Day Four of the Cutthroat Slam, ...Moving Camp and Getting Set Up for Yellowstone Cutthroat

Day Four was our moving day. We travelled through Jackson Hole, past the Grand Tetons, through Yellowstone Park and out the East Gate to set up a camp in the pursuit of Yellowstone Cutthroat Trout. It was mainly a touristy day but after we set up camp, Karen and I headed out to complete our cutthroat slam. We caught a lot of rocky mountain whitefish and finally we started to catch yellowstone cutts. This was not where we intended to catch our final subspecies but we did manage to complete our mission. Tomorrow was the day that turned out to be quite spectacular.

The Grand Tetons just outside of Jackson Hole

Our lunch stop at Yellowstone Lake

While heading down Sylvan Pass, we encountered this massive buffalo wandering up the pass!

Day Five of the Wyoming Cutthroat Slam, Yellowstone Cutthroat

We saved the best to last. We clambered into a box canyon in pursuit of Yellowstone Cutthroat. We found lots of yellowstone cutts, many of them large. The holding water was in small slots alongside of log jams. Often, we had to climb down steep rocky spots but it was well worth the effort! Today was a dry fly day, again the bastard adams was our best fly!

We got to fly fish the very water that Wild Bill Cody fished.  It was a neat day to say the least!

Karen and I headed home the next morning. We left at 5 am and arrived back in Red Deer about supper time. Thank goodness that you travel through Montana at 80 mph. Going through Ennis and Craig made my mouth drool. The Missouri River System is a fly fishing mecca. Two out of every three SUVs were pulling a drift boat! Fly shops where everywhere but we had completed our Wyoming Cutthroat Slam. We will be back to explore Montana another time.

Oh yes, we have already started to make a plan to to add the Apache Cutthroat and the Greenback Cutthroat to our successfully caught subspecies.

Leon tagging a beautiful Yellowstone Cutthroat Trout!

High sticking a bastard adams in the eddy allowed me to catch some beautiful Yellowstone Cutthroat!

Karen with an amazing yellowstone cutthroat!

Thunderstorms rolled in about midafternoon so we decided to call it a day. Besides, we wanted to see Wild Bill Cody's lodge.

Tourist Trap!

Just in the Nick of Time

The Red Deer River bank stabilization crew finished pulling the last few rocks out of the water that were part of their temporary bridge and then they opened the spillway  upstream. With all of the recent rain, I'd say they finished the bank stabilization project just in the nick of time.

Please be careful around the river, it is high and off colour!