Thursday, July 27, 2006

Getting Psyched For Vacation

In a little over a week, my wife, son, and I will get into the car and start heading west with the intention of being at the Lizard Creek Campground of Grand Teton National Park in time to select our home for the next 6 nights. Personally, I am hoping for good shade, and a view of the Northern shore of Jackson Lake.

We'll use this location as a base for day trips into the Yellowstone National Park and the surrounding areas. The entry fee is good for both parks, and we may just pick up a Golden Eagle Passport that will pay the entry fees at most US fee areas.

Cameras and walking staffs will be an important part of our week, and I have perrmission to take some time for fly fishing. Mixing fishing and family vacation is a dicey proposition, and some anglers of my acquaintance just don't do it. Fly fishing is pretty much a solitary activity, and family vacations are, well, a family activity...

The Wyoming non-resident angling fees are, to my Missourian sensibilties, pretty outrageous at $11/day, but fishing in Yellowstone requires only a Yellowstone permit at $20/week. Of course, I am looking at one or two days of fishing, tops, so I may try out the Grand Tetons one day and Yellowstone another day.

I took stock of my flyboxes and I am pretty well fixed for flies, although I plan to tie up a few more before I go.

Missouri flies tend to be pretty sparse with the materials:
This fly has no name, but is tied with javelina bristles and grizzly hackle.

Western flies tend to be large and fuzzy:
Stimulator

Here is my version of large and fuzzy:

Adams Wulff

And if the caddis flies are out and about, here is a pretty simple, yet effective fly:

CDC Caddis

CDC stands for cul de canard and refers to the feathers around a duck's preen gland. These are naturally water-resistant, thus these flies float nicely.

6 comments:

Larry & Helen Wood said...

Denis, my wife and I are flyfishers. Two summers ago we hauled our camper 6000 miles as we fished the premier trout streams of the west...Wyoming, Idaho, Montana among our stops. Rock Creek, just outside Missoula. What a trip! Usually, as residents of Atlanta, we fish the Chattahoochie streams near the city and up in Helen, GA. I floated the Hooch last week for five hours in a tube...caught a 14" rainbow and a number of browns. Where do you fish?
Larry Wood

Anonymous said...

Denis,

I too am headed out to Yellowstone in a little over a week for 7 days of fly fishing with the guys. We are trying to get some river recommendations posted to the blog we have created for the trip: Mudsnails. If you have any favorite spots in Yellowstone, please let us know. Good luck.

Unknown said...

Larry:

In Missouri, I fish the small spring-fed streams in the Ozarks, but not enough lately.

Our vacations have tended to be in Colorado, and I have fished small streams and mountain lakes in southern Colorado and Rocky Mountain National Park.

I have never fished Yellowstone (or Wyoming, for that matter), and I look forward to catching some native cutthroat.

Unknown said...

Lucian:

I have never fished Yellowstone or te Tetons, and I look forward to learning new waters.

I droppped by your blog and look forward to reading your trip reports. I plan to drop in at Lilly's flyshop and by a couple dozen flies, and hope to get some recommendations.

My preference is for small streams, so I'm bringing the 3wt and 5wt rods, and may be doing most of my fishing with the 3wt. It's a 3-piece Scott 6'9" and ideal for working in and around willows.

Gannet Girl said...

OK, with the month I've just had, I have no business being jealous, but I am anyway. The Tetons and Yellowstone are two of my favorite places on earth.

Unknown said...

Gannet Girl:

I am really looking forward to it. I did the math, and it seems to have been 30 years since I was in the area. I camped at Jenny Lake (GTNP) and took several nice slides of moose and other wildlife.

My wife and I recently celebrated our 25th, and Grand Teton/Yellowstone has always been on the list of things we need to do. We both have been there, but not together.

This time, I'll have a digital SLR with me.

I dropped in on your blog, and was quite impressed with your puffin images. You seem to have a love for birds.