Yellowstone Park, June 27th, 2023

Lewis River Between Lewis and Shoshone Lakes

Cool weather is keeping the Firehole River in good fishing shape. Water is cool enough for caddis, PMD and sally activity. The same is happening to a lesser extent on the lower Gibbon River. The Madison River features a good PM caddis hatch for some top water fishing. Use light (5X) tippets for natural drifts of your favorite small caddis patterns.

Perhaps the best still water fishing in the entire region is on Shoshone Lake, but only with the right strategy. Here it is. A three mile walk packing a flotation device down the DeLacy Creek Trail between Old Faithful and Thumb Junction is required or through boating up the Lewis River to realize it. Get out on the lake and look for submerged weed beds in water no more than ten to twelve feet deep. The beds host scuds, leeches, a few snails, and other food forms, so lake trout and a few brown trout are attracted. Use a full sink line to get patterns for these down to the beds, and action is sure to happen. The lake trout run 17-22 inches and the brown trout are slightly larger. The other good fishing in this area is on the Lewis River between Shoshone Lakes where large brown trout are chasing streamer patterns.