PRINCIPAL FISHING WATERS.The fishing season in the park does not ordinarilybegin before July, by which time, according to one of the anglingwriters hereafter cited, 'the plethora of water has disappeared and thestreams flow swift, clear, and cold. At this season of the year troutfishing is at its best.' Information regarding the fishing in variouslocalities may be found in the annual reports of the superintendent ofthe park, particularly the report for 1897, and in the annual circularsof information issued by the National Park Service. The followingpublications pertaining wholly or partly to fishing in the park may beconsulted for detailed or special data:Fish in the National Park andtributaries of Snake River. FishCommission, vol.
Iris Falls (height ) is a waterfall on the Bechler River in Yellowstone National Park. Iris Falls is located just upstream from Colonnade Falls and is accessible via. Kurt Repanshek photo. In looking at the trip's logistics, Bob and I, having hiked the Appalachian Trail in Shenandoah Park, kayaked.
IV, for 1884, p. 335-336.A reconnoissance of the streams andlakes of the Yellowstone National Park, Wyo., in the interest of theUnited States Fish Commission. By David Starr Jordan. S.Fish Commission, vol.
IX, for 1899, p. 41-63, with map and manyplates.A reconnoissance of the streams andlakes of western Montana and northwestern Wyoming.
By Barton W.Evermann. Fish Commission, vol. XI, for 1891, p. 3-60,with plates and maps.A woman's trout fishing inYellowstone Park. By Mary Trowbridge Townsend. 2,May, 1897, p.
163-164.A list of the fishes of Montana, withnotes on the game fishes. Bulletin of theUniversity of Montana, No. 34, Biological series no.
11.1906.Wyoming summer fishing and theYellowstone Park. 4, July,1908, p. 508-511.Fly fishing in wonderland. ByKlahowya (O. 1910.The Yellowstone National Park. ByHiram Martin Chittenden.
1915.The following annotated list of park fishing watersis based partly on information kindly furnished by Col. Brett,United States Army, formerly acting superintendent of the park; partlyon notes taken from the works before cited; partly on observations by A.H. Dinsmore, of the Bureau of Fisheries, in 1919 and 1920; and partly onthe senior author's observations in 1914 and 1919.YELLOWSTONE LAKE.Yellowstone Lake is one of the most beautiful lakesin the world. It and some of the tributary creeks abound with the nativeor redthroat trout. There appear to be no other game species in thelake. Landlocked salmon planted in 1908 and 1909 have not been seensince. The rainbow trout, planted at the same time in some of theaffluents, have shown no evidence of establishment, excepting on thestatement of Mr.
Croley, a hotel fisherman for 12 years, to the effectthat he had seen only one fish other than the blackspotted trout. Thisfish 'looked different and had a broad side band' and was thought to bea rainbow.In 1919 the senior author found the Water of FlatMountain Arm, though shallow, distinctly colder than in the lake,evidently owing to the inflow of springs and the creek at its head.
Nearthe head of this arm he found the largest redthroat trout metwith in the park, fine, clean, trim, vigorous fellows, not like thoseobserved elsewhere.All suitable tributary creeks contain redthroattrout. The most notable creeks on the east side of the lake, enumeratedfrom north to south, are: Pelican, Cub, Clear, Columbine, and BeaverdamCreeks. All contain native trout. Sylvan Lake, which discharges throughClear Creek in times of high water, contains a few trout. It is abeautiful mountain lake, clear and moderately cold.
Clark saidof Pelican Creek:One mile east of Yellowstone River outlet is Pelicanstream, which rises in the cold snows of the mountains and empties itswaters into the lake. Here you catch quan tities of uncontaminatedtrout, large, beautiful, fat, and gamy, as free from Worms as the freshcold waters they swim in are free from pollution.On the west side of the lake, named in the sameorder, are Bridge Creek, entering Bridge Bay; Arnica Creek, an affluentof the northwest side of the Thumb; Solution Creek, a small, narrowstream, with lava bottom and grassy banks bordered with willows, theoutlet of Riddle Lake, sometimes going dry. Riddle Lake, so calledbecause of the former mystery of its outlet, is a clear pond of roundishoutline, about 1-1/2 miles in diameter, about whose outlet are numerouslily pads and other plants. Its shores are shallow, and its bottom ischiefly of lava gravel. The temperature is about 50° F. Trout arenumerous.Near West Thumb is another small, deep-set lake,named Duck Lake, which has no outlet. It formerly contained no trout,but redthroat trout and landlocked salmon were planted in it.
