Backcountry fishing in Yellowstone National Park
On a previous trip to Yellowstone we hiked in and out of the second meadow of the Slough Creek backcountry with only one overnight. I found that very hard work as it is five miles each way. It was late July and very warm as we trudged along with heavy backpacks. It also did not leave a lot of time to explore the water. Oh, and there was the added peril of the bison rut, so we had to actively avoid males that were roaming around in search of a mate.
On a recent return visit we had the ‘luxury’ of two nights, as well as more time to fish, in slightly more agreeable weather, at least for some portion of our expedition. The afternoon hiking into site 2S1 was very pleasant. But as I have experienced before during September in Yellowstone, weather conditions can fluctuate greatly. Daytime temps could easily be mild only to become absolutely frigid overnight. Make sure you know your sleeping bag temperature ratings before attempting this backcountry expedition!
Yellowstone Backcounty site 2S1
I should mention that site 2S1 in the Yellowstone Backcountry is very sought after for excellent camping and fishing. To camp in a designated camp site in the Yellowstone Backcountry requires a backcountry permit. Generally, reservations should be made through the early access lottery in March of each year on the recreation.gov website. But there are also anglers that hike in and fish Slough Creek as part of a day trip.
Native cutthroat of Yellowstone National Park
The attraction on this part of Slough Creek is the native cutthroat, which are generally good sized and abundant. During that previous trip in July of 2022, floods had impacted the north part of the park and we did not know until a week before our visit if our reservation would be confirmed. There had been very little angling pressure for a few weeks prior, and we had hopes that fishing conditions would be good. But high temperatures stressed the fish a bit and only a few trout were put in the net, mostly caught on terrestrial patterns.
On this hike in we met anglers coming out that warned that the fishing was challenging, and that terrestrial patterns were not attracting the fish. We were advised to stick to nymph patterns, and we were rewarded for following the advice with close to a dozen cutthroat measuring 17 inches or larger, most on nymhs, but also on other subsurface patterns. The largest of 20 inches took a miniscule flashback pheasant tail trailing a hare’s ear nymph under an indicator. And this was despite a stiff wind that forced the fish to remain in deep water.
Although the bison rut was winding down by this point, there was still a sizeable herd moving about in the next meadow - by which I mean an apparently risk-free distance of 200 to 300 yards away. That is, until they decided that our campsite was worth inspecting while we were fishing from the bank of Slough Creek. After a while they became disinterested and relocated back to the adjoining meadow...Whew!
There is no shortage of adventure in the Yellowstone Backcountry!
Amazing trip. Beautiful pics. Thanks for sharing