for admission to the Park. I don't know what they currently cost, but you can get one at most National Parks, Historic Sites and Monuments. Gets you and the passengers in your vehicle through the gate for a minimal or no charge.
...

[Kenstone]

I went to the OP's profile page to see if he's been onsite lately.
His last visit was yesterday, yet he didn't not post here in the thread he started 12/12.

[bdicki]

I got one of these when they were $10 I didn't realize they went up to $80.
https://www.nps.gov/planyourvisit/se...ss-changes.htm

[jimb16]

Even at $80 those passes are worth every penny. I've gotten hundreds of dollars in savings using mine. BTW, I've also fished the Firehole river and the Gibbon River in Yellowstone. I fly fish, but see no reason why spinners wouldn't work just as well. Just be aware that much of the fishing in Yellowstone requires barbless hooks.