Hunting Big Yellowstone Cutties

Eastern Idaho, summer 2023

My best friend Camron has been fly fishing with me since I can remember. He and I have pursued this sport with an obsessed passion. We've each taken different roads, leading us from one fly fishing high to the next; our career choices sometimes feeling like only a means to an end, so we can fly fish more. Camron recently took an even bigger step in the fly fishing world, designing and manufacturing his own fly rods and reels. Streem Outdoors is his company and they make fantastic, high performance fly rods and reels at an affordable price. His direct to consumer model allows him to offer the best prices to his customers. I couldn't be more excited for him.

So when Camron asked me where we could go to get some great Idaho scenery while attempting to film big, wild trout eating dry flies, I knew just the place. This river has a special place in my heart, because it always produces at least a few giant Yellowstone Cutthroats each time I've fished it. Big, migratory and wild fish are not on every bank and riffle, but that's what makes it special; the hunt.

Katie and I made the long trek, arriving late afternoon. We set camp and then drove up the road to gaze at the stream, check some huckleberry patches and maybe spot a moose. We found a few berries but nothing worth more than grazing on. Camron wouldn't meet us until the following day.

I awoke early the next morning, eager to wet a line and see what the stream had to offer. I recently created a new realistic hopper pattern, so I tied that on first. It was just the beginning of grasshopper season and we'd already seen plenty hopping in the grass; all sizes and colors.

   

I made my way quietly into the stream. The banks were lined with tall willows and grass over my head, making traveling along the banks nearly impossible. I gently waded upstream to a nice overhanging bush. The current slowly drifted my hopper along its edge when... SHHLURP! The subtle take of a wary old cutthroat made my heart skip a beat. I set the hook and was pleasantly surprised to find a quality fish on my line. This is why we came here!

This stream is more spring creek like than most of the western rivers I fish. Sure there's boulders and riffles here and there, but these big cutties prefer slow, deep corners, cut banks, logs or anywhere that's deeper than 3 feet. The water is surprisingly hard to read, but when you find a fish, it usually isn't alone. I took a few steps upstream after releasing the fish and made a cast closer to the middle of the river. SHHRLURP! Another dandy fish took my hopper. 

I caught 4 fish on this corner, finishing with one around 20 inches. Not a bad start!

I walked back to camp with pleasant news for Katie. "There's fish down there." I said with a mischievous smile.

Katie got her waders on and we tried a few spots downstream. Once again, it wasn't until we found just the right type of water that we found fish. The stream made a turn, carving out a deep channel on the inside bend that pushed into a bank with overhanging bushes. Yep, this water looks fishy!

A fish rose just upstream of us, revealing its location and size, another large golden cutty. Katie slowly worked her casts upstream until the first fish ate; a smallish fish. We quickly released it. She was then onto a larger fish, approximately 16 inches. 

Katie had a few more eats on that corner but the action slowed. We were able to really see the topography of the run and knew there had to be more fish in there; a later return to this spot was a must. 

Camron arrived later that day, after Katie and I tried the upper stretches of the stream without much luck. 

We ate an early dinner and then hit the water. We each took turns casting and filming each other's drifts, hoping to capture that exciting moment when a fish comes and eats your fly. We covered a fair amount of water before Camron grabbed the first fish. It was fairly small but it came out of a large, deep run. Camron handed the rod to me to try. He had his 9ft 5wt, Moby series rod rigged up and I admit, it felt wonderful in my hands. I launched a cast upstream and began twitching my fly slowly as it drifted back downstream toward me. SHHLURP! A big cutty came up and inhaled the fly, immediately thrashing on the surface.

 

"Ooooh, this is a nice fish!" I said, as the fish took off for a run. 

"This is what we came here for!" Camron commented as he grabbed my net. After a great battle he scooped the 20 inch fish in the net.

We sent the old beast on it's way and Katie was up next. Katie had several eats and hookups but sadly we couldn't get one in the net. We continued on upstream.

We made our way to a split in the stream. I spotted a rise at the top of a run just before it pushed into a deep wooded bank. I offered the rod to Katie but she declined. I shot a cast upstream and the fish immediately took. The battle was short and the 15 inch fish popped off; a casualty of barbless hooks.

We ended the evening at a promising run, but couldn't put a big fish in the net. 

We awoke the next morning to rain. Camron and I waded numerous bends in an untouched section of the river, only to walk away with a couple of unsuccessful eats. The cooler rainy weather in the morning clearly had impacted the hopper bite.

The weather had stabilized by the early afternoon and we fished some other sections of water with Katie. We found ourselves at a deep corner with logs. Katie fished for a while but for some reason the fish liked my touch as I had 3 eats from big cutties here; one of which was nearly off the tip of the rod. All came after little twitches of the hopper. 

Young Leopard frogs were numerous in the grass near the river banks.

We beat the water the next few hours finding very little action. We caught a few small fish but it was clear the big fish were spread out, favoring very specific locations. 

We returned to camp, ate dinner and Camron and I returned to the stream for some evening redemption. We found ourselves at the corner where Katie had landed a few the day before. With the hole already scouted, we could now fish it effectively. Luckily for us, the fish cooperated. Camron put his first big cutty of the trip in the net!  

We slowly continued around the corner, hooking numerous fish; many in the 15-20 inch range. We had more eats that night than we had all day leading up to this. It was a good thing we decided to come out that evening!

The last morning, Camron and I went out again fishing a new beat of water. The action was slow, but we finished at a promising deep cutbank. 

"Cam, we better head back after this. I'll need to pack up camp soon." I said, as I climbed onto a log to film this promising water.

Camron threw a long cast quartered upstream and began twitching his hopper as it drifted. SHHLURP! A massive cutty downed his hopper and the fight was on. The big fish thrashed on the surface, trying it's best to shake the hook. Camron was ecstatic; this fish was big! I made my way out to him and got ready to net the fish. Pop! The rod came back at Cam and so did his fly, the fish had shook the hook. 

"Darn!" Camron slunk with big fish depression.

Unfortunately, our time was up and we had to head back to the real world. It had been a fun trip hunting big Yellowstone Cutthroats. We captured some cool footage, only motivating us to return again; chasing the next fly fishing high. 

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