Fishing in Yellowstone National Park is often an expensive, time-consuming affair. It may seem too challenging for the average visitor, particularly the average visitor with a family in tow. This is unfortunate, because Yellowstone offers some of the best fishing in the country. There are, however, some ways around the problem. In the northern part of Yellowstone, the National Park Service has set aside bodies of water where the regulations are relaxed for children. Given a little information on how to go about doing it, taking the family fishing in Yellowstone is worthwhile.
Go to one of the stores in Yellowstone National Park. There are stores at every major location: Old Faithful, Grant Village, Fishing Bridge, Canyon Village, Tower/Roosevelt and Mammoth Hot Springs. Buy a Yellowstone fishing permit. Adults will need the permit, while those 15 years old or younger do not, as long as they are under the supervision of an adult who has a permit. Along with the permit, the clerk will give you a short booklet that lists the fishing regulations in the park. Look them over and be aware that they change occasionally.
Go to Joffe Lake, near Mammoth Hot Springs. If you do not see it on your map, ask a local employee or ranger at Mammoth for specific directions. Joffe Lake is a small body of water, essentially a pond, that is filled with brook trout. This species of trout is not native to Yellowstone and it tends to overpopulate any body of water where it becomes well established. Because the fish is not a native, the park service allows children 11 years old or younger to fish here with worms for bait, which is illegal is most of the park. Joffe Lake is an ideal place for young beginners to learn how to fish.
Go to the Gardner River, which you will see on your map in the northern part of Yellowstone, again near Mammoth. This is another body of water where fishing with worms is legal for children 11 or younger. Be more careful there as the current is swift in the river and it is always cold. Joffe Lake is the better place for smaller children.
Park at the entrance to Indian Creek Campground, near the Gardner River. This is one option for accessing the Gardner. From there, you also have access to Obsidian Creek and can hike to Indian Creek and Panther Creek. All these watercourses are places where it is legal for children 11 or younger to fish with worms. The fish are all brook trout and in all these places, they are plentiful.
