Advice needed for Lewis and Yellowstone Lakes

The Fish Whisperer

The Fish Whisperer

Steelhead
Forum Supporter
All,

We are headed to Lake Hebgen for a week just after Labor Day( 3rd time in 4 years). We stay in Madison Arm and explore from there. I keep my pontoon at the waters edge so I can fish for a few hours and so you may ask.....why would you go anywhere else with Lake Hebgen at your front door with some of the best lake fishing in the country.???

My wife wants to check out Old Faithful Lodge and do the tour thing and says I can drop her off......huh..?...what...? really...???

Lewis Lake inside the park with my pontoon with prospects of Eastern Brookies, Browns and lake Trout sounds very appealing. Yellowstone Lake is also good simply by wading in and fishing a sinking line. I did it awhile back over the Bridge Bay lodge.

My question is this:

Does anyone have any experience with Lewis Lake..?

Does anyone have any experience with wading in Yellowstone Lake maybe up around Gull Point..?

Any advice appreciated,

Thank you kindly.
 
I've fished the rivermouth that comes into Lewis from Shoshone Lake a few different times. I was always good for Lake trout of all things. It's a slow, beautiful little river between the lakes. I was swinging buggers. I never fished Lewis itself as we were always beelining up to Shoshone to set up canoe camp. The wind blows hard out of the South pretty much every afternoon.
 
A bit early for the good fishing between Lewis and Shoshone. Yellowstone Lake would be my pick especially if you can haul your pontoon. All along the N shore of Gull Point is as good an area as any.

GL

PS - Henrys Lake has been pretty hit or miss this year. Fish population only 25% of target. Hebgen thus far has been awful. Buddy and I fished it last Friday and caught 1 rainbow each. He and a different buddy went back today and landed 3 small browns between them. Zero bugs. No idea whats happening but strange season.
 
You don't have time. There isn't that much to do in Old Faithful Inn. You'll leave her waiting for 2 hours, and you'll suffer for it.
 
But you could jump in the Firehole for a bit while she explores the geyser area......
 
If you are dropping the wife off at Old Faithful, then the best spot to tackle Yellowstone Lake is along the shoreline just north of West Thumb. A lot closer than Gull Point. With a pontoon, you can easily reach Carrington Island which marks a large reef just off shore. North of Carrington, there is an extensive sandy cove with a visible weed line just offshore. The reef holds both Lakers and Cutts, while the cove holds Cutts along the weed line. There are several pullouts on the road in the area to drop your pontoon in. If it is not too windy, this is a decent place to hunt cutts on Yellowstone Lake.
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Lakers and Cutt taken off the reef at Carrington Island

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Whatever you do around Yellowstone, please don't be this guy:

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This fellow is sporting a WA license plate on his car. Unless you look close up, it may be hard to see that sow grizzly has two cubs following her. Swimmy snapped this photo Saturday at Soda Butte in the Lamar Valley. This is one reason why so many park visitors are referred to as "tourons."
 
Salmo_g said:
Whatever you do around Yellowstone, please don't be this guy:

View attachment 74630

This fellow is sporting a WA license plate on his car. Unless you look close up, it may be hard to see that sow grizzly has two cubs following her. Swimmy snapped this photo Saturday at Soda Butte in the Lamar Valley. This is one reason why so many park visitors are referred to as "tourons."
Click to expand...
Grizzlies are easy to dominate if u know what you are doing
 
Wetswinger said:
I've fished the rivermouth that comes into Lewis from Shoshone Lake a few different times. I was always good for Lake trout of all things. It's a slow, beautiful little river between the lakes. I was swinging buggers. I never fished Lewis itself as we were always beelining up to Shoshone to set up canoe camp. The wind blows hard out of the South pretty much every afternoon.
Click to expand...
We also canoed up to Shoshone but only made it about halfway before a snowstorm squished us and forced us to retreat. How was the fishing ? We intended to camp at geyser basin but it was impossible with the conditions i.e. sideways blowing snow and serious chop.
 
I've been there three times and never had much success. The lake is mainly a lake trout fishery and I'm not clued into those techniques. The mouth at Lewis has always been good though..Coming up from the South, we would canoe and fish the Snake right below the Jackson L. damn. Beautiful float with good fishing swinging soft hackle flies..
 
Wetswinger said:
I've been there three times and never had much success. The lake is mainly a lake trout fishery and I'm not clued into those techniques. The mouth at Lewis has always been good though..Coming up from the South, we would canoe and fish the Snake right below the Jackson L. damn. Beautiful float with good fishing swinging soft hackle flies..
Click to expand...
I thought there was some serious big fat brown trout fishing in that lake especially near the geyser basin end. We saw some hefty fish in the outlet that might have been spawning (late September)but since we were in danger freezing to death we kept paddling.
 
I have done well on big trout between the L/S lakes mid-late September. I learned the bead method fishing with 2 guide friends. I did not like that method because it felt like I was snagging fish even if they were all in the corner of the mouth. I never wanted to do that again. If I fish that slot again it will be 2hand trout Spey and streamer.
 
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