After driving for 3 days, we arrived in Livingston , Montana where we will be for several days, fishing the Depuys River and Slough Creek at the north end of the park. Unfortunately the fly shops say that there are no bugs hatching and that it is too early to fish at Slough Creek. We will try anyway as Ray is determined. Armed with bear spray, we drive an hour and hike to the lower creek. There is not a fish to be seen and no apparent action. The only saving grace is that the valley is beautiful and the hike is quite lively. We decided not to attempt the upper creek trail. As an alternative, we fished the Gibbons inside Yellowstone where I caught several baby fish.
We had a 2 day reservation on the Depuys River. The grass was waist high and seeding so the pollen levels did mischief on Ray’s allergies. I had a few takes but did not land any fish. Ray dis fairly well but again, we saw very little evidence of bug hatches and rising fish. The scenery was picture perfect as it had snowed a few days ago with freezing night temperatures so snow was still on the higher elevations. We weren’t sure about returning next year as it appeared we were on the river too early. By the time we decided, all the spots were filled.
