Yellowstone National Park is one of the premier fly-fishing destinations in the United States, if not the world. There are places where you can catch more and bigger trout, but nowhere else can you catch native Yellowstone cutthroat trout in company of the full complement of wildlife that was present at the time of Lewis and Clark. Wildness is the thing that sets fishing in Yellowstone apart from anywhere else in the contiguous US. This field seminar will visit one of the wildest of the wild, Yellowstone River south the SE arm of Yellowstone Lake, the true “upper” Yellowstone. We will be shuttled by boat from Lake Lodge to a remote campsite near the SE arm of the Lake. From there we will spend the next six days exploring this wild region and fishing these pristine waters. Our trip will include two two-night “base” camps to allow plenty of on-water time, and optionally explore the high-country of the Colter Peak massif.

About the instructors

Jesse has spent all his life in the Rocky Mountain West and has been an avid fly fisherman for most of that time. He holds certificates from the National Association of Interpretation, Leave No Trace, and the Yellowstone Association. He brings these skills and a lifetime of experience backpacking and fly-fishing backcountry water to this field seminar. He is co-Editor and Contributing Map editor for the award winning (Big Sky Award, High Plains Book Award finalist, and Independent Publishers Gold Medal) book Voices of Yellowstone’s Capstone: A Narrative Atlas of the Absaroka-Beartooth Wilderness.

Building his first fly rod at the age of 12, Steve has spent a lifetime chasing trout and a variety of other fish all over the world. Now, with his true passion clear, he now lives 3 miles from the park boundary and 25 minutes from the Lamar River. Certified as a casting instructor in 2001 and continuing that education through the Wulff Casting Instructor School in 2015, Steve has taught fly fishing for the Yellowstone Institute since 2015. As an experienced mountaineer, SAR volunteer, climber, skier and hiker, Steve’s passions revolve around his outdoor experience and familiarity with Yellowstone and the surrounding mountains.