Pacemaker Fishing Forum

Wyoming 2010 Trip -


The four of us - my wife Tara, and son's Bobby Rae and Zack took off for Wyoming on August 10th – ‘Got up real early to catch the 6 am flight from Dulles - but after connecting through Denver - we were on the ground in Jackson at 10:30 local time - Here are the details -


Day 1
We rented a Tahoe - and headed into Jackson to get our bearings - and eat some lunch – and get settled into the Best Western(a real good place)
Already we knew that this whole trip would be a treat with the magnificent scenery and weather we were seeing as we left the airport.
- Go to Jenny Lake in the Grand Teton Park and let the kids wade and dunk their heads – a fun simple moment that we will always remember.
Go to dinner at Bar J Ranch near Teton Village- great chow and a real good western dinner show – Chuck wagon style!! I highly recommend this to get you in the western spirit

Day 2-
Whitewater rafting Combo trip - both scenic and whitewater - had class 2 & 3 rapids as the Snakes was down a bit as typical for August - Saw at least 10 Bald Eagles - and at least 25-30 OSPREYS - who knew??!!  Had a great shore lunch as well following the whitewater - Dave Hansen’s outfitters did a great job - and our River guide "Deuce" was great.

Day 3 -

Float trip on South Fork of Snake River (Worldcast Anglers) - This was Fly fishing on one of the best rivers out there - we were not disappointed - Bobby Rae and I learned quite a bit on this trip - while catching Rainbows, Browns, and the ever popular Cutthroat - My largest Cutty was 19 inches and our Guide, Charles Kemke said it was a VERY good cutty.
The scenery was unbelievable on the river, and we fished from 9:30 to about 6:00 - Caught many trout, and also missed some too as I was slow to set the hook - My highlight was my second cast on the dry fly hopper - perfect cast toward the bank as we were floating down - I actually saw the Cutthroat come out of the shadow and take the fly - it was incredible to see - and also catch and release the fish!
(Ernie can throw in some pics)

Day 4 -

Leave our hotel in Jackson and head to Yellowstone Park - first stop - Old Faithful - it was cool -but not as cool as the other geysers that were nearby - we REALLY enjoyed those much more - Toured the park and took in the sights - and then headed out of park through East entrance and checked into the Elephant Head Lodge (named after a rock formation - see pic) it was a cozy cabin and great hosts and great little restaurant.  We had our best meal that night of the trip -

Day 5 -

Head back into park - saw two Cow Moose in a creek on the way in - and headed north to Canyon Area - See a ton of bison and a lot of assorted wildlife - Took a really cool hike down to some scenic "Lower Falls" and took a lot of pics - also walked out to "Artists Point" a famous viewing spot -
We then headed north and toured through more of the park and went past some incredible Geological formations - left the park and looped our way down to Cody Wyoming and had dinner and went to the nightly rodeo - it was cool to see - and the kids especially appreciated the way of life out there.  We headed back to Elephant Lodge to get some rest.

Day 6 - Headed east back to Cody after a huge breakfast at the lodge - we wanted to check out the Cody museum - and we were not disappointed - this place had 5 main sections - and for you gun enthusiasts - had 2600 guns on display - and it was a world class - a must see if you are ever out that way.
Onward to our next stop - the HR Bar Ranch - for horseback riding, fly fishing.  We arrived in time to check in and get acquainted with things - and make the family style dinner at the main house - complete with Dinner bell -

Day7 - We took a morning ride up into the foothills of the Big Horn Mountain range - our wrangler was a young female college student named Jesse with a British accent - needless to say she had my 16 year old son's attention :-).....  It was an incredible ride and we really enjoyed it -   We moved to a new cabin on the ranch as the occupants had checked out and this cabin's porch hung right over the best trout hole on Rock Creek - 
We actually broke off some cheetos and dropped them in the babbling brook only to see 14-15 inch trout come up and gulp them up - it was pretty cool and I did not have the heart to fish that hole.
In the afternoon, Bobby Rae and I visited the Fly Shop on site and received guidance on where to go fish - we took some rods, and flies and traveled a few miles over the hills to the south Fork of Rock Creek - - parked the Tahoe and hiked  up and fished holes along the way - we saw nobody and had the place to ourselves - we caught Browns and Bows up to 11 inches and had a blast -

Day 8 - We depart the ranch to go fish the Red Fork of the Powder River - This is considered Private water - and they have an arrangement with the landowner that allows them to fish it - We were actually 10 miles from the old "Hole in the Wall" of western history.  We had the place to ourselves of course - and our guide Cole was a great teacher - and it did not take long to get fish on the fly - we were using terrestrials - mostly a hopper pattern - I probably land 15 quality trout, missed some too, and spooked others as it was pretty bright and Cole confessed that they were more spooky than usual, but we were pretty good listeners and had a very productive day - Bobby Rae was high hand with a nice colorful 15 inch Brownie - I had Browns and Bows up to 14 inches - most 12 inches - all Gorgeous fish -

Zack and Tar who chose to stay behind tried their hand at Skeet Shooting - Justin took them and taught them how to do it - and they enjoyed trying something new.
We topped off the incredible day, with an evening ride with "Jesse"  Our horse names were Ghost, Chinaman, Flying H, and Hambone.

Day 9 - we departed HF Bar and headed East toward South Dakota - a lot of driving, but we did get out and hike Devil's Tower, and eventually arrived at Rapid City SD - Had a good meal of Ribs at the Colonial.

Day 10 - Went to see Mount Rushmore - it was cool but our energy was beginning to wane, so we hopped back in car and tried to get the next place lined up - Jewel Cave was our original plan - but the tour schedule was not lining up - so we opted for Custer State Park, and also fit in a visit to Badlands National Park - which was really cool to see -

Day 11 - 6 AM flight form Rapid City - arrived in Reston at 3:30.

Wow!!!  I would go back to Wyoming and I definitely recommend the fishing and the hiking out there -


Rob