fishing the winds

[macgruber]

new guy here-- seem to be some knowledgable folks on this message board.... so hello to all and thanks in advance for any help you are willing to offer.........

trying for a six-day loop toward the end of august and i'm looking for some route suggestions....... i've got osthoff's book, and virtually have it memorized by now, but i wanted to get some first-hand advice from folks who have been there....... this will be my first trip to the winds and i've been shouldered with the responsibility of planning a trip for a group of 6 or 7.....

we won't be keeping any large fish, or any fish at all from lakes w/ bigguns in 'em..... i'll try and keep the eating to smaller brookies or at least fish from overpopulated lakes.......

obviously, any golden trout tidbits would be very much appreciated (and not shared)......

thanks so much for any info..... and feel free to email me if you don't want to post the response online..... (nico0053@msn.com)

[Scudslug]

A classified ad never written...

Delusional male looking for fishing advice. Looking for an itinerary for 6 days, but won't share the info with anyone. I'm taking my six closest friends who will be blind folded the entire time and all are all mute, so no worries about your secrets getting out. I'm most interested in the locations of obscure rare species. I like to harvest fish, but double pinky swear only to itsy bitsy autistic fish.

[ben trod]

dont believe eveything you read. The fishing sucks and its crawling w bears(mostly grizz). I would take your friends to a more amiable destination. maybe the green river.

[Threshershark]

MacGruber: The Green River Lakes area is a great time. You can camp down around Lower GR Lake and fish on the Green River as well as the lake. You'll catch mostly lake trout on the stillwater, and more of a variety in the river.

It's a 3-mile hike or canoe ride to Upper GR Lake, which is another good area for a base camp.

The goldens are a bit of a well-guarded secret but there's enough information available via the local ranger district to help you out. Generally they are in rugged, far-away places. The route up to Big Sandy is likely your best entrance if you really want them.

View from Lower GR:

http://i160.photobucket.com/albums/t181/threshershrk/LowerGRToon.jpg

A typical lake trout:

http://i160.photobucket.com/albums/t181/threshershrk/LakeTrt4.jpg

[macgruber]

thresher, thanks for the response.....

i found those photos posted online about a week ago....... they are spectacular...... what depth do lakers run at out west? here they stay 70 to 100 feet deep from mid-june until late fall........ little tough to nab on the long rod unless you get after them just after ice out.......

think we're trying to head a little further in than green river lakes, though we might have an extra day on either side of the trip to tool around out there....... grave lake was on one of the loops i was considering, and i've heard of lakers coming out of there......

[Cary]

It looks to me like you allready know all you want to know.

[Mr. Loopy]

It looks to me like you allready know all you want to know.

Yep. Cary, you hit the nail on the head.

Sounds like you've done some homework. Now get to it.

[macgruber]

i was just looking to have a dialogue with folks about the area.... frankly, i'm somewhat excited to head into new territory...... i've done a ton of research and found what sound like great spots...... but up to this point i've been pouring over books and maps are reading trip reports...... little tough to converse with a book......

the green river lakes area looks great, but not everyone in the group i'm going with is all about fishing...... so we are going to do a loop and not a short hike or canoe and base-camp......... they want to see the wilderness and perhaps summit a peak...... i'd just like to ensure there's a decent trout lake or two nearby at the end of the day.......

[Mr. Loopy]

I can't speak for everyone but, I think you'll find that most of us that have done some leg work in the area are not too willing to chat it up on a public forum...

[cfonnes]

Do the hike from Green River Lakes down to Elkhart trailhead, it is one way but if you have six people I would imagine 2 vehicles, park one at Elkhart.

[stoneflynut]

And don't forget the industrial strength bear spray in the 6 lb. can. There's grizz in that country. Wolves, too.

[westay]

Do you know how you can tell Grizz scat from black bear scat? Grizz scat has bells, whistles and ruptured bear spray cans in it.

[MickG]

theres no such thing as bears. None in Yellowstone, Jackson, Utah, or the Winds.......... They are all in Bear World

[Threshershark]

The lake trout in Lower and Upper GR will be at traditional trout depths. The Winds have a short summer, and the fish try to eat as much as they can in a short period. Upper GR has smaller fish, mostly 14" to 20", and last August they were in 5 feet of shallow water. Lower GR is deeper and has bigger fish, but I was catching them on a #3 sink fly line, mostly shallower than 15 feet.

[macgruber]

i take it then that the lakers in the green river lakes and other spots in the winds aren't the hated invasives that they've become known as in yellowstone lake and glacier? strange how species are viewed from place to place, and how that can change over the course of a few years.......
no animosity toward them here in minnesota...... though i suppose they weren't trucked in from elsewhere......

how packed is the route from green down to elkhart? heard elkhart gets fairly busy.....

and MickG, that's great news cuz i truly fancy sleeping with five or six packages of beef jerky in my sleeping bag when i'm camping....... really takes care of the B.O...... now i can do so in good conscience..........