Redthroattrout now appear to be abundant, but landlocked salmon have never beenobserved. However, the senior author found good-sized Loch Leven troutcommon in 1919.Grouse and Chipmunk Creeks enter opposite sides ofthe southern end of the South Arm. Besides these there are numerousunnamed creeks, some of which go dry in summer. One, however, flowinginto Flat Mountain Arm, was found by the senior author on July 17, 1919,to contain more water than many of the other creeks around the lake,probably never going dry. A creek that will flow as did this one duringa period of drought, with the lake level one-third lower than everbefore known, must be permanent. The creek, unnamed on the availablemaps, clear and cold, with beautiful green, grassy banks with trees hereand there, meanders to an extraordinary degree through a broad, openvalley, flowing over a gravelly bed, now with riffles, now with deepholes, making a charming trout brook. At its mouth is a flat muchfrequented by elk.
This creek was found to contain numerous trout ofseason's hatch; some 3 to 5 inches long of the previous season; andolder fish up to 12 inches in length.YELLOWSTONE RIVER ABOVE THE LAKE.Above the lake the Yellowstone River winds throughmarshy meadows, between wooded hills, behind which are the rugged peaksof high volcanic mountains. The current is sluggish, and, according toMr. Dinsmore, the fall is so slight that it would be a comparativelyeasy matter in times of ordinary flow to travel by canoe the entiredistance from the lake to the southern boundary of the park.The principal tributaries of this portion of theriver from the lake southward on the left are Cabin, Trappers, Mountain,Cliff, Escarpment, and Thoroughfare Creeks. On the other side in thesame direction are Badger, Phlox, and Lynx Creeks. Good fishing is foundin the river and in the creeks high up where they meander from themountains.YELLOWSTONE RIVER BELOW THE LAKE.Below the lake to the upper falls there is no greatdescent, and the river flows for about 15 miles with a quiet current.Here its banks are bordered with low hills, some of them wooded, othersforming open pastures. On the right side going northward the principalcreeks are Cotton Grass and Sour Creeks, which unite to discharge theirwaters into the Yellowstone not far from Alum Creek on the opposite sideof the river. On the west side of the river is Trout Creek, which is aclear stream, with grassy banks and gravelly bottom.
It has a summertemperature of about 58° F. And is a good trout stream.Alum Creek is a clear stream about 8 feet wide and 1or 2 feet deep, rising in the Continental Divide opposite the head ofNez Perce Creek and flowing eastward through the grassy fields of HaydenValley. Its bed contains much white alkali from the hot springs above,and there is a perceptible alkaline taste to the water, which has atemperature of about 60° F. In its upper courseit has some hot tributaries. One of these is Violet Creek, with a numberof hot springs and mudholes. Still another fork is charged with alum,but a third branch is said to be one of the best redthroat trout streamsin the park.YELLOWSTONE RIVER AND BRANCHES BELOW THE FALLS.About 15 miles below the lake the river plunges intoa deep canyon over two vertical falls 109 feet and 308 feet in height.This remarkable canyon is more than 20 miles long, with nearlyperpendicular walls 800 to 1,100 feet in height. The current below thefalls is swift until the river leaves the park.The most important eastern tributary of theYellowstone River is Lamar River.
It is a large stream, sometimesreferred to as the East Fork of the Yellowstone. It joins theYellowstone not far below Butte Junction.
