Help me plan my trip... please!

[WinterrunRon]

Kiene's Gang,

I'm taking my fly rod, uhum, excuse me... family, on vacation the last week of July to beginning August and could use your advice.

We're heading to Mt. Rushmore, then Yellowstone, then the Tetons, then ?, then home.

My amature routing plan is to take Hwy 80 East and perhaps the first fishing stop being the Green River, ID. Continuing on towards Mt. Rushmore I can either head up to Casper and fish the North Platte or head to Cheyenne to fish ? before heading on to Mt. Rushmore. Then we head West on 90 towards Cody. I have no clue where to stop and fish between Mt. Rushmore and Cody or around Cody.

Somethimes, too much choice can work against you and that's where I'm at in the Yellowstone/Teton area. Oftentimes, when you have a choice, there could be better fishing on the lesser know rivers but I hardly know the well known ones.

Heading back, Southern Idaho is supposed to have some fabulous fly water I hear. Silver Creek, Big Wood, Little Wood and others?

Anyone willing to be assistant vacation planner for a day? Okay, I'll be assitant vacation planner and you can be chief vacation planner.

Books, websites, personal experience suggestions... be as general or specific as you care to, it's all welcomed so don't be shy.

Thanks for you willingness to help.

PS. I enjoy the photos from others' trips and will gladly post mine when I get back if I can figure out how to do it.

Thanks, again...

Ron

[koffler]

Me and my family will be in Wyoming at the same time - I can give you a couple of ideas when you're in the WY area. The area around Cody is incredible - The NF of the Shoshone is an unreal cuttthroat fishery - fished it the last 2 years and had a blast. As far as a family outing, the Buffalo Bill museum is in Cody and is one of the best museums I have ever been too. There's a ton of other small streams and lakes in the area - look online for North Fork Anglers in Cody - look at there website or call for up to date information. Wyoming is amazing - have fun.

[bigtj]

Don't bother with the Casper/Cheyenne area this time of year. The world-class tailwaters in the area - grey reef and miracle mile- fish best in the spring and fall.

It sounds to me that you're biting off more than you can chew with destinations for a week and a half to two week trip. I think you would be better served picking an area that is in it's prime right now and focusing on it rather than trying to do to much and covering a lot of different water. Although I've never been to Cody (I'm a west-side guy) from what I've heard it's tough to beat as a base for a lot of stuff to do, both fishing and the family. You could also spend some time around West Yellowstone, Montana as well, or both. But if you're going to South Dakota you're talking 4 days of driving w/ a family that won't leave a lot of time for more than 1 to 3 major destinations.

It's going to be awfully hot down on the green temperature wise (I am assuming you meant Utah, not ID, since you mentioned Highway 80), and there is very little to do for non-fisher people down there, for the family's sake this time of year you might want to stick to the higher-elevation locations in more touristy areas. For example, Pinedale Wy would be a much nicer place to spend some time with family and kids than the Vernal area this time of year. You could camp out at one of the lakes in the Western Wind Rivers, fish the streams there or the Upper Green, and take a day trip or two up to Jackson Hole and the Tetons.

An additional word of advice - private property and stream access is much different in Wyoming than California or Montana. In Wyoming, the land owner owns the stream bed. So be sure to do your research for fishing locations, local shops can help on that.

One more thing...sounds like this may be one of your fist trips to the Rockies. If you haven't been there be prepared for thunder showers - and often heavy ones - in the afternoon every day. The weather is a lot more variable there than out here on the west coast so plan accordingly (forget what I said if you know what I'm talking about already).

Have a fun trip.

[WinterrunRon]

Thanks, Gents. Lots of good advice. I'll plan accordingly.