West '05 Trip - Day 23

Posted: 2006-05-02
By: Randy Cochran

Yellowstone is high on my list of places to fish, so I rose early and made the park at 10 or so after getting gas, groceries and other nonsense.

I pulled up to an already full Slough Creek camp. What the hell is it with these people? Don't they have anything else better to do? I write this, fully aware of the fact that I'm one of the same. I just wasn't an early enough bird, I s'pose. And so off to Pebble Creek and its accompanying spots.

Luckily, the campground at Pebble isn't as popular mid-week as its nearby neighbor, so I was able to nick a space, set up shop and then get out for some fishing.

Nearby, a hike-in lake provided a nice distraction for a bit. A brilliant Yellowstone cutt of good size came on a BH zebra midge after much effort. Lots of wildlife around and about. And now for a prequel.

One thing I can tell you with fair certainty is that you should never leave your keys in the unlocked door of your rented RV, along with all your gear inside. It could be a recipe for disaster, especially if done during the high-season.

Luckily for the 4 French gents - only 1 of which spoke anything close to decent English, which is fine because my French is pre-school at best - I was the guy to come upon such a scene prior to fishing the lake, as opposed to an unsavory character of sorts. They could've ended up short some things, or worse still, all of their things AND a borrowed RV. Instead a nice guy (yeah, me!) took care of their loose ends.

You may be asking, how the heck did I know the group in question would be French? Well, I could see their French language YNP brochures through the window, that's how.

So, my next steps were: 1, gear up for fishing; 2, lock the RV and grab the keys; 3, hike up to the lake and look for people with a decidedly French air about them.

Let me tell you, #3 wasn't so easy.

I finally found the guys that belonged to the RV by jiggling the lost key ring while chatting to people I'd come across. The pink keytag was a dead giveaway, and it wasn't long before I located the rightful owner and was able to concentrate on the trout thereafter.

Evidently the little buggers had read a different script than I. I wasn't able to muster much after the first fish, so I cut out early to relax and enjoy the fine campsite I had picked out earlier.

Tomorrow is a planned rewrite; hopefully all involved will be on the same page.