On the Road

30-day chasing trout through the American West.

By Lost Coast Outfitters

September 1^st, 2016

Thirty days. Four weeks and change. That’s a long time to live out of a Subaru XV, but when you’re driving through places like the Bob Marshall Wilderness and Yellowstone, the smell of perpetually wet waders, empty beer cans, and two unshowered men actually becomes tolerable.

This summer, I pieced together a road trip of epic proportions with two of my fishing buddies. We covered water from, Truckee, Eastern Oregon, and Ennis, to Bozeman, Yellowstone, and the Bob Marshall Wilderness. With a bucket list of rivers to fish and a thousand miles of road to put under our tires, we tried to keep our wide eyes focused. Big brown trout, cutthroat, and bull trout would be the reward for long hours on the road and weeks sleeping in a tent.

Eastern Oregon got the trip started off on the right foot. Three days of dry flies and streamers for 18-22” trout had us both feeling like we knew what we were doing. Watching healthy browns rise to midges, PMD’s, and mayflies from the road had us throwing on waders in record time. This particular river was an oasis in the arid Eastern Oregon landscape. Although the fishing pressure was intense, we found moments of solitude and plenty of eager fish.

We spent a good time fishing the Madison river but Courtney and I had both spent two summers wading through the 50-mile riffle and knew it was time to find new water. With a little insider intel from one of the local fly shops we headed to one of Yellowstone National Park’s productive rivers to see what the cutties were up too. The evening hatch was full of drakes but we kept the dry flies in the box and opted for a meatier presentation. Fortunately the fish were more than willing to participate. Bear tracks and Bison kept our head on a swivel between landing fish and snapping photos of the surroundings.

The final leg of the trip was spent in some truly wild terrain. Bear spray within reach and and a box of dry flies brought countless native Westslope Cutthroat to the net. We could have spent the entire trip camped out at the intersection of these two rivers watching the slow rises of cutties. Instead, the lure of bull trout pulled us up stream and kept the dry flies tucked under the seat of the car. The final days of the trip needed to be spent fishing (legally, with the required permits) for the wildest fish we knew, the bull trout.

Sure enough, the local’s tip we’d been given was right on. Within a half day of throwing steamers we’d landed some solid fish. Fish to be proud of for sure. But the trip wasn’t over. Our last day was one for the ages. Courtney and I fished for less than an hour and landed 62” of trout with two casts. Thirty days and it was time to cut our leaders, break our rods down, and head home with our minds blown. With each successive year we’ve visited Montana, the fish keep getting bigger and the places more wild. Next year…we’ll see. Have any suggestions?

Footnotes

Tyler Graff is an Educator living in San Francisco. When he's not working in schools, he's chasing trout and snapping photos of the fish and landscapes he calls home. www.baetisandstones.com

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FootNotes

Tyler Graff is an Educator living in San Francisco. When he's not working in schools, he's chasing trout and snapping photos of the fish and landscapes he calls home. www.baetisandstones.com