The North Fork of the Shoshone: The Other Side of Yellowstone
I first fished the North Fork of the Shoshone in late September of 1981 with Roy Spiegel and Stuart Nichols after we decided to abandon a slow day at Buffalo Ford on the Yellowstone River and search out some different water.
Since we had already fished the “hot spots” in the Park during the first week of a two-week vacation as well as the other major watersheds bordering the south, west, and north Yellowstone region, one of us suggested that we try the river that flows east on the other side of Yellowstone. We removed our waders, kept the rods strung up in the back of Roy’s pickup, and headed east past Fishing Bridge on the road leading to Cody, Wyoming.
That day on the North Fork of the Shoshone was unforgettable. Double and triple hookups were common as we fished the first run. Some were pure rainbows, others were native Yellowstone cutthroats, except these fish were not snaky and thin like their cousins on the other side of Sylvan Pass. These cutthroat were square and massive, golden-olive in color with dark spots along the backs, and had wide, broomlike tails, broad and powerful enough to maneuver in the heavier waters. The cuttbows (cutthroat/rainbow hybrids) we caught had neon-green backs and nickel-bright flanks and were as strong as some of the steelhead we were used to catching on our home waters in northern California.
It made no difference whether the flies floated on top or sunk; the trout nailed everything. The three of us had died and gone to fly-fishing heaven. There was no doubt about it.
Just as unbelievable as the fishing was the absence of other anglers. Judging from the lack of bootprints along the river’s banks, we may have been the first to fish the river that summer. Needless to say, the North Fork of the Shoshone had become our favorite Western river. Roy and Stuart went back to California; I never left.
Twenty years later, the North Fork of the Shoshone still has the same mix of fat, strong trout in its waters. According to Wyoming Game and Fish surveys, there are 2,500 brown, rainbow, cutthroat, and cuttbow trout per mile, and the average fish is a respectable 16 inches. When hooked, the trout use their broad shoulders and deep girths to smash tippets, straighten hooks, or burn line from reels in the heavy currents of the North Fork. It isn’t unusual to catch trout larger than 20 inches. The larger fish are primarily rainbows, but the brown trout in the North Fork can easily attain lengths of two feet or more.
From its headwaters in the Absaroka Mountain Range, a rugged, remote region of volcanic peaks, the river flows eastward approximately 60 miles through the Absaroka Range before entering scenic East Yellowstone Valley and ending at Buffalo Bill Reservoir.
Along the way, seven major tributaries flush into the river inside the Shoshone National Forest, including Jones, Middle, Grinnell, Eagle, and Fishawk creeks, the Elk Fork, and Sweetwater Creeks. Each feeder stream is a miniature version of the North Fork and provides excellent fishing, especially with a dry fly. The additional flows also add more than 150 miles of water to explore, offering solitude, abundant wildlife, and scenery.
Driving west out of Cody via Highway 14/16/20 you can access the Lower North Fork at Gibb’s Bridge, which straddles the North Fork at its entrance to Buffalo Bill Reservoir; Wapiti Bridge Access, four miles west of Gibb’s; and Livermore Access, four miles past the Wapiti Bridge access.
There is no high-water access law in Wyoming, so anglers are limited to relatively short sections of the river outside of the Shoshone National Forest. When floating this lower section, you can’t drop an anchor because the private property law in Wyoming extends to the middle of the river. River access is easily obtained and plentiful in Shoshone National Forest, approximately 20 miles west of Cody.
To get to the North Fork of the Shoshone from Yellowstone National Park, take the road leading east from Fishing Bridge to Pahaska Tepee, one of Buffalo Bill’s original hunting lodges on the North Fork of the Shoshone, a distance of 20 miles.
With the abundance of easy access, the North Fork is primarily a wade-fishing river. It does have a short floating season, depending on water flows and snowpack, which can be from the first of July to the third week of August. Note that the river is closed to fishing until July 1 from Buffalo Bill Reservoir to Newton Creek. The water is difficult to float because of the many boulders in the river, and it can be dangerous at high water. Inexperienced rowers should not float this river.
Copyright © 2012 Intermedia Outdoors
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