Backpacking and Fly-Fishing Destinations

I'm a long-time backpacker and recent Utah export. I'm also a recent fly-fishing convert (a direct result of the void left by canyoneering). I've got some vacation time in the end of June that will afford me several days for a backpacking trip back out West. My hope is to make a week-long trip happen in the Winds, but I'm afraid the trails won't be clear enough by then (which might be a problem anywhere).

I'm looking for advice. Where should I go? Places I'm considering are the West Elk Mountains, the San Juans, the Tetons, and the Uintas. The ideal place would be remote and/or difficult enough to thin out the crowds and very photogenic (I'm a semi-pro photographer). And I want to catch lots of fish. That's not too much to ask, is it?

You can be as vague or as specific as you want. I'd love specific trails to investigate if you've got 'em.

Thanks in advance, friends.

Black lake in the Uintas is nice. If you want to fish/hike in the Uintas you need to buy, "Hiking Utah's High Uintas: 99 Day and Overnight Hikes". It has tons of backpacking trips and talks about the fishing at each of the lakes. Most Falcon guides are not very good, but this one is a must have if you want to backpack and fish Uintas lakes.

I am planning a backpacking/fly fishing trip to the Winds the last weekend in June so I hope the trails are clear. Teh lakes I am wanting to hit are about 10k ft in elevation. I talked to a fish and game officer in Pinedale and she said that on an average year most of the lakes are accessible the end of June/first of July.

Bitterroots, on the Montana side. Look on google map at the Idaho/Montana border. The East side has lakes all along the border. I think they will be open before the Winds. Seldom visited, nice scenery, and plenty of fish. The Winds and Uintas only have the latter two though both great destinations.

Love, love, love the Winds - if the trails are clear, I would hit that. I don't know what kind of snow year they've had, but it sounds like from a previous poster that it might be okay. Another area that is nice for fewer people and not dealing with the permit hassle, is the Beartooth Mountains (there are 1000 lakes on the Beartooth Plateau, around a third are fishable). But I think June is typically too early for that.

My husband faced a similar dilemma when planning a June trip a few years ago. He ended up in the Weminuche Wilderness and had a great trip (although he doesn't fish, so I don't know about that aspect of this area):

http://www.pbase.com/pudgy_groundhog/weminuche

Wind Rivers are only equaled in my book by the Sawtooth's for fishing, crowds, scenery isn't bad in either.. :mrgreen:
Haven't been there in a lot of years but the Bighorn Crags were great. Off trail lakes = pretty much NO people

I did a trip in the Wind Rivers last summer to Cub/Don Lake via Little Bob 4x4 road (Blackfoot res.), however in late August. Not super high elevation <10k so I assume the snow level could be acceptable. I saw 3 other people over the course of the week. I caught 50 fish (brook, golden, cutthroat, rainbow) in 6 hours on any fly, or even with my hands (they were so thick in some holes you could actually scoop them out). Even my sister, who had never fished before, caught about 20 one day. Again, not a popular place at all and requires some minor bush-whacking. PM me if you want the details, GPS route, etc. Oh, and the place is extremely photogenic. The view from Mt. Feebas is the best peak I've ever bagged, right in the middle of the cirque of the towers, but would definitely be snowcapped, 13k+, in June. See Summit Post: summitpost.org/don-lake-with/542545