Southeastern Winds Trip

This was a backpacking trip but I'm posting it in here because we mainly went for the fish! I was able to get up to the Winds this last weekend for a few days. I had originally planned to go to a place out of the Elkhart Park TH but my dad and one of his buddies had wanted me to take them up to catch some Goldens so I found a place that was a bit shorter hike and where we could ride ATVs part of the way. We got sprinkled on Thursday and Friday and poured on Friday nigh but it was still nice weather. We really got into the Goldens and caught around 100 or so between the three of us in just a couple days. I was a little dissapointed in one regard though. As you will see in the pictures below, the fish that the Wyoming fish and game are currently stocking and calling "Golden Trout" are really Goldbows. You can tell a huge difference in the color of the fish that we caught in the lake and the ones that we caught in the stream below the lake. The fish in the stream are real Goldens that are decendants of the fish that used to be stocked in the lake above the stream. In the 1990s the lake that the Wyoming fish and game used to get Golden eggs from was ruined/polluted by a nearby fire. There was about a 10yr span where no Goldens were planted in the Winds. Then in the early 2000s an agreement was made with the Indian Reservation and some eggs were gotten out of Grave Creek Lake. This lake was chosen because it has plenty of fish and habitat for reproduction and because it is fairly easy to access. However, when the fish from this lake were genetically tested, Rainbow Trout were found in their lineage. These are the fish that the Wyoming fish and game are currently stocking and will continue to stock until they can find a suitable lake with a pure strain Golden population. And by suitable I mean easy to access. There are plenty of lakes in the Winds with pure strain Goldens but they either lake sufficient habitat to provide a surplus of eggs or they are too hard to get to. Anyway, rant over, we had a great time and caught some beautiful fish.


Our campsite!
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IMG_6081__.jpg by Deadeye008, on Flickr

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IMG_5905__.jpg by Deadeye008, on Flickr

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IMG_5910__.jpg by Deadeye008, on Flickr


One of the Goldbows. Notice the big difference in color from the ones caught in the stream. Also, notice the huge gut on this thing. All the fish in this lake are very well fed!
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Fatty by Deadeye008, on Flickr


Fishing from a perch.
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IMG_5935.jpg by Deadeye008, on Flickr


Getting bent!
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IMG_5956.jpg by Deadeye008, on Flickr

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IMG_5962.jpg by Deadeye008, on Flickr

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IMG_5967__.jpg by Deadeye008, on Flickr


Scud eater.
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IMG_5988.jpg by Deadeye008, on Flickr

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IMG_6073.jpg by Deadeye008, on Flickr


I filleted and ate one of the Goldbows I caught about 30yds down the outlet. The meat was some of the brightest meat I have ever seen! Must be eating a lot of crustaceans. It was delicious!
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IMG_6072.jpg by Deadeye008, on Flickr


Fishing the outlet for dinner.
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IMG_6058.jpg by Deadeye008, on Flickr


Backcountry icee/snowcone!
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Backcountry Snowcone by Deadeye008, on Flickr

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IMG_6050__.jpg by Deadeye008, on Flickr


A large ice/snow shelf on one of the lakes above 11,000
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IMG_6027.jpg by Deadeye008, on Flickr

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IMG_5994.jpg by Deadeye008, on Flickr


The skunk rock
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IMG_6080.jpg by Deadeye008, on Flickr

This is what real gold looks like...
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IMG_6116.jpg by Deadeye008, on Flickr


Gold and Orange
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IMG_6113.jpg by Deadeye008, on Flickr

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IMG_6127.jpg by Deadeye008, on Flickr

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IMG_6103.jpg by Deadeye008, on Flickr

My Dad fishing the lower lake for some Brookies
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My dad with a fat Goldbow
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I got some video but haven't had a chance to put it together yet. I'll add it to the report when I finish editing it.

More pictures on Flickr.