Any and all comments are appreciated;
Four of us Missouri boys are planning a trip to Wyoming, Montana, and Idaho next summer (mid to late July) in the general area of Yellowstone within an hour or two any directions. I have several questions for anyone to help us out.
We are not flyfishermen and prefer wading. Are the streams in Idaho wadeable and are there many regulations on artificial lures only, limits, and such.
Are there an abundance of cheap places to stay for 4 guys? We are not the hot tub/resort crowd but country boys who would be happy with a bed, shower, and stove for around $80-$120 per night, preferably close to the water. Can we count on finding a place or would reservations be the best way? On websites, everyone makes their place sound like paradise and I am leery of committing to someplace and we not like it.
Any local knowledge, suggestions, specifics, etc. would be greatly appreciated.
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For where you guys are talking about being I would recomend staying in West Yellowstone. It puts you on the west entrance to the park and they have several hotels from your basic mom and pop place up to Holiday Inn Express and a couple above. As for reservations I would recomend it. That is the peak season. You could also try one of the many campgrounds in the area, either in the park, a little further off in Island park or just about in any direction from there. Island Park also has a few decent places to stay, but I'm not sure the costs.
As for wading you should be able to find a lot of wadeable water without much trouble. Henries Lake outlet, Warm River near Ashton ID, several areas of the Henries Fork of the Snake River, and tons of areas in Yellowstone park, not to mention several of the rivers in Montana. You could check this website for updates and ideas, although it is geared towards flyfishing.
jimmysflyshop.com
Just click on reports. The montana waters are at the bottom. Some of the others are also mentioned throughout. I would also recomend the S. Fork of the snake, but it's a bit high for wading that time of year usually in most areas, and at the further end of your 2 hour area from Yellowstone you mentioned.
As for regs, definately check the regulations in that area for what areas you can fish, whether it is artificials only or crimped barbs, special seasons, etc. D/T the Yellowstone cutthroat protections some areas are pretty detailed in their guidelines, especially the Henries Fork. But they are usually pretty easy to understand if you know what section of the stream you are on. You can check the regs that are currently in place at the fish and game site
fishandgame.idaho.gov
They usually don't change a whole lot from year to year, but like I said, check them before hand.
As for some recomendations on lures (most people seem to like flies around here), and there are many opinions, try holopraphic panther martins, or the silver w/ yellow/red bodies in 1/8 - 1/4 oz. Many people also like the black w/ yellow. Kastmasters in 1/4oz size for deeper, or faster streams. Many like the mepps or blue fox lures, I just don't like them as much, but they can can fish too.
Finally I would recomend on streams, get out of site of easy access areas (i.e. the road or bridges). If you can get in a stream and wade down to an area that is barely accessible d/t brush or inaccessible other ways, you should catch fish on the smaller streams. For larger fish I would recomend the Henries and the S. Fork of the snake, but like I said, they are harder to wade in areas and worked over more.
If you have more questions feel free to send a PM. [
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Thanks, Good info. Here's our biggest concern;
This may sound dumb but, we trout fish the Missouri Ozark streams using Power eggs, minnows, shrimp, and worms. We aren't much on lures and such, mainly because we catch fish on these and lures can get expensive to lose. And we are strictly rod and reel guys. Everything I read on line about Idaho, Wyoming, and
Montana fishing is flyfishing, and we simply aren't interested. Are we going to be all right legally and will we catch fish using our Missouri Ozark methods. Surely there are rod and reel fishermen in Idaho also and that don't use fancy baits. (I didn't know anything about the lures and flys you mentioned, even my bass fishing is strictly plastic worms.)
Thanks, again
Mark
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I think you'll be fine fishing bait here (again check the regs first), I've never used shrimp here, but I've caught fish on all the rest you mentioned here. I fly fish a lot more since the last couple of years, but there are times when I can catch them with worms and not on a fly, so I'll use worms. I totally agree with Belasko on getting away from the crowds, I've noticed that the farther away I get from the road or trail, the more fish I catch, and they are usually bigger too.
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Hey Mark,
I'm an old Missouri guy myself, high school in Joplin and College in St. Louis. I think you'll be fine as long as you check out the regulations but many places especially outside the Park have few restrictions. All the states and I'm sure YNP have the regs online. The fishing is usually better outside the Park anyway. A few of my favorites outside the Park in Wyoming are the Snake between Yellowstone and Grand Teton, North Fork of Shosone, Clarks Fork of Yellowstone and Greys River. Between that and the Idaho recommendations you should have plenty of places you'll do well with your Ozark methods.
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If you guys are planning to stay in Jackson WY let me know. I live in Jackson and can give you some info. Heck, I would even take you out for a day of trolling for lakers on Jackson Lake on my boat. Be careful about bait, non-native species ( like shrimp) are not allowed on many of WYs waters. I sometimes use nightcrawlers on the South Fork in ID. It is ridiculous how many trout you can catch. For lures that time of year I would bring some small suspending minnow baits like husky jerk or X-raps. I agree with fishing in Yellowstone, way over-rated. Keep in touch with this board and you should have all the info for your trip.
