Gardner River
A
special bait section for children provides excellent fishing for small brookies
above Osprey Falls close to the Indian Creek camp-ground. Below the falls, the
Gardner plunges down a canyon on its course to the Yellowstone River. The next
access is the Mammoth-Tower Bridge a few miles east of Mammoth. Up-stream from
the bridge the canyon impedes progress, but this short section holds numerous
6- to 10-inch rainbows and brookies. Below the bridge the Gardner River is
joined by Lava Creek. Standing on the Mammoth side of the bridge, you can look down
to where Lava Creek joins the river. Hiking down below this section provides
good fishing for cutthroats and brook trout, although be prepared, for some of
the choice waters do come up empty. Rather than turn the corner and head
upstream to the bridge again, take the time to fish the first half-mile of Lava
Creek. Lava Creek is strictly dabbing your fly in small pockets, but when I
last fished it during August of 1998, the rainbows were averaging 10 inches,
and they were fat. This section of the Gardner River, extending for three
miles, can be hot during August so tie on a bead-head Prince as a dropper.
Yellowstone River in the Black Canyon
Cross-country
trail access. The Black Canyon may be reached by hiking across sagebrush, bench
land and down to the river. From the bridge above Tower, near the confluence
with the Lamar River, down to Blacktail Deer Creek, the distance to the river
may vary from two to four miles. I especially enjoy fishing this rugged canyon
with its big water. Concentrated nymph fishing is so much easier than training
my trifocals on a size 18 dry at Buffalo Ford. But hiking in and out unnerves
me, even with my pepper spray, as I generally fish alone. Somehow I never
remember to make noise. I huff and puff up the slope, furtively glancing behind
me.
Mammoth to Tower
Mileage
is estimated beginning at the junction in Mammoth.
To Tower Junction: 18 miles
To Canyon Village: 37 miles
To the Northeast Entrance: 47 miles
M 1.7: Mammoth-Tower Bridge (High Bridge)
M 4.7: Lava Creek Picnic Site. The fishing is somewhat difficult both upstream and down-stream of Undine Falls due to brush and downed trees, but the fishing is good for small trout.
MM: 6.3: Blacktail Ponds. A small pond a short distance from the road, Blacktail Ponds
is void of shrubbery or brush, although it is very boggy for most of the
shoreline. It is rare to pass by this pond at dusk without seeing at least one
nymph fisherman working the pond for 10- to 14-inch cutthroats and brook trout.
M 6.9: Blacktail Deer Creek. Blacktail Deer Creek crosses the Mammoth-Tower Road above Lava Creek crossing. The creek cascades down the mountain four miles to meet the Yellowstone River. The creek offers good fishing for brook trout above and below the road.
M 15.3: Floating Island Lake Fishless.
M 18.5: Conoco Gas Station, Roosevelt Lodge. Showers available. M 20.8: Tower Falls, Hamilton Store and snack bar
Tower Creek
Tower
Creek may be reached from the Tower Creek Campground. Fishing is good for
small rainbows and brookies. From the Hamilton Store next to the falls, a trail
leads down the canyon to the Yellowstone River and a short section of Tower
Creek. This trail is the only easy access to the Grand Canyon of the
Yellowstone. Pack a lunch.
Tower Junction to Cooke City (Lamar River)
M .7: Yellowstone River above Tower
The confluence with the Lamar River is a mile down-stream. Just as you cross the bridge leaving Tower Junction, there is a picnic site and parking area.
A trail leads down to the confluence of the Lamar River and the Yellowstone River. The Lamar section consists of heavily silted pools and steep banks, but from the Lamar upstream for a half-mile, the Yellowstone River offers rough and tumble nymph water. It is too small of a section to share, but I have always been pleased with the results.
M 5.1: Access to the Lamar River
M 5.9: Slough Creek
Years ago when I lived and taught in Wyoming, I heard near-reverent praising of Slough Creek. As I recall at that time, only trailers were allowed in the campground so I passed it up for more favorable fishing in other areas of the park. In finalizing the Park, I headed for Slough Creek as soon as I entered the Park. Pulling a 15-foot 1984 Komfort camp trailer, I was prepared. I arrived at a gala of colorful tents at the campground at 9 am and watched two families depart. Slough Creek Campground is off the beaten track, actually only 2.3 miles of washboard road from the Cooke City Road, but it is a long ways from the Interstate for travelers heading home. By 9:30 the three vacated sites were full!
