I woke up to a beautiful sunny crisp September morning. I was so excited to get started today because my husband Rick had made plans for us to fly fish on the Yellowstone River. Our cabin is nestled on the bank of the Madison River with 11,000-foot mountains as the backdrop but today we wanted to try something different. We began with a nice hardy breakfast at a small, quaint café in West Yellowstone. As we talked about our impending day the news in town was that several inches of snow had fallen yesterday in certain areas of the park. Ok, I have braved the cold winter fly fishing the Salmon River in New York in the past but there is something about the wind gusts that pick up on the Western rivers when the sun goes behind the clouds that overshadows the Salmon River winters. Nothing could dampen our spirits and off we went.

Two hours later we arrived at an area on the Yellowstone about a half mile below the LeHardy Rapids that my husband called the "flats". In order to get the big cutthroas he informed me I had to cross the river to the other side. Now picture this, my husband is 6'1" and was once a soccer player (strong legs), I am 5'5" and a petite women (short legs) With that said I looked down over the cliff at this large and deep river I asked Rick "are you crazy?". He assured me that I would be fine and that the water level is down considerably from last month when he was out there. So down the path we went and with the help of my trusty stick and reassurance from Rick I made it across. 

The sun was shinning bright, but just off to the East were some nasty looking clouds. Lets get started. I had been on the Yellowstone in the past but never on the other side of the river. We used a #10 2X Beadhead Pheasant tail and with my new Thomas and Thomas rod I felt confident. After several casts I got my first bump. If you have ever fished for cutthroats you know they are an exciting and spectacular trout to catch. I was excited and continued to cast to that same spot for several more minutes. No luck, "he" must have moved on and so did I. 

I waded down further from Rick who, by the way, was doing well and had just caught an 18" cutthroat. About an hour later the dark clouds started covering the sun and the winds picked up. I thought it was going to snow but as luck had it the clouds moved past fast and within an hour the sun was back out shinning. As I gazed down the river a Buffalo was crossing to the other side, it was such a beautiful scene. Rick then called my attention to river otter cruising down the river in front of us. Even thought I had not caught any cutthroats yet just being here and taking in the beauty of the surroundings was just what the doctor had ordered.

Rick caught two more beautiful cutthroats about 18-20" long and "fat", time for lunch. The sandwiches we had purchased from Ernie's Deli in West Yellowstone tasted so good. It is amazing how I can work up an appetite not catching anything. Rick suggested we try our luck at a run just below the LeHardy Rapids. Persistance paid off and I finally caught a beautiful 20" cutthroat. I held him up with pride as Rick took my picture then I released him back to his home where he could lay in wait for another fly to go past. Rick had switched over to a #14 Improved X-Caddis and caught two more before we had to call it a day.