There are many tributarycreeks of various sizes, particularly on the north and northeast side.The principal of these are: Miller, Calfee, Cache, Soda Butte, joined byAmphitheater and Pebble Creeks; Slough Creek, the largest branch ofwhich is Buffalo Creek. On the west side the creeks are smaller thanmost of those of the other side, the principal ones being Cold, Willow,and Timothy, near the upper course. Chalcedony Creek is farther down,and all but Cold Creek are in rather deep ravines near the river.Cascade Creek is a clear brook a few feet wide which enters theYellowstone between the falls. The high, nearly vertical 'Crystal Falls'(129 feet) is near the mouth of the stream and, of course, prevents theascent of fishes. Redthroat trout were once planted above the falls.Lamar River and most of its tributaries are inhabitedby native trout.
The junction of Yellowstone and Lamar Rivers is notedfor fine fishing. Soda Butte is well stocked up to near its head, wherea waterfall keeps the fish back. According to Mr. Dinsmore, Fish Lake,where the Bureau of Fisheries has for a number of years collectednative trout eggs and where in 1921 a small hatchery wasestablished, is a very remarkable water, with an area of only 75acres. It contains a dense growth of vegetation,which in the late summer blossoms near the surface.
After sundown thefish, which average about 2 pounds each, will come up out of the weedsand take gray-hackle flies almost as fast as they can be placed upon thewater.Slough Creek is said to be well stocked with trout upto the lakes at its head, only one of which, Lake Abundance, in Montana,contains trout.Hellroaring Creek, which joins the Yellowstone fromthe north below the mouth of Lamar River, is abundantly supplied withnative trout in its lower part.The tributaries of the west side of the Yellowstoneworthy of mention all enter this river below the Grand Canyon. Theuppermost is Antelope Creek, which joins the river not far from themouth of Tower Creek.
It contains native trout. Tower Creek, for almostits whole length, is hidden in dense forests. Its current is swift, andit is perhaps the coldest stream in the park, the summer temperaturebeing about 45° F.
Carnelian Creek is one of its upper branches. Aboutone-fourth mile from its mouth the creek forms a singularly picturesque,quite vertical fall of 132 feet, which is surrounded by lofty towers ofvolcanic conglomerate. Below the falls is a deep canyon, where thestream is about 10 feet wide and shallow. The waters above the fallswere barren previous to the introduction of eastern brook, rainbow, andredthroat trouts.The lower tributaries of the Yellowstone in the parkare Geode Creek, Blacktail Deer Creek, and Gardiner River. Geode Creekis small.
Rainbow trout planted in it in 1909 have not since beenobserved. Blacktail Deer Creek is a clear, rather cold (55° F.) streamrunning largely through open pastures, with willows along its course. Ithas no canyons or falls. Its bottom is of laval gravel and rocks, withsome water weeds. In summer it is usually 5 or 6 feet wide by 1 or 2feet deep and is well stocked with native redthroat trout and rainbowtrout. Eastern brook trout were planted in 1912, 1913, and 1914.GARDINER RIVER AND ITS BRANCHES.In the park Gardiner River may be said to be formedby two branches, designated on the maps as Lava Creek and GardinerRiver, but the latter is sometimes referred to as the 'Middle Fork.'
Lava Creek is a clear, mountain stream in its uppercourse, flowing through evergreen forests on the north side of themountain range. The stream is normally about 10 feet wide and 1 or 2feet deep. Toward its mouth it cuts its way into a broad, flat shelf oflava, forming two falls about one-tenth of a mile apart.
The upperfalls, called Undine Falls, are vertical for about 30 feet, with twoadditional leaps of about 20 and 10 feet. The lower falls are verticaland about 50 feet high. Below these falls the stream flows througha highly picturesque canyon, joining Gardiner River above Mammoth HotSprings.Lupine Creek is a small tributary of Lava Creek,entering it above the falls.
Near its junction with Lava Creek thiscreek has a cascade about 100 feet high called Wraith Falls.Notwithstanding the barrier offered by the falls, Dr. Jordan said thatit was reported on good authority that small trout had been taken inLava Creek above the falls. His attention was called to a possible meansof access from Blacktail Deer Creek to Lava Creek in times of highwater. In Lava and Lupine Creeks the only trout is the native redthroat.Below the falls native redthroat and Loch Leven trouts occur in LavaCreek.Gardiner River, or Middle Fork, rises on the eastslope of the Gallatin Mountains in the northwestern part of the park. Itflows eastward, southward, then abruptly northward, bending aroundBunsen Peak and forming a deep canyon, toward the head of which areOsprey Falls.
