Home › The Lodge
Lamar Valley Thread
Ok, let’s have a central planning thread.
First, we have to pick a date and a campground. Bmmike suggested one of the last two weekends in July so if anyone has a confliction with either of those please speak up or possibly grow a pair.
Second, what about a campground? Slough, Pebble Creek or maybe the Tower Fall CG?
Third, let’s all encourage Sherb to really bulk up at the gym and to skip cardio altogether. Cardio is for women and crossfit dorks. That way we can outrun him in case of any bear encounters. Don’t let him know this is our plan.
Replies
A planning thread is a great idea. Subscribed
Pebble Creek is easier to get than Slough, typically, as there are more sites and less competition from the wolf people. I can get there first thing the day you fellas are arriving to be first in line for a campground as it’s less than 2 hours from me.
I suggest we fish Friday, Sat, Sun. I can reserve the campsight for extra nights if anyone is staying longer. I am going to plan to head back home Sunday evening.
I think either of those weekends will be great fishing. The last weekend of July was super on Slough last year even with the heavy runoff ending late. Should be drakes along with PMDs.
I might have a conflict weekend of 27, but I will verify and get it figured out today.
Campgrounds in the park fill up fast. A couple of things:
I think the weekend of July 19-21 will be better for me but I need to check my reunion schedule. Got a Marine Corps reunion and a class reunion.
Pebble Creek has large bear boxes at each sight which is helpful in nightly cleanup. Def no dogs. I haven’t had problems getting a site when showing up prior to 7am so hopefully the luck continues.
I am free either weekend.
Mike and Sherb, if you do this, does that mean that a Cody trip is out? I think Mel is going to meet a few of us in Cody for a few days.
When? I might be able to do both.
And I definitely think Gart needs to come to Yellowstone with us.
If there's a confliction we can bring some crayons for you to munch on. He!!, you can even lick my windows as we drive over to Slough.
Possibly. My July and August are pretty booked. September could possibly work.
I am open to whatever.
Broke back fishing?
Not that there’s anything wrong w that
That's for Sherb, I fish dries.
What kind of insect/hatch activity can we expect in late July? Also, since I've been dabbling in streamer fishing will that be potentially productive when there aren't any bugs hatching? I know cutts aren't super aggressive but I've had some luck fishing streamers to them in other places.
Streamers, nymphs. I'm fishing with heathens.
Drakes, green and greys, are likely, especially if we get cloud cover. PMDs will be on. Caddis will be on. Small terrestrials will be working -- and by small I mean 10-14 on dry fly hooks, not chubby chernobyl 3x long nonsense, in black (and some like pink). Bring spinners. General rule of thumb, always have rusty spinners in various sizes -- sparse is better, not the thick-bodied, heavy-winged things you see in most of the shops bins. I can show how I tie them if you guys like.
Cutthroat do like streamers, the biggest cutts I have caught have been streamer fish. I never fish them in these rivers, tho. Slough, especially, isn't really set up for streamer fishing or nymph fishing, for that matter, as it mostly frog water. You can probably have some success pulling streamers on Soda Butte and Lamar.
If you do it right, youll raise fish even when there isnt an active hatch on...
I’m gonna hang back on soda butte creek with the cooler and my squirmy wormy
Rusty spinners are da bomb just about everywhere, it seems. Yeah, at some point I'd like to just see your ties to get an idea of how sparse they are.
I'm too old, lame and arthritic to join youse guys, but may I suggest that even the dry fly purists among you pack a few black and (gasp!!!) orange wooley buggers, egg sucking leaches, big a-s-s dark shaggy nymphs and two East Coast flies - Ed Shenk's white minnow and black sculpin. They have worked for me out west when all else has failed. His Shenk's Cricket is deadly as well on western limestoners at appropriate times of year because the fussy trout there haven't seen it very much. I have had bumper days on the public water outside Jackson when the locals were cursing and swearing using local patterns.
Some of the best trout fishing I've had in YP was roadside, casting ant patterns under trees overhanging various rivers and creeks when I saw rises under the trees.
Just sayin'.
I got my Zebco 33 ready and just waiting for a date.
I just might have to attend if you'll have me
Moved to Montana, gonna be a dental floss tycoon.
It would be great to meet you!
oh yeah. For sure.
Mike, what do you use for wings on your smaller spinners?
Tungsten? Oh wait, you didn't ask him.
Also, what about pink alberts? Then again, I guess any PMD dry pattern would work for them, right?
Presentation and then size. I just fish light cahills because that is what I like to tie. Soft hackles greased and dead drifted are good, too. Flymphs, if you will.
Gart, my spinners are all hackle wings. I use cardinal Pearsals silk thread to tie the fly and as the body. Couple hackle fibers for the tail, then palmered hackle which then gets trimmed above and below the hook and the other fibers squeezed to the sides. Super simple, super quick tie and really effective.
This is a size 14 that has probably caught a few fish.
Holy crap that's tiny
The more, the merrier!
Someone else may have to show up super early for the campsights, tho, as I don't know if theyll give me 2. We are going to need 2 unless we are sharing tents.
I have a springbar that can fit four. I will bring that.
I have a 6-man tent, also, but in an ideal world I sleep in my own, smaller tent so I can spread out to my hearts desire.