The goal of this year's FISH trip was to fish the fantastic small streams that surround Cody, Wyoming including the North and South Forks of the Shoshone, the Clark's Fork and as many of the other streams that drain out of the west slope of Yellowstone Park as we could. We planned to headquarter at Monster Lake and head out each morning in groups of 2 or 4 to explore, fish and enjoy each other's company. We were a group of 26 with 12 guides. That was the plan... but in the days leading up to the trip we were thrown a few curves.
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| Monster Lake was under new management. |
The first was the purchase of Monster Lake by Kanye West a few weeks before our arrival. After ironing out an agreement with the Kanye representatives, our group was "grandfathered" in... whew, that was dodged bullet Number 1.
The second bullet was a wet one. On the Saturday before our arrival, a monster fall storm dumped 18 inches of snow in parts of Yellowstone and a couple inches of rain down lower. This blew out the Clark's Fork and the north and South Forks of the Shoshone.
These spikes are never a good thing when you're going fishing
After some creative thinking and explorations, we found fishable water for our first day, Sunday. Monday and Tuesday went very well as waters cleared up and the fishing turned on. As a result, Bullet Number 2 was also successfully dodged and FISH came to a very successful conclusion.
Thanks to all involved for going with the flow. Thanks to the guides for a great job. Thanks to all FISH members for your good humor and positivity and thanks to Ryan and Kayleigh for a job well done under somewhat difficult circumstances. And thanks to Kanye, we appreciate your willingness to host us and not ruin our trip at the last minute!