Gardiner Canyon is some 800 to 1,000 feet deep, withvertical walls of lava, basalt, etc., and in grandeur is surpassed onlyby the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone. Osprey FaIls are about 150 feethigh and nearly vertical.
The principal headwaters of the Gardiner areFawn, Panther, and Indian Creeks, which, with their branches, unite nearSeven-mile Bridge. Winter and Straight Creeks unite into one stream andjoin Obsidian Creek to form Willow Park Creek, which also joins theMiddle Fork near Seven-mile Bridge. Obsidian Creek originates in or nearTwin Lakes, according to Jordan, and some of its branches in other smalllakes, notably Lake of the Woods, which flows into Beaver Lake. At firstthe creek is very small, and its course for 2 or 3 miles is full of hotsprings, solfataras, boiling mudholes, and various similar heated areas.Lower down cold springs enter the stream, and at Beaver Lake the wateris clear and cold. Beaver Lake is a shallow, grassy pond, about a milelong, formed in the stream by the beavers. Eastern brook trout arereported as plentiful, but the rainbow trout, also planted there, havenever been heard of. Below this lake the creek receives the clear, coldwaters of Winter Creek and Straight Creek.Winter Creek is a large stream which heads inChristmas Tree Park at the foot of Mount Holmes.
Straight Creek flowsthrough dense woods, open grass-grown meadows and narrow canyons. It isa very pretty stream, with many riffles and deep holes behind prostratelogs, and wide, shallow, gravelly reaches. In the course of StraightCreek is Grizzly Lake. It is a gem, with steep, wooded banks, clear,cold water, with shelving bottom and quite deep center.
After theirjunction the waters of these creeks, under the name of Willow ParkCreek, flow through Willow Park, a large mountain meadow, at the foot ofwhich it meets the waters of Indian Creek and the others which have beenmentioned, forming the Middle Fork of Gardiner River. Indian Creek is aclear, cold stream similar to the Gardiner.All of the aforementioned creeks, previously barren,now teem with eastern brook trout, the only trout occurring in them.Jordan reported that Obsidian Creek with Winter Creek was one of thebest eastern brook trout streams in the park.
Its summer temperature isabout 50° F. Its bottom is composed of laval gravel, lined withgrass, algae, and other water plants in which smallcrustaceans abound. The senior author observed that Straight Creekteemed with brook trout of all sizes up to 12 inches long. Hundreds,mostly about 6 or 7 inches long, were observed. The fish were the mostbeautifully colored seen in the park.
Males only 3 or 4 inches longshowed the brilliant coloration of the fully developed fish in breedingseason. Females 6 inches in length and upward had well-developed eggs.Grizzly Lake contains very large brook trout.Above Osprey Falls the Gardiner is a clear, coldstream, having a temperature of about 50° F. The bottom iscomposed of numerous stones and bowlders, and there are many deep holes.This previously barren stretch of water now contains the introducedeastern brook, Loch Leven, brown, and rainbow trouts.
About halfway downfrom the falls to the junction with the East Fork Glen Creek the riveron the left side. Glen Creek has been called the West Fork of theGardiner.
It rises in the Sepulcher Mountain region and flows southeast toSwan Lake outlet, thence northeast, joining the Gardiner at the foot ofthe canyon. It is a small stream, only 5 or 6 feet wide and 1 or 2 deep,which runs mostly through open meadows, with gravelly and grassy bottom.Its waters are very cold, about 48° F. GlenCreek has a waterfall some 70 feet high, known as Rustic Falls, at theGolden Gate near the base of Bunsen Peak. A small lake in the vicinityof Sepulcher Mountain was stocked with eastern brook trout in 1912, butthe results are as yet uncertain. Below the falls the deep canyon is sochoked with bowlders and talus that fish can not ascend it.Swan Lake is a small, roundish pond about a half milelong, with a bottom of crumbled lava.
