Has anyone here fished Slough Creek in Yellowstone?

[NJDrew]

We are planning out our trip for next year and its looking like Slough Creek in Yellowstone will be our destination. I was wondering if anyone here has ever fished Slough Creek before and had some advice they would like to share. Right now we are planning on hiking to the third meadow and camping there for the week.

 

[PRomano]

PM Gadfly, he's been there a couple of times and camped in the park.

 

[Rusty Spinner]

Bring lots of bear spray. Not sure if that works on the wolves as well as the bears, but the fishing will be terrific if you don't get eaten

IMO, I wouldn't spend an entire week fishing only Slough, but that's just me. Too much great water to limit yourself to just one stream.

 

[coolkyle]

IMO, I wouldn't spend an entire week fishing only Slough, but that's just me. Too much great water to limit yourself to just one stream.

I agree, fish the Lamar, Soda Butte, the Yellowstone, and Clark's Fork after a few days on Slough Creek.

 

[gadfly]

Definitely bring a can of bear spray and keep it handy. Bear incidents seem to be on the rise in the park, and Slough Creek is a prime area. Buy it at a gas station/convenience store rather than an outfitter and you'll save a few bucks. I've not camped up SC, but I have fished up halfway through the second meadow. You will definitely want a backup plan. A storm up in the mountains can blow out the creek for days. Check in with a park based shop on your way into the park to find out about conditions. Blue Ribbon in West Yellowstone is a good one.

Other good back up streams would include the the Paradise Valley spring creeks, the Gallatin, and the Upper Madison.

Even though you are camping in the third meadow, you'll probably want a car camping location for the way in or out. I'd recommend the Slough Creek Campsite right near the trailhead or Pebble Creek, which is just east and located near the Soda Butte. I think you can make reservations for these sites. In high season, you cant' get a non-reservation site past 10 or 11 am.

I fished the Slough in Aug when the spruce moths were on the water. A medium sized tan caddis w/o hackle did the trick.

Good luck!

 

[Ausable]

One of the prettiest places in the world you will feel like you have stepped back in time. Te fishing should be great but not all that challenging. Try exploring the water below the campground as well where the fish are bigger and Delaware tough.

 

[NJDrew]

Bring lots of bear spray. Not sure if that works on the wolves as well as the bears, but the fishing will be terrific if you don't get eaten

IMO, I wouldn't spend an entire week fishing only Slough, but that's just me. Too much great water to limit yourself to just one stream.

Thank you Rusty, we have various means of protecting ourselves from bears and such

We might split our trip into two places depending on how the trip goes. These trips are about fishing, some adventure, fun and most of all a chance to unwind. We could run around and fish 4 or 5 rivers in a week, but that would be pretty taxing on the group and not much fun IMO.

Definitely bring a can of bear spray and keep it handy. Bear incidents seem to be on the rise in the park, and Slough Creek is a prime area. Buy it at a gas station/convenience store rather than an outfitter and you'll save a few bucks. I've not camped up SC, but I have fished up halfway through the second meadow. You will definitely want a backup plan. A storm up in the mountains can blow out the creek for days. Check in with a park based shop on your way into the park to find out about conditions. Blue Ribbon in West Yellowstone is a good one.

Other good back up streams would include the the Paradise Valley spring creeks, the Gallatin, and the Upper Madison.

Even though you are camping in the third meadow, you'll probably want a car camping location for the way in or out. I'd recommend the Slough Creek Campsite right near the trailhead or Pebble Creek, which is just east and located near the Soda Butte. I think you can make reservations for these sites. In high season, you cant' get a non-reservation site past 10 or 11 am.

I fished the Slough in Aug when the spruce moths were on the water. A medium sized tan caddis w/o hackle did the trick.

Good luck!

Thank you for the info. We will probably camp at the trail head the day of arrival so people have chance to recoup from flying and fish down stream. We still have to work out the fine details of the trip.

 

[AKSkim]

Yo Drew.

Someone was making fun of cowboy hats over on Salmon River Report 2011, and it wasn't me.

But I do have my oar out right now....