We decided we are not quite ready to go home and Ray wants to show me his favorite fishing spots in Yellowstone, so we are leaving the Tetons today as planned but will drive through Yellowstone and make one more stop on the Madison River before heading home. We are lucky to get a cabin for another night at the Slide Inn.
Oxbow Bend of the Snake River has a crowd of people gazing at the gorgeous reflection of the Tetons. I stop to photograph and Ray find that this is an ideal spot to fish. Too bad we didn’t figure this out last night; note this for next time!
Ray takes me to the Firehole River, which runs through the many geysers of the park. Some claim fishing here is mystical as you are among the steam of the geysers. I can imagine it is so, when it is cold out and the area is empty of crowds. As the Firehole flows north, the temperature of the water increases, and this late in the summer, the water temperature is 70, too warm to fish up north. We stop at Biscuit Basin Geyser and throw a few flies; I get a couple of bites but that is all. It is indeed a special experience!
Our next stop is the Gibbon River which in combination with the Firehole, flow to form the Madison River. I love how the river snakes through the field and we walk, wade some and cast along the banks. We have a few bites; Ray catches a couple, I am not successful in landing any but very much enjoy being there, despite the gusty winds, black clouds and thunder threatening a huge storm.
We leave reluctantly, and head toward West Yellowstone for rations. There is a huge traffic backup which we attribute to road construction, only to discover 15-20 minutes later that people are stopping to view some animal in the woods, ah Yellowstone!
I come out of the grocery store to pouring rain, thunder and lightening. Afternoon storms seem to be the pattern in July. The rain does not let up until we reach Slide Inn and we are hoping for a clear evening to fish. After dinner, it is still gusty but we decide to chance it, and head to the river for an hour of remaining daylight. Our favorite spot is open, the skies clear, the wind dies down and it is a beautiful evening. I give up on the fly and catch a 15 inch brown trout and a little one, both while nymphing. I an proud that I set the rig up myself, though the tiny holes on the flies are really getting to me. I tell Ray I am going to devise a better system for this. When we get home, I am going to find a needle that can thread this thin tippet into the eye of the hook!!
The “back if the store” cabin is very nice, a large open room with a high log ceiling and lots of windows. I think about whether we could go back to living in a place this size; it is cozy and cute, a simple life.