While the water near shore is veryshallow, the depth at the center seems considerable. The water is clearand cold and abounds with insects and crustaceans.Eastern brook trout abound in the creek above thefalls, but those planted in Swan Lake, it is said, seem to have left thelake for the small streams, as they have not been found in the lake.Near the junction of the Gardiner with the East Branch the stream isrough and bowlder strewn, but of a good volume, much like the Gibbon incharacter. The lower course of the Gardiner below the falls is wellstocked with native redthroat trout and introduced eastern, rainbow, andLoch Leven trouts. Indigenous whitefish, suckers, and minnows alsooccur.Below Mammoth Hot Springs the scalding waters ofthose springs discharge through 'Hot River' into the Gardiner.
It issaid that in winter native trout are especially abundant at the mouth ofthe stream.GIBBON RIVER ABOVE FALLS, GREBE AND RAINBOWLAKES.Gibbon River issues from Grebe Lake, which is locatedin a marshy area in the highlands. Grebe Lake is about a mile long andis one of the most attractive small lakes in the park.
It was stockedwith redthroat trout in 1912, but the results are not definitelyknown.Approximately a mile or a mile and a half belowGrebe Lake is another small lake visited by the senior author and Mr.Dinsmore in 1919. They proposed to name it Rainbow Lake. The lake drainsa very extensive marshy area whose arms extend far into the hills, withgreatly meandering, clear, cold streams. The lake has a gravelly'bottom, gently sloping shores, and a deep center. Atseveral points are extensive beds of yellow water lilies, and the mouthof the large main affluent is covered by the same plants. Large rainbowsfrequent the lake and the effluent, and smaller fish abound in all theminor streams.Gibbon River emerges from the southeast corner ofRainbow Lake. About a mile below the lake are hot mineral springs whichdischarge into the river, and for a mile or more the water is warm,distinctly impregnated, and fishless.
Then cold springs entering theriver from the hillsides render the stream again inhabitable by trout,which occur all the way to the Upper Falls of the Gibbon. These fallsare too high to permit of the passage of fish upward.From Virginia Cascade to Norris Station the river,with Solfatara Creek, affords fine fishing for eastern brook trout.
Mr.Dinsmore reports that on July 26, 1919, he had wonderful fishing forthis species and no other species was observed in this section of theriver, although rainbows occur above Virginia Cascade and in the Gibbonbelow Norris Station.Below the falls Canyon Creek, entering the river fromthe eastward, contains redthroat trout. From the falls to the junctionof the Gibbon with the Madison the fish are the same as those occuringin the Madison and below the cascades of the Firehole.MADISON RIVER AND ITS BRANCHES, FIREHOLE RIVER, NEZPERCE CREEK, LITTLE FIREHOLE RIVER, ETC.Native redthroat trout, whitefish, and grayling areabundant, as are also the introduced Loch Leven and brown trouts in theupper Madison.The Firehole River, about twice the size of theGibbon River, joins it from the south. This stream heads just west ofShoshone Lake, separated from it and from the head of Bechler River by arelatively low divide, according to Gannett. It flows through MadisonLake, which is nearly dry in summer, but below it is reinforced by thefine, clear Spring Creek from the east. In its upper course theFirehole, like Spring Creek, is a clear and very cold stream, flowingthrough dense woods, with narrow marshy valleys alternating with smallcanyons. Keppler's Cascades, above the Upper Geyser Basin, is a seriesof very picturesque falls probably impassable to trout.
Along theFirehole are the most noteworthy of the geyser basins, and a greatvolume of hot water is poured into it without, however, rendering itswaters at any point really warm or unfit for trout. The principaltributaries are Iron Creek and Little Firehole River, in the UpperGeyser Basin. At the lower basin the Firehole receives the waters ofSentinel Creek, Fairy Creek, and the larger and more important NezPerce Creek.Nez Perce Creek comes in from the east, is nearlyhalf as large as the Firehole, and is similar in character and temperatureof the water. It is fed by numerous short streams, none of themhot and most of them confined to a narrow canyon.Madison River.The name Madison is usedonly for the river below the junction of its chief tributaries, theFirehole and Gibbon Rivers.
