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Tracy Chimenti
05-19-2006, 12:26 PM
Fishing was good for browns and rainbows, 15- to 20-per day for dave and I.

Well, it was an 18-hr drive from Penryn to West yellowstone. My buddy was just leaving Wyoming when I was 40-miles south of Wells, Nev. We camped on a bend of the Madison, outside town. We had regular camp visits by buffalo and elk. No bears this time. No one but us and two camp hosts. No showers either.

Never had to leave Hebgen. We had a 14-foot boat and usually crossed the lake near the ice and spent time fishing coves and points with blow-downs, rocks and stump fields.

Best flies were smaller streamers, buggers, in brown and black. dave really put a clinic on one evening for me with his sink tip. I was using a floater with a long leader and weighted fly and couldn't keep up. I changed to a full-sinker the next day and got right to work on spanking him back!

Browns averaged 16" to 22" for the most part. Rainbows, generally 13" to 20". Two biggest, however, were a big shouldered bow that went a little over 6-pounds and a smaller 'bow about 5-1/2-pounds. Both immaculate fish. There were bunches of browns from 2-1/2 to 4-pounds and these fish area great jumpers! By the end of the week, the best method was to have one guy row, while the other guy casted to structure, then anchor, fish a hole or two, then take turns on the oars. With all the wildlife to see, i looked forward to rowing -- Ospreys chasing ravens out of their respective beats, moose roaming around the water's edge, a family of HUGE otters, lots of bald and golden eagles, red foxes, kit foxes, occasional antelope, deer, and kamikaze jays diving around the backs of coves. Although there was very little bug activity, the afternoons saw larger brown caddis comng off, but no midge invasions (like the week before). A few damsels came in with the anchor.

Weather was pretty mild, with some rain for the first two days, and by Thursday, we were anchored in a big weed patch off the highway and I realized the west exposure to my face was on fire and that the sunscreen, regrettebly, was in the truck.

Nice town, with as many flyshops as there are fish in the sea. My favorite was Blue Ribbon, followed closely by Arrick's. All this stuff about Bud Lilly's outfit made us chuckle! As mentioned earlier, there were no showers in the park, or in town. Both laundromat showers were torn up at the time, so you could imagine the look on the waitress' face when dave asked if there was a car wash in town. No car wash either it ends up.

Tried Quake lake and believe me there is potential here. Standing timber, steep banks, and lot's of weeds. Uhhhhh! Water was cloudy from run-off, and all we caught was a few rainbows in the moving water. When it clears, there is reportedly awesome midge hatches with some really big grabs. Lake looks more like Toledo Bend or Sam Rayburn than an alpine trout lake.

Cliff Lake also has it's share of big teeth and red spots, but all we got were 'bows, and rather smallish at that. Didn't get to Wade Lake, but heard it was fishing well at Arrick's. Nice drive to these lakes, across the high prarie table lands, over a bridge on the Madison.

back to Hebgen though... We used 4x and launced off the cobble at several points closest to our destination. The sight of a 19-foot Whaler sunk to it axles behind a Suburban with two other 4x's attached series via chain galvanized my preference for small, maneuverable, easy to handle boats. Just watch that wind. I had to turn the bilge on a few times.\

If you want a big brookie, Idaho's planting triploids in Henry's. These fish are expected to reach 7-pounds this year! They should live long and healthfully now that "spawn-boundness" is no longer a risk. This I know is hard on Kirman fish.

Stopped by Ruby Marshes (Nev) and am planning a trip back there in July with the Kayaks when boating season starts. Good prospect for floating lines and shallow water tactics. Snakes galore. If you're after chukar, there's plenty of rim rock and cheat grass to keep your dog interested from Elko south to Hwy 50.

All in all, a memorable trip, but quite spendy in the gas department. About $600 up-and-back with an '88 4x 1/2-ton with shell, gear and 14-foot Jon with 40 Hp outboard. More to see I'm sure, but a good sampling for a first trip out. I agree with Bill, these places need about 6- to 10-trips to really get them dialed.

great bar with super nice people and great burgers on the north shore near "happy hour"-- Square Deal Bar. Beautiful view of the lake to boot and plenty of outdoorsy whit for you to cajole with.

Tracy

nightgoat
05-19-2006, 01:27 PM
Sounds like a great trip! Thanks for the report :thumbsup:

Pimpinmeat
05-22-2006, 03:55 PM
That's a cool report. Fished that same area last year and had a blast. Took some really big fish on midges at Hebgen. That lakes got some briusers in it. Did you fish the Maddy in between Hebgen and Quake at all. Caught the majority of our fish there last year.

Tracy Chimenti
05-25-2006, 08:04 AM
Never got a crack at the rivers and there were only two sections open at the time. Never saw a Hebgen Gulper, but we did get one of the Hebgen Groupers! I'm going back to Quake when it gets warmer. Supposed to be some pretty hot midge fishing.

Tracy

Bruce Slightom
06-04-2006, 09:07 AM
Tracy, where did you camp at Hebgen? Just currious.

Tracy Chimenti
06-05-2006, 07:02 AM
Hello Bruce,

We camped at Baker's Hole, about 2-miles outside of West Yellowstone. we had the best site in the entire campground. I'm sure it's packed there now and you might even need reservations, but at the time we were there, there were no more than 5 parties in the entire place. On occasion, we could see wakes of spawning fish moving up the river. Apparently, there's relatively few year-round adult fish in this section, as it is primarily a spawning trib for Hebgen fish.

Tracy

Jgoding
06-05-2006, 10:02 AM
I need to get back to Yellowstone soon, thanks for the report. I've fished the Ruby marshes once as well, but for bass not trout. It was pretty fun, not much size to them, but caught at least 30 fish a day fishing morning and evening.

Jeff