Dry Shake Accident

I found one way to keep the inside of my slingpack dry. Leave some dry shake partially open. Your pack will stay annoyingly dry for what seems like an eternity. I used to like dry shake and feel it was God's gift to fishermen. Now every time I reach in my pack to get something my hand feels desiccated. I can't do anything else until I wet it. I haven't dunked the whole slingpack in the water yet but the idea is very tempting. Just a friendly reminder to make sure whatever you use to keep your flies dry stays secure or outside of your pack.

Eno Jewels

Yesterday I hit the Eno to get some time on the water and try out a 7wt I haven't fished. The water was low and clear but the fish were very eager. Caught a few sunfish and one rare Roanoke Bass. 

It was a great day and I was happy to find fish in spite of all the swimmers. 

Yellowstone Planning

My obsession with finding out everything that is Yellowstone National Park began a few weeks ago. I can map out most of the park in my head and I've memorized most of the popular streams. I'm looking forward to the wildlife and my kids experiencing Yellowstone for the first time. I went once when I was 15 and it is still one of my fondest memories. I didn't fish at all when I visited last and I won't make that mistake again. I've contacted several fishing outfitters in the are and even have a nice back and forth with the guide from EastGateAnglers. Youtube videos are my new vice and I can't seem to get enough of watching different Yellowstone fishing videos. This one in particular is disgustingly good.

The main issue I have is I don't know how much fishing I'll get to do. The plan is for the family to cruise into Yellowstone spend two days camping in the park then commute back and forth from Cody, WY after that. Most of my fishing opportunities will be based on what's available as we're exploring. I'm excited about this but I'm sure I'll miss out on some prime fishing and I can live with that. At least I think I can as of today. When I started my research the amount of fishing you can do in Yellowstone overwhelmed me. It still kind of does. There is so much fishable water you could probably spend a month in this park and fish a different creek each day and not fish half of what's available. My fly boxes are over flowing and I'm prepared for any situation. Reading the regulations I found it interesting how much emphasis there is on killing non-native species in certain areas of the park. They really don't want you letting anything go that isn't a cutthroat. The lengths are pretty drastic even so much as taking non-cuttthroat fish and throwing them away in the trash at the trail entrance. The fall back is if you don't know what the fish is let it go and I'm sure many anglers use that excuse to release whatever they catch. It's going to be hard having a mindset that anything I catch that isn't a cutthroat I'm going to destroy when I have fished thinking the opposite for so long.

As I have gotten older I've definitely become a lot more paranoid. I worry about the worst that can happy a lot more than I used to. My new concerns are buffalo running into our car or a random bear encounter. From what I've researched both are fairly rare and can be avoided. I have never seen a bear in the wild which I've always found strange with how much time I've spent outdoors. I've been in locations where they were prevalent but never seen them. I'm hoping to see my first in Yellowstone but at a distance. I'll worry about what I can control for now. We hit the park later this month.

If there's anyone that's thinking about going to Yellowstone or just curious about planning I've found these sites to be great for information.

https://www.flyfishingyellowstonenationalpark.com/index.html

https://fullsuitcase.com/yellowstone-itinerary-suggestions/

Father & Son Camping trip

My wife was doing a girls thing with some friends and my daughter. I decided to do the same with my son and go camping. It was a lot of work and I'm not sure I'd do it again with just the two of us but we had a good time. 

A creek ran right next to our campsite and we hiked between the times we played in the water. 

The campground we stayed at is called Stone Mountain State Park. The camp sites are very nice with great restrooms and shower facilities. There is easy access to hikes and fishing around the park. The views form the top of Stone Mountain are beautiful.

There's also several hikes that lead to waterfalls. We did the lower falls hike where there's a huge staircase leading to the bottom of the falls.

I found the engineering of the staircase about as impressive as the falls themselves.

The park is at a higher elevation but it was unusually warm this last weekend. The night was a little brutal. Even with a small thunder shower the temperature and humidity didn't drop much. The weather kept us in the shade and in the creek and we made the most of it. 

I'm sure I'll be back here again soon with the family.