The principal tributaries of the Madison asthus defined join the river beyond the park boundary. Named in order from thesouth to north they are Cougar, Gneiss, and Grayling Creeks.
Within thepark Cougar Creek receives the waters of Maple Creek, the principaltributary of which is Duck Creek. These upper waters are inhabitated bynative redthroat trout. Campanula Creek joins Gneiss Creek beyond thepark boundary.
It also contains redthroat trout, as do the upper watersof all three of the main creeks mentioned, and in their lower coursesthey have whitefish and grayling besides native trout. The main Madisonappears to contain a mixture of all the trouts that occur in the park,as well as whitefish and grayling.SNAKE RIVER DRAINAGE.Above its junction with Heart River the Snake pursuesa northwest course, receiving numerous small tributaries, the mostimportant of which is, perhaps, a branch which heads in Mariposa Lake.Two relatively large tributaries come in from thenortheastwardCrooked and Sickle Creeks.Mariposa Lake is a small body of water in thesoutheast corner of the park about a mile north of the park boundary. Itis said to be alive with native redthroat trout and to afford wonderfulfishing for large trout. About a mile beyond the boundary Bridger Lakeis another remarkable native trout water.Heart Lake, about 3-1/2 miles long and not quite 2miles in width, lies in a deep depression at the eastern foot of MountSheridan. Near the head of the lake and in the lake are numerous geysersand hot springs.
Its bottom is of laval gravel, rather shallow near theshore but becoming deep in the middle. It receives some smalltributaries, principal of which are Witch and Beaver Creeks. Heart River,its outlet, just below the lake receives a comparatively large tributaryknown as Surprise Creek.Witch Creek has its rise 2 or 3 miles above the lake,in the singular collection of geysers, hot springs, and steam holesknown as Factory Hill.
Its water is at first scalding hot, but itgradually cools, receiving the waters of one cold tributary as large asitself. The lower course of Witch Creek winds through grassy meadows,with a bottom of fine laval gravel and sand. The creek at its mouth hasa temperature of about 75° F. Native redthroat trout are numerous,occurring most commonly about the mouth of the creek.
Besides the troutare suckers, chubs, and shiners, and the blob, or fresh-water sculpin,also occurs. There is plenty of fish food in the lake. The temperaturevaries according to the nearness to hot springs and geysers. Trout aresaid not to ascend Witch Creek, although the other species do, the chubsascending until the water is fairly to be called hot.Beyond the mouth of Heart River the Snake bends tothe southward, thence later to the westward, receiving a number oftributaries, the largest being Basin Creek, Red Creek, and Forest Creekfrom the north.
All the tributaries flowing directly into the Snakecontain native redthroat trout.Lewis River, which joins the Snake just within thepark boundary, is the outlet for the waters of Shoshone and LewisLakes.SHOSHONE LAKE AND TRIBUTARIES.This lake has a length of about 6-1/2 miles and awidth of one-half to 4-1/2 miles, being dumb-bell shaped or constrictedin the middle. Its area is about 12 square miles.
Its shores are mostlybold, rocky, and densely wooded, the eastern shore being especiallyabrupt, and the bottom is there made by large lava bowlders. On theother side somewhat different conditions obtain, there being aconsiderable growth of aquatic vegetation. The lake is clearer andcolder than either Yellowstone Lake or Heart Lake. The principaltributaries are Shoshone Creek at the northwest corner and De Lacy Creekat the northeast corner.
Moose Creek from the southward enters thesouthern side of the eastern expansion of the lake. Shoshone Lake isconnected with Lewis Lake at the southward by a stream of still waterknown as the 'Canal,' about 3 miles long.Lewis Lake occupies a rounded basin with rather lowbanks. It is pear-shaped, about 3 miles long by 2 miles broad, veryclear and cold, and apparently in every way suited for trout. Its boldshores are heavily wooded and without any large tributary streams. A fewhot springs enter it on the western side.Below Lewis Lake Lewis River enters a deep and narrowcanyon.
