Text and photos by Mary L. Peachin
Vol. 22, No. 1
A tributary of the Yellowstone River, Montana’s Boulder River originates in the Absaroka Beartooth Wilderness, north of Yellowstone National Park. Being a fly fishing family, the Peachins were introducing Jeffrey’s ten year old son Benjamin to the challenges of learning to fly fish. Of course, we didn’t make it easy for him. We were floating white water rivers inhabited by large rainbow and brown trout in places where the rivers flow through private land making access to wading anglers very difficult.
Boulder is too rough for drift boats and without boat ramps very few of Montana’s guides are able to access this blue ribbon fishery. It’s mid-July and the River has dropped to fishable water levels. The trout don’t see enough flies to become educated. Using large attractor dries, seeing trout rise from clear water depths to take the fly is one of fly fishing great thrills.
The Boulder’s alpine setting becomes one of hay pastures surrounded by cottonwoods. White water and consistent riffles tumble aggressively over large boulders followed by short deep-aquarium like pools. Rainbow and brown trout, and yes, the annoying whitefish, average fifteen inches, with some browns as large as twenty inches. The lower Boulder offers solid hatches of baetis Mayfly-like, caddis, stones, pmd’s or Pale Morning Dun flies, and terrestrials providing an opportunity to match the hatch with emergers and dries. River flow knowledge is a must in order to fish the river during rime season. Our guide Chad Olsen, along with two of his guides, Will and Matt, had that expertise.
Last summer Chad celebrated 25 years of fly fishing guiding. I discovered his talents early in his career, just out of his teens, and we fished the Yellowstone, Madison, and Gallatin and more—all rivers more familiar to anglers. My daughter Suzie, who packs a fly rod in the trunk of her Prius continued where I left off. In recent years, she has invited us to join her during her brief break from Oregon education to fish with Chad on the Thermopolis River in Wyoming, and more recently to educated Benjamin in Montana.
Our second day on the water was on the Stillwater River. Also a blue ribbon fishery, many stretches flow through Class II and III whitewater. While it took us several hours to reach our put-in at Cliff Swallow then float approximately eight miles to the Johnson Bridge (8 mile) take out, it was worth the drive especially when Ben spontaneously got the hang of throwing a fly and hook ten trout before releasing them.
Fishing the Boulder and Stillwater Rivers was just part of our Yellowstone family fun. We stayed at Reedfly Farm, a lodge in Paradise Valley located on the banks of the Yellowstone River. Robin Naughton, a charming hostess, made the longer drives to our fly fishing destinations seem worthwhile.
Packing away our fly rods, the five of us piled into Suzie’s car for a great day in Yellowstone National Park. Our route took us through Gardiner’s Roosevelt Gate into Mammoth Hots Springs then a drive to Canyon Village. Our destination was the Roosevelt Corral for the covered wagon cookout at Yancy’s Hole. “Cowboy (strong) coffee was brewin’ over the open campfire, and the wranglers love talkin’ your ears off over a strong ‘cup o’ Joe.’ When they ring the dinner bell, we lined up for steaks, signature Roosevelt baked beans, potato salad, coleslaw, cornbread muffins, and fruit crisp. There was boot tappin’ to old western songs sung by their singin’ cowboy.”
Canyon Valley was an unexpected “detour” as we had planned to visit and observe of thousands of bison inhabiting the Lamar Valley. With the sun setting after 9 PM, we headed to Lamar. This was an experience of “bison jams” where numerous bison found the two lane road to be their path of choice. It was an amazing experience of giving them their space while being so close to so many. As we headed back to Paradise Valley, Suzie announced that her astrology Star app indicated that the International Space Station would be overhead in five minutes. What a sight. A great way to leave the Park.
More fun was still in store for us as we rafted and canoed the Yellowstone River with Allen Byrd, Jeffrey’s brother-in-law. Allen works for the Montana Game and Fish in Helena. He launched both craft and down the river we floated, stopping only for a beachside picnic.
Five days were all about family fun. They were only enhanced by some excellent fishing on the Boulder and Stillwater Rivers.