Time: 4:30PM – 6:00PM

Location: Upstream from the Rex Hale Campground

North Fork of the Shoshone River 08/14/2018 Photo Album

Jane and I completed a fun hike on the Elk Fork Trail five miles east of the Rex Hale Campground on Tuesday, August 14, 2018. When we returned to our campsite, we waded into the North Fork of the Shoshone River in our Chacos in order to wash the trail dirt and grime from our ankles and legs. The Elk Fork Trail traversed a sagebrush covered hillside, and a lack of recent precipitation provided a very dusty hiking environment. When we returned to the campsite after our foot cleansing, I asked Jane if I could fish for a few hours in the river that swept by our campground. She agreed, and I promised to return no later than 6:30.

Post-Hike Cool Down

I cautiously approached the river and discovered a gorgeous long and wide pool a mere twenty yards upstream from our campsite. As I observed, a rise appeared one foot above a small exposed rock. What could the fish be eating? My Wyoming fly fishing guide book suggested that green drakes and gray drakes were present during the middle of August, so I began my quest for a North Fork trout with a parachute green drake size 14. I executed several casts to the wide shallow area at the tail of the pool without success, and then I lobbed a longer toss, so that the green drake landed four feet above the exposed rock. Thwack! a small rainbow bolted to the surface and gobbled my green drake at the exact location where a rise appeared earlier.

I was delighted with my early good fortune, and I continued to spray casts across the lower pool, but the green drake was ignored. I moved upstream to some very attractive deeper water, and my imitation failed to elicit interest. I decided to test a dry/dropper configuration and tied a yellow pool toy, iron sally and salvation nymph to my line. Once again I dispersed casts across the various feeding lanes, and this managed to stir some interest. Unfortunately the action manifested itself in the form of refusals, as three fish darted to the surface and shifted away at the last instant. The sound of one of these last minute misdirections suggested that it was a larger fish.

I systematically moved upstream and probed the remainder of the enticing pool, and then I progressed to a nice long shelf pool. Here I probed the current seam and the ribbon of slower moving water between the fast current and the shoreline, but I either presented the wrong flies, or the fish developed a case of lock jaw. The lengthy lapse in action caused me to pause, and I decided to swap the pool toy for a yellow fat Albert, and I retained the trailing nymphs. I noticed a couple golden stoneflies in the space above the river earlier.

The fat Albert elicited a few weak refusals, and after the second one in a swirly deep edge pocket, I switched to a single yellow Letort hopper. The change was validated, when the fish that rejected the stimulator fell for the Letort hopper. I continued to prospect with the hopper imitation a bit farther, and then I quit and returned to the campsite for dinner. Two small fish and a batch of refusals represented a decent introduction to the North Fork of the Shoshone River.

Fish Landed: 2