At the head of this canyon is a cascade of about 80 feet, ofwhich 20 feet at the top is perpendicular. Toward the end of the canyonand not far above the junction with the Snake is another cascade some 50feet in height. Owing to the falls in Lewis River no fish were able toascend to Lewis and Shoshone Lakes, which were therefore uninhabited byany trouts until they were introduced.Loch Leven and lake trouts are numerous, and easternbrook trout abound in Shoshone Creek.
Clark wrote that the Shoshoneand Lewis Lake region was probably the best fishing in the park:These two lakes and their outlet, Lewis River, arefull of native trout and have been stocked with Mackinaw and Loch Leventrout, which are increasing in number and size most successfully. Thesefish will not rise to the surface and take the fly as do the regularnative trout, and it is necessary to go down into the water for them. Inthe lakes you can catch them by trolling if you can find the particularcove where they happen to be running. However, in spite of theuncertainty of the lake trolling, there is one place where you can trollwith assurance of success, and that is the canal between Shoshone andLewis Lakes. This is a natural body of water with little or no currentand not very wide. In Lewis River just below Lewis Falls, in the deeppools where the eddies are covered with foam, you are sure to find goodfishing.Rainbow trout said to have been planted in De LacyCreek in 1895 have never been observed, but eastern brook trout of smallsize are numerous.FALLS RIVER AND BECHLER RIVER.Falls River pursues a sinuous course near theboundary in the southwestern corner of the park. It rises by twobranches, one originating in a marshy area, the other in Beula Lake,near which are Herring Lake and another smaller one, both mere ponds,and flows to the eastward.
In the Birch Hills it passes through a shortravine, flowing over two falls, Terraced and Rainbow Falls, the latterbeing the most westerly. Before joining Bechler River it receives aconsiderable creek, Mountain Ash by name, which flows down from thesouth side of Pitchstone Plateau.Bechler River rises on the northwest side ofPitchstone Plateau and winds to the southward to its junction with FallsRiver just north of the boundary. It passes through a deep gorge inwhich are several falls, notably Iris Falls, and a short distance belowColonnade Falls. Below these falls it receives several tributaries, themost important of which is Boundary Creek, which rises across the borderand flows southeastward to its junction with Bechler River.In 1920 A. Dinsmore visited this region andreported it as one of the most beautiful, if not the most beautiful, ofthe valleys in all the parkflat as a floor, abounding in wild anddomesticated grasses, meandered by fine, clear streams in which nativetrout of good size may be taken in large numbers.
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At the head of thevalley, within an area of not more than 3 miles, not less than eightstreams fall from the timbered plateau over falls and cascades whichrival any in the park excepting the Great Falls of the Yellowstone. Soclose to the valley are these waterfalls that many of them are in plainview as one rides through it.Native trout are abundant in Falls River, probably upas far as Rainbow Falls, and in Mountain Ash Creek to Union Falls; alsoin all the waters below the falls. FISHING REGULATIONS.In order to prevent undue destruction of fish anddepletion of the park waters, certain restrictions have becomenecessary, and it is believed that anglers generally will be in fullsympathy with the protective measures that the park authorities find itdesirable to a opt from time to time. The general policy is to curtailfishing as little as may be compatible with the maintenance of thesupply and to depend largely on increased fish-cultural operations toprevent the depletion of park waters.Following are the fishing regulations now inforce:1.
Fishing with nets, seines, traps, or by the use ofdrugs or explosives, or in any other way than with hook and lines, orfor merchandise or profit, is prohibited.2. Fishing in particular waters may be suspended bythe superintendent.3. All fish hooked less than 8 inches long shall becarefully handled with moist hands and returned at once to the water, ifnot seriously injured. Fish retained should be killed.4. Ten fish shall constitute the limit for a day'scatch per person from all waters within 2 miles of the main belt-lineroad system. In the case of other waters the superintendent of the parkmay authorize a limit of not exceeding 20 fish for a day's catch perperson.