Wyoming Road Trip

[John Harper]

Didn't make it to Yellowstone, but I got 3 out of 4 native cutts! Plus three bonus species.

Bonneville/Bear River Cutthroat, from Jed's Fork. I was fortunate enough to catch 6, and lost a monster, probably 20" or more. I had no way to bring him/her in. Biggest trout I've ever hooked. Note to self: Get a net.


A little tributary to the Snake I discovered on my last trip:


Snake River Cutt, one of at least ONE HUNDRED I released over four days up to 15" and four miles of river. I never saw another person the entire time, four miles of river to myself.


Made it to McDougal Gap, through pouring rain!


Drainage where Colorado Cutts are rumored to be found, and lots of Brookies too!


Colorado River Cutt, a tough one to nab, but I FINALLY got one, as I was about to head to the truck for lunch and a sulk. It was a "drop the mic" moment and I decided I was blessed enough and it was time to head home. Not to mention the accumulation of insect bites. Horseflies suck!


Mountain Whitefish, a surprise I'd never caught, and I've now caught five! From Jed's Fork.


Brook Trout, caught about a dozen of these before the Colorado Cutt finally showed up.


Honorable Mention: One dink German Brown, from Jed's Fork. No pic. Third bonus species.



What can I say, " I love Wyoming!"

I never ran into another person on the water my entire trip, from the Sierra to Wyoming. Every place I fished there was no one there but me. Amazing.

John

[Wandering Daisy]

Sounded like a great trip. When was the trip? My friends in Wyoming tell me it was a very cold and long winter; not a lot of snow but nothing melted until late. Cool spring too that delayed a lot of gardens. They have the heat now, though.

The only unusual cutthroat I have caught is the Yellowstone Cutthroat. One was the biggest fish I ever caught.

[John Harper]

I just got back on Thursday, was up there almost two weeks. I had a mix of weather. Heat, thunderstorms, rain, hail, heavy dew, plus lots of different bug bites. The usual after two weeks outside. The fishing and scenery make all that pale in comparison. My sister said it was cold in Yellowstone, but I never got north of Alpine. The traffic on 89 to Jackson, Teton NP, and YNP was a circus train of trailers, RVs, overlanders, and vanlifers. Not for me.

John

[Fly Guy Dave]

Another excellent report! You just need the Yellowstone Cutt and you'll have the Wyoming G&F Cuttslam certificate. I was thinking of a trip to Wyoming, but I'm going to Montana instead. Leaving later this morning. Lots of nice fish in your report and that whitefish is huge! Not much fight in those, unfortunately. I've dragged in a few that felt like I hooked a big branch or something. Thanks for the awesome post.

[John Harper]

Another excellent report! You just need the Yellowstone Cutt and you'll have the Wyoming G&F Cuttslam certificate. I was thinking of a trip to Wyoming, but I'm going to Montana instead. Leaving later this morning. Lots of nice fish in your report and that whitefish is huge! Not much fight in those, unfortunately. I've dragged in a few that felt like I hooked a big branch or something. Thanks for the awesome post.

My original plan was to head north and pick up a Yellowstone cutt to get the Slam, but the logistics of getting into the park just did not work out. I am not into dealing with lines of cars or fishing with 1000 other people on the Yellowstone River. That one is gonna have to wait, unfortunately.

The whitefish I caught all put up a very spirited fight. I found one hole on Jed's Fork where I hooked several in a row. They attacked the fly pretty aggressively. I had no idea how big they get as I'd never caught one and did not even know they were so far south.

John

[windknot]

Thanks for the report and photos! That's a nice collection of cutts with bonuses to boot. Glad you had a good road trip!