Wandering Wyoming Wilds!
We warned you all (including Dick Cheney!) that the Yellowstone Gang was heading for Wyoming and acquiring more Cuttslams!! We were there between August 17 and August 28, 2010 - the travails and conquests are described below.
He still needs better waders!
2010 Yellowstone Gang Adventure:
Wandering Wyoming Wilds!!
Travel Journals from August 17 – 28, 2010 – total trip length (from Bellevue, WA) 3214 miles. The adventurers for the 2010 trip were: Al Miller (AM), John Richardson (JR), Andy Batcho (AB), Greg Koenig (GK) & Mike Shaunessy (MS).
List of waters fished this year: Smith’s Fork (Clark Ranch Property), Ham’s Fork, Salt Creek, Grey’s River, North Horse Creek, Little Grey’s River, Salt River, Gros Ventre River, Crystal Creek, Wind River, East Fork Wind River, Wiggin’s Fork, Horse Creek, Bull Lake Creek, Sweetwater River, Rock Creek (Montana)
Wyoming - From the Delaware Indian word, meaning "mountains and valleys alternating"; the same as the Wyoming Valley in Pennsylvania
or as Legh Freeman, publisher of The Frontier Index in Kearny, Nebraska, has claimed that it was he who first suggested Wyoming as the name for this portion of the Dakota Territory. Wyoming comes from the Dakota "mscheweamiing" meaning "at the big flats" or "large plains."If you are a trout fisherman, typically you might be seeking isolation from crowds, undisturbed naturally flowing streams, pristine watersheds, unsophisticated (and perhaps large?) fish who love dry flies, etc. Looking around the country, you quickly discern how few places there are like that which also support large numbers of trout. One of those places would be Wyoming…….
Wyoming has the distinction of having the smallest population of any of the 50 states, even Alaska! – Wyoming is also a large sized state so that it is the second least dense state in population density (Alaska which is a huge sized state is the lowest). These are factoids to warm the heart of trout fisherman in that the largest recent impact on good trout fishing has generally been loss of habitat due to urban/suburban encroachments and over-fishing due to too high fishing pressures (and the wide application of the "hook and cook" approach to catching fish). Wyoming, the Cowboy state (aka the Equality State), became the YG focus for 2010. In addition, Wyoming offers a special certificate to those anglers who can catch & photo all 4 native sub-species of Wyoming cutthroat, ie the infamous Wyoming Cuttslam Certificate!!
In 2004, 4 of the YG ventured into Wyoming and accomplished the Cuttslam – our numbers for the certificates issued then were:
Number 267 – AB
Number 269 – JR
Number 270 – AM
Number 271 – GK
Unfortunately MS was unable to join us that year so after a six year wait, we decided it was time for MS to get his cuttslam certificate and that 2010 was the target year!
The cuttslam certificate program (http://gf.state.wy.us/services/customers/cuttslam/index.asp) was initiated by Wyoming Fish and Game in 1996 as a way to induce anglers to come to Wyoming, enjoy the fishing, learn about the native cutthroat trout species, perhaps leave a few fish and dollars behind, and promote the outdoors adventures which Wyoming offers. Over the years, its reputation has grown but still only relatively few folks try to achieve it. Focused on the currently remaining four sub-species of native cutthroat, you are required to show evidence of having caught the Yellowstone Cutthroat, Snake River Fine-spot Cutthroat, Colorado Cutthroat, and the Bonneville Cutthroat. More specifically the Wyoming F&G folks state that: "To qualify, an angler needs to provide a photograph of each fish and information on the date of catch and water where it was caught. There is no minimum size requirement. Releasing of fish is encouraged and may be required depending on the regulations for different waters." Now, the key words here are "no minimum size requirement" – hold that thought……
MS has already caught numerous Yellowstone Cutts with us in earlier trips to Yellowstone National Park so at the start he has one quarter of the effort already in hand!