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You're right, I totally spaced addressing the bait issue. Like the others said, you should be fine with your methods. I've caught a ton of fish on worms. I can't say about WY and MT but in Idaho other than worms live bait isn't allowed. Dead bait is fine though. I've caught fish on shrimp baits, just not the area that you're going. Like the others said. keep checking this board and you should end up just fine.
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Regarding the motel situation in West Yellowstone: go to Tripadvisor.com and look at the top-rated motels in the town. The top-rated motels happen to also be some of the most inexpensive. Tripadvisor is a great resource if you don't already know. You need to be careful in W.Y. Some of the nicest looking motels on the outside and on their web sites are some of the worst, most overpriced locations. Also, take advantage of Jacksonlakers most kind invitation to go mack fishing. You'll love it. You will also like Jackson. The two towns make a nice combo trip. Kodiak (Mike)
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JacksonLaker, if you don't mind me asking how do you fish worms on the South Fork. Do you fish them from the boat or shore? Do you float them under a bobber or drag them accross the bottom. Sorry I don't want to sound stupid, but I never thought of worms on the river. And by the way if the invitation is open for boating the Jackson Lake I have never been. LOL Bet you will get a lot of us wanting to go. Thanks for the info. Mudman
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Thanks Jacksonlaker, looks like you made a few new friends.[
] All of you guys have been a great help - more so than any other forum I've tried, except my home state Ozark Anglers Forum. If any of you get a chance, check it out, lots of interesting reading on variety of topics related to fishing.
Jacksonlaker, a very kind offer that we may take you up on. There will probably be 4 of us in our late 40s and early 50s and we are so excited as we have never visited the area. Two of us are teachers and plan on making it a 2-3 week trip, leaving Missouri on July 13, 2009. The two others will fly in to meet us for 4-5 days. I can't wait!!
Thanks all, and more info would be great!! I'm forwarding this on to my other buddies.
Missouri Mark
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my usual method for worms on the S. Fork has been to bottom bounce them with pencil lead as if I were fishing for steelhead. I've usually done that closer to Palli
es, but I know a few that have good luck as far down as Heise.
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1Mudman, I usualy fish them on a #6 octopus hook with a small split shot 18" away from it. You need the right hole with the right current. I fish from shore, sometimes wading. Cast it upstream, let it drift down, bam...hook a fish, and kill it while trying to get the hook out of it's throat !!! ( I know all the catch and release guys are cringing reading this !!) That is the one drawback of worm fishing, which is why I dont do it that often. As for a an invite to go fishing, my boat is always open. Jackson Lake, Pali
es, just let me know and we can get it done. Only 6 more months till ice-off !!!!
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Hey Mizzou Mark,
All I know is that after your trip, you're going to want to either come back to Idaho every year or maybe even move out here. Idaho in general is that good for fishing and the scenery is amazing, especially in the areas around Island Park, the west side of Yellowstone and the S. Fork of the Snake. I camped this year for the first time near Island Park and had a great time but be prepared for the mosquitoes, they were voracious at times. There's plenty of primitive campsites available right next to the reservoir, and I found that the campground I selected was not even being utilized so if you're thinking about tent camping a night or two, finding a spot shouldn't be overly difficult. I thought you might be interested in a link to a website for some more info about places to fish in western Wyoming. I haven't been over to Cody myself yet, but this story has got me interested in possibly taking a trip over there next year. Either way, best of luck with your trip next July.
[url "http://www.denverpost.com/huntfish/ci_10720016"]http://www.denverpost.com/huntfish/ci_10720016[/url]
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I know this is the Idaho board but Westslope nailed it about you guys not wanting to go back to Missouri and fishing over by Cody, Wyomong. I haven't been back to Missouri but 2 or 3 times in 20 years. The article mention the forks of the Shosone and Clark's Fork of the Yellowstone 2 of the places I recommmended. The North Fork of the Shosone has easy access and plenty of dispersed camping. The Clark's Fork of the Yellowstone can be fished that time of year South of Cooke City Montana back in Wyoming. As pretty as YNP without the restrctions or crowds. Plenty of places to camp away from others and easy to wade. I'd skip the hike down to the Canyon (middle section) of this river that time of year as the water will still be too high and fast to wade. At the mouth of the canyon is good camping and fishing as long as the water is down just a bit. Robeson Creek in Idaho is a nice place to camp but the fishing isn't very good unless you like catching stunted brookies all day. You could look at the website and talk to the guys in the store when you come out at Tim Wade/ North Fork Anglers ( hope I remembered the name right) in Cody for more info if you decide to try this area. I wouldn't plan on canoing on these rivers. Our rivers are much faster with more rapid loss of elevation than the Ozarks. I've slept on some of those gravels bars on overnight trips as a teen and as fun as that was I promise you you won't miss it during your trip out here.
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