During that first day, I returned to fish the Gardner again. Returning to the campground, the sky clouded up and in no time at all, my windshield wipers were on high, smearing and skipping across bug splats. The next day I fished the Lamar for the first time. Because of a heat spell, it had been fishing very slowly. When I arrived at a secluded spot, the water was somewhat roiled, but the off color was not enough to concern me. I fished for an hour and a half, to no avail. Having been skunked, I headed for the confluence of the Lamar and the Yellowstone determined to catch a fish on the Lamar - nothing. Catching a few hefty cutthroats on the Yellowstone River, I headed back to Slough Creek for an early dinner. After dinner I hiked up the trail to the first meadow.
The trail to the three meadows of Slough Creek does not begin in the campground, as a narrow canyon impedes progress. The first meadow is notoriously difficult to fish, from what I had read and from what I heard in camp. Everyone advised me to pass up the first meadow and fish the second meadow, which is about five miles up from the trailhead. By the time I had hiked in to the first meadow, I realized that I had only about two hours to fish. I walked up to the first bank and peered into the softly flowing creek. I put on my Polaroid glasses, and in doing so I looked down to see a 16-inch cutthroat slurping midges, oblivious to my presence.
I crawled through the grass to the next run and spotted a 17- or 18-inch cutthroat gently fanning his tail and sip-ping bugs right next to the bank less than 10 feet in front of me. Ten offerings later, I stood up. The cutthroat moved one foot over and two feet up and continued slurping size 22 white midges. Slough Creek cutthroats are like the elk and buffalo. If you don't get too close, they just ignore you and go on chewing their cud, or in this case sipping midges. For the second time in one day I had been skunked!
Most
of the fishermen I spoke to that evening said they had poor to fair fishing at
the second meadow and excellent fishing for smaller trout at the third meadow,
which is eight miles from the trailhead. Next time I am going right back to
that first meadow with 7X tippet and an assortment of midge patterns.
Slough Creek offers excellent fishing from the camp-ground to its meeting with the Lamar River, but it is similar to a spring creek and requires skill and patience. Surprisingly, few people actually fish this section, while upwards of a hundred fishermen a day hike up to the meadow sections.
M 8: Lamar River
Another
day! Regardless of my dismal experiences on the Lamar, the river offers
excellent fishing for cutthroats and rainbows once the river has cleared (later
than most). Craig Mathew in his book The Yellowstone Fly-Fishing Guide mentions
the proclivity for Lamar cutthroats to migrate up and down the stream, which in
turn keeps anglers covering a lot of ground.
Gliding through open meadows with towering mountain ranges in the background and sparse clusters of cottonwoods, it is easy to visualize what the entire region looked like prior to settlements. From its confluence with Soda Butte Creek to the canyon, a distance of six or seven miles, the Lamar receives lots of fishing attention. The expansive grassland, home to buffalo and antelope, hosts large grasshoppers and other terrestrials, which find their way into the Lamar. The canyon, although more difficult to fish, offers slightly larger trout in the pools and pockets.
M 18.3: Trout Lake
How
could an angler pass up a body of water named Trout Lake? Nor should you, if
you have the time to fish this little gem nestled in the mountains a mere
half-mile from the unsigned pull-out. If you are coming from Cooke City, the
pullout is 1.3 miles from Pebble Creek Campground. What Trout Lake lacks in
fast action, it more than makes up for in the size of fat rainbows in the 14-
to 17-inch range. An excellent lake for a float tube, head for the left side of
the lake if the wind comes up.
M 19.3: Pebble Creek and Campground
Pebble
Creek has a small volume of water, but up in the canyon section the creek has
many pools which hold small cutthroats, although passage becomes difficult. The
upper section above the canyon may be reached by crossing the footbridge in the
campground and hiking a little over a mile.
Soda Butte Creek
Gliding
down a beautifully timbered canyon from Cooke City down to the Lamar flood
plain, Soda Butte Creek offers quiet solitude and good fishing for cutthroats.
