Fishing

Seven varieties of game fish live in the parks: native cutthroat, rainbow, brown, brook, lake trout, grayling, and mountain whitefish. Of the trout, only the cutthroats are native, and they are being pressured in the big lake by the larger lake trout. As a result, you can't keep any pink-meat cutthroat caught anywhere in Yellowstone, and you must keep every last lake trout. This catch-and-release policy has done little to discourage fly-fishing purists who are more interested in the sport than in its spoils.

The Yellowstone season typically opens on the Saturday of Memorial Day weekend and ends on the first Sunday in November. Yellowstone Lake has a slightly shorter season, and the lake's tributaries are closed until July 15 to avoid conflicts between humans and grizzly bears, both of which are attracted to spawning trout.

Many fine anglers come to Yellowstone, and they are well informed about which seasons are best on which stretches of river. In June, try the Yellowstone River downstream of Yellowstone Lake, where the cutthroat trout spawn. In July, fish the Madison River near the west entrance, and fish again in late fall for rainbow and some brown trout. In late summer, you can try to hook the cutthroats that thin out by September on the Lamar River, in the park's beautiful northeast corner.

Fishing on Yellowstone Lake has been popular until recent years, when regulations designed to bring back the waning population of cutthroat trout began to send some of the trolling powerboats elsewhere. The problem is the introduced lake trout, which compete with, and eat, the cutthroat. If you catch a lake trout, you must kill it, and if you catch a cutthroat, you must throw it back. Certain areas of the lake, such as the southeast arm, are closed to motorized boats -- this makes the Yellowstone River inlet a wonderful area to canoe, camp, and fish.

You can fish the Yellowstone River below the Grand Canyon by hiking down into Seven-Mile Hole, a great place to cast (not much vegetation to snag on) for cutthroat trout from July to September. You'll have the best luck around Sulphur Creek.

Other good fishing stretches include the Gibbon and Firehole rivers, which merge to form the Madison River on the park's west side, and the 3-mile Lewis River Channel between Shoshone and Lewis lakes during the fall spawning run of brown trout.

There is access on the Madison River for anglers with disabilities, 3 1/2 miles west of Madison Junction at the Haynes Overlook, where you'll find a wheelchair-accessible fishing platform overhanging the river's edge along 70 feet of the bank.

Suggested Reading -- Two reference guides present excellent information about park fishing opportunities and requirements: Fishing Yellowstone National Park, by Richard Parks (Falcon Press, 2003), and The Yellowstone Fly-Fishing Guide, by Craig Mathews and Clayton Molinero (Lyons Press, 1997). Both can be purchased from the Yellowstone Association.

Permits -- Park permits are required for Yellowstone anglers ages 16 and older; the permit costs $15 for 3 days, $20 for 7 days, and $35 for the season. Youths 12 to 15 years of age also must have a permit, but it's free. Children younger than 12 years old may fish without a permit. Permits are available at any ranger station, visitor center, Yellowstone Park General Store, and most fishing shops in the gateways. The season usually begins on the Saturday of Memorial Day weekend and continues through the first Sunday in November. Exceptions to this rule are Yellowstone Lake, its tributaries, and sections of the Yellowstone River.

Supplies & Fishing Guides -- If you need supplies or a guide in Gardiner, stop at Parks' Fly Shop, 202-A Hwy. 89 (tel. 406/848-7314). In West Yellowstone, check Bud Lilly's Trout Shop, 39 Madison Ave. (tel. 406/646-7801). Full-day trips typically cost about $350 for two people.

Also, several Jackson, Wyoming-based fishing guides lead trips into Yellowstone.