I headed out Sunday afternoon to check out a lake in YNP I have been wanting to fish. Trout Lake is about 10 miles south of the NE entrance and I was hoping it had seen little or no pressure for a while because of that entrance being closed after the flooding. It was reported to be a “short but steep hike” from the trailhead so I figured it might be doable with the Cruzer. I traveled up Chief Joseph hwy to the Beartooth area and chose a nice campsite at Crazy Creek. I was amazed at how few people were in the area and how many sites along the way up were vacant. I don’t know if it’s the economy, gas prices or the cold late winter weather, but I didn’t mind the lack of others. Crazy Creek Falls is just across the road from the campground and the water goes under the highway and right behind some of the spots. After setting up I took the short drive to the park entrance to check on getting my boat inspection for the following day. The lady there told me that the person that does it will be working the gate at 7am in the morning.
The next morning I was at the entrance at 7am sharp, got my sticker, drove to the trailhead and loaded up the Cruzer for the hike in. The reported “short and steep” was extremely accurate, my fitness watch calculated the total distance up the hill as 1/3 of a mile. As for the “steep“ part, I had to stop several times to catch my breath and avoid barfing up my gourmet breakfast of Rice Chex and BRCC Caramel Espresso Triple Shot. Finally at the top of the climb I found a beautiful little lake in a fabulous setting. I had the lake to myself for an hour or so before several hikers and a couple of shore fishermen made their way up the trail. My hopes of bigger fish were soon dashed as they were still spawning near the inlet area on the north side which is closed to fishing. However, I did bring the 3wt. and I was rewarded with an abundance of 10-13” cutties that were eager and willing. I fished until around noon and then headed back to the truck for some lunch. The walk down was much easier than the walk up!
Since I still had a lot of daylight left, I decided to go hit a lake in the Beartooths I had visited a couple years back that wasn’t to far from my camp. Lily Lake (I believe named for the lily pads all along most of the shoreline) is a fairly deep lake with easy access and holds cutties and some grayling. I have only caught one small greyling and was hoping to maybe find some bigger ones. Unfortunately I didn’t get any greyling but had fun with more feisty cutties. After a long enjoyable day, I fell asleep listening to the moving water running through the back of my campsite.
The next morning I took the short drive up to Beartooth Lake as this lake holds greyling also. No greyling and the fishing was very slow, only a few very small cutties before the wind starting blowing, so I headed back to camp, got something to eat and headed home. I will definitely hit Trout Lake again when those bigger fish are active again and continue my pursuit of some larger greyling.
My campsite at Crazy Creek.
Even the occasional rain shower made the drive beautiful.
Crazy Creek Falls
Cresting the hill and seeing Trout Lake.
Not a bad place to spend the morning. Where the trees meet the water on the right side is the inlet. I never walked over to look but heard hikers saying, “wow, look at those big fish.”
Lots of Yellowstone Cutthroat.
The next morning I was at the entrance at 7am sharp, got my sticker, drove to the trailhead and loaded up the Cruzer for the hike in. The reported “short and steep” was extremely accurate, my fitness watch calculated the total distance up the hill as 1/3 of a mile. As for the “steep“ part, I had to stop several times to catch my breath and avoid barfing up my gourmet breakfast of Rice Chex and BRCC Caramel Espresso Triple Shot. Finally at the top of the climb I found a beautiful little lake in a fabulous setting. I had the lake to myself for an hour or so before several hikers and a couple of shore fishermen made their way up the trail. My hopes of bigger fish were soon dashed as they were still spawning near the inlet area on the north side which is closed to fishing. However, I did bring the 3wt. and I was rewarded with an abundance of 10-13” cutties that were eager and willing. I fished until around noon and then headed back to the truck for some lunch. The walk down was much easier than the walk up!
Since I still had a lot of daylight left, I decided to go hit a lake in the Beartooths I had visited a couple years back that wasn’t to far from my camp. Lily Lake (I believe named for the lily pads all along most of the shoreline) is a fairly deep lake with easy access and holds cutties and some grayling. I have only caught one small greyling and was hoping to maybe find some bigger ones. Unfortunately I didn’t get any greyling but had fun with more feisty cutties. After a long enjoyable day, I fell asleep listening to the moving water running through the back of my campsite.
The next morning I took the short drive up to Beartooth Lake as this lake holds greyling also. No greyling and the fishing was very slow, only a few very small cutties before the wind starting blowing, so I headed back to camp, got something to eat and headed home. I will definitely hit Trout Lake again when those bigger fish are active again and continue my pursuit of some larger greyling.
My campsite at Crazy Creek.
Even the occasional rain shower made the drive beautiful.
Crazy Creek Falls
Cresting the hill and seeing Trout Lake.
Not a bad place to spend the morning. Where the trees meet the water on the right side is the inlet. I never walked over to look but heard hikers saying, “wow, look at those big fish.”
Lots of Yellowstone Cutthroat.
very nice
