Cutthroat Country: Chasing Wild Trout in Yellowstone's Untamed Waters

It’s often said that if anglers are willing to hike a half mile from the access point, they’ll find the solitude they seek. Nowhere is that more true for anglers than in Yellowstone National Park, and the crown jewel of Yellowstone is the spectacular native cutthroat trout fishery. For those anglers who fish Yellowstone’s backcountry, the rewards can be tremendous.  

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It’s often said that if anglers are willing to hike a half mile from the access point, they’ll find the solitude they seek. Nowhere is that more true for anglers than in Yellowstone National Park.

And the crown jewel of Yellowstone is the spectacular native cutthroat trout fishery. Three strains of cutthroat trout are actually native to Yellowstone: Westslope, Snake River fine-spotted, and of course Yellowstone cutthroat.

Few anglers ever truly experience Yellowstone’s backcountry with so much excellent fishing along the roads. But for those that do, the rewards can be tremendous. Sight fishing dry flies to 20-plus-inch native trout; battling these beautiful slab-sided gems; hiking through remote geyser basins; feeling like you could be the first person to ever wet a line at this spot; all in the domain of the fiercest grizzly bears on the continent.

Many of the most spectacular places are deep enough into the backcountry that anglers must reserve one of the few backcountry campsites along those fisheries, which book early. That all but guarantees the solitude we seek, especially in these types of places.

And with large scale efforts to restore the historical populations of native fish making huge strides, you could convince yourself that you actually did get to fish here yesteryear.

So after you’ve fished the Madison, the Firehole, the Gibbon, Gardner, and Lamar, take some time to hike and fish along a stream away from the roads. And join the ranks of those who fish Yellowstone’s backcountry.