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Tuesday August 17, 1999 Again over to Cappy’s for coffee in the am to hang with more locals. Met a fellow (retired I think but still guiding) who claimed to have been here to welcome the fur traders when they first arrived. Name was Jim Danskin. Really a nice guy and recommended that if we wanted to hit areas in the South Park (?) area that we try the Bechler River and the Lewis Canyon (tough to get to and tough fishing but try hoppers). Told us his story of the grizzly bear encounter which almost always ends with "and it sure scared the hell out of me; you be careful out there!" Went back to the room and got some Jackson Hole Wyoming info on places to stay – seems pricey. Talked to Becky at our hotel and she said they had never found a place similar to the W. Yellowstone lodging situation around Jackson as it was somewhat upscale compared to where we were. Headed out to the south park area and saw some pretty cool geysers and fumaroles. Landscape was quite unlike anything you might expect to see; could see why no one believed the first explorers on what had been observed in Yellowstone. Stopped at Old Faithful and did the turista things like pix with geyser in background. Beautiful clear day. Could see where the fires came pretty close to the old lodges back in 1988. Waiting for the geyser was like watching a pot come to a boil. Seemed pretty slow.
Stopped by Yellowstone Lake; first went to Gull Point and then over to Sandy Point for fishing on the lake. Then headed back toward the Firehole River. Stopped by Fairy Falls for some fishing and pix of river, fishing, and geysers/fumaroles. Certainly a unique experience. Stopped next at the famous Muleshoe Bend on the Firehole River where very large but very spooky trout were working the surface; that is until we arrived! Very slow water and very clear conditions. Moved on toward the confluence of the Gibbon and the Firehole that forms the Madison River. Big campground right at the confluence – no privacy here! Headed back to the Madison by the West Park entrance and fished the Barns Hole, the Gauging Station hole, and the Cable Hole. Water seemed to be up a little this evening. Fished until quite dark. Headed back to West Yellowstone for a follow-up feast at Mountain Mike’s Wednesday August 18, 1999 Coffee first thing at Cappy’s and chatted with a guide and his client (from Houston). Told us about fishing in the Elk Refuge (Flat Creek) by Jackson (tough fishing he said); Harriman Ranch section of the Henry’s Fork of the Snake; the Snake River in the Park; and the South Fork of the Snake. Gave us directions to Mesa Falls area and Warm River junction with the Henry’s Fork. Said also to check out the Teton River although he thought the access might be difficult. Loaded with this information, we checked out of Motel. Headed south again to exit the Park and head for the Jackson and Idaho areas. Stopped by Delacy Creek that feeds into Shoshone Lake. Small intimate stream we hiked along and caught a zillion little brook trout. I guessed it would take 4 of the larger ones to make the filling in a small sandwich. Stopped by Grant Village on the way out. Nice place but looked like a boring area to stay. Fished Aster Creek below Lewis Lake. Marshy and buggy terrain, the kind that Moose like. Small and actually not very many fish. Maybe more of a spawning stream for Lewis Lake. Stopped and fished the Snake River by the south Park exit. Seemed like pretty good-sized water already. Lots of fish if you found the structure (go upstream around the corner and find a small log jam and water fall; the fish are there!) Chernobyl hoppers and buggers seemed to cause strikes. Went past Flagg Ranch Resort – What is it? Need some G2 on it. Into Grand Teton NP. Stopped by visitor center and found you needed a Wyoming fishing license for the park. Bearpaw Lake and Leigh Lake were recommended for short hikes to good fishing. Lots of cutts and 3.7 mile hike one way. Filed info away for a future trip. Temp. rising (mid 80‘s) as we came down into Jackson area. Cruised through GTNP (not too big) and then over roads past National Elk Refuge and the Museum of Western Art into Jackson, Wyoming. Pretty upscale place; even the bums have designer clothing on which identifies them (BUM). More Cannon Beach than Cannon Beach. Cruised through the Jack Dennis fly shop; lots of clothes, art, luggage, and if you went to the back, you could find some fishing gear. Very Madison Avenue (but not Madison River). Comments were made: "This ain’t no West Yellowstone" and "Beautiful People Land". Saw the arches of Elk antlers in the central park. Left Jackson to go over Teton Pass (8429’ and 10% grade). Looked like a great pass for some serious bike training. After our over the hill and down the hill run, we came into famous Driggs, Idaho. Stopped by flyfishing store in Driggs at the "Outfitters" complex. Stored closed. But….Lady in another shop was there, opened it up for us, told us to browse and let her know if we wanted to buy anything. She would be just down the hall if needed. I bought a book on the Snake River fishing and Andy bought some really ugly flies that were on sale. Lady told us that the folks in Driggs were different and that this was just how they all worked together there. A much more laid back life style. Stopped by the Yostmark Mountain Equipment store. Retail Mgr. Tori Haderman (www.yostmark.com) [PO Box 514 Driggs, ID 83422 Tel: 208-354-2828 Fax: 208-354-2263]. They had some floating equipment one could rent to float the Teton River in their area. Tori described the float as "mellow" (actually she said this several times); the lifestyles in Driggs of course were laid back. River Otters (single person fishing platforms) were $25 per day and a River Raft was $75/day. Nice place and people. If we’re in Driggs again, I would recommend stopping by and getting the local info. Checked into a brand new Super 8 motel at the edge of town. Had dinner (a great dinner for me) at Mike’s Diner in downtown Driggs. Place has been written up in several travel mags as a cool place to eat. The roasted eggplant and red pepper sandwich with feta and pesto was great along with the tasteful potato chive soup!
Headed for the Teton River for a quick look see and fish. Found it OK but it seemed to have a silty bottom and slow water in the section we were at (by where Teton Creek enters the Teton River). Headed back to the hotel. There apparently is another section of the River north of town that is in a "canyon" where the water speeds up along with more structure and the fishing may be better. Back to the hotel for the end of a long day – lots of driving this day. |
