KilgoreTrout

And then some fishing in the park (most of these were posted in the Small Streams thread). Visited this stream twice, once in the evening (water was warm so just observed), and then again the next morning. I'd never fished a meadow stream like this, so it took some time to learn, but I ended up having a great few hours catching beautiful Yellowstone cutts (was shocked at how big some of these fish were considering how tiny the stream was). Fish were feeding at the surface at a few of the bigger pools, but most of the day was prospecting. The mosquitoes were brutal and bugs were popping off all morning (too small for me to try to identify), so the fish were pretty keyed in. Cycled through the box for a little and eventually ended up with a small caddis dry and small PT dropper, which seemed to do the trick (think size of fly was more important than pattern there). Two regrets this trip -- not taking enough pictures and not fishing enough! I've got about 1.5 weeks off between first and second year of med school, and I'm already trying to figure out how to get back!

Some sights in YNP

Starting with a bit north of the park, spent most of my time on one a bigger river in the area (hit a trib or two) and even booked a 1/2 day for the first time. Great (mostly) rainbow water; guide said we were probably the first people to fish that stretch this year, so the fish were pretty dumb! Got some nasty weather on the guided trip (thunder, hail, down storms), weather I'd normally pack it in for, but the fishing was good, and the guide was comfortable with the thunder (save for a 15 minute span where we sheltered on an island), so we stuck it out.

Next was two days in Grand Teton NP. Fishing was closed until end of July in most of the streams, so it was a purely hiking/sightseeing detour. Breathtaking area. Yellowstone fishing day + Yellowstone sightseeing post will come tomorrow tomorrow probably

Second leg of trip: Eastern Idaho-Western Wyoming. Fished two beautiful streams (plus some feeders), one a tributary to the Palisades reservoir in the Targhee NF, and another that was in the Bridger-Teton NF, about an hour south of Jackson. The weather was BRUTAL (consitently hot+sunny without a cloud in the sky), and add that to the winter they had out west, and the fishing was tough to say the least. In the bigger creeks, I got maybe a single take+refusal for every four hours of fishing, nothing to net. Feeder streams were a bit more productive, but still not great fishing. Nevertheless, both areas were absolutely beautiful, and it was great just to be out there.

YNP meadow stream. Took a little while to figure it out, and the fish were surprisingly selective. Awesome day all around. Full trip report will be posted soon in my Yellowstone thread.

Posted this in my Yellowstone thread, but figured I'd add here too. I've been in SW Montana the past few days, mostly going after native westslopes above a big waterfall (rare in these parts; rainbows and browns haven't invaded here yet). Water was COLD (mid 40s), and the stream was alive! Heavy grizzly country, which was a first for me, but having bear spray close by put me at ease. Small terrestrials with mayfly/caddis emergers have been the ticket here. Hitting the western slope of the Tetons and Yellowstone next!

Finished the first leg of my trip where I stayed in SW Montana. I spent a good amount of time fishing above a waterfall going after native westslope cutthroat (rare in these parts). Beautiful fish and area, cold water, and heavy grizzly country. More updates to come!

Big meal for a small brook trout. But it still had room for dessert (ant fly)!!

Yup, I've noticed a considerable drop-off in fishing, especially from shore, the past few years there.

Thank you!! It fought like a beast for its size and was a huge surprise!! I’ve only been seriously fly fishing for about 18 months now and not sure I’ll run into another wild one for a long time!

The pattern on that one is insane!

Think I caught a wild tiger trout!

Orcas are amazing creatures. They have the highest brain surface area to body ratio of all animals (the brain region that controls self-awareness/consciousness, emotion, and social connection is especially developed), different "languages" and "cultures" specific to each population (one pod-less orca has even been seen communicating with dolphins!), and have historically even learned to hunted in tandem with humans.