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Yellowstone Expedition II '23 Update

The Yellowstone Expedition has been fishing hard in Yellowstone, with tons of fish caught since our last update. We have done a lot of fishing and exploring the last few days and are just as excited for our final few days on the water as a group. After our last update, we started preparing for our second backcountry while we stayed at the Bridge Bay campsite and fished some of the road-accessible...

Yellowstone Adventure 2 - Update 4

Hi all, For the last two days of the trip, the boys floated the world famous Madison River. Everyone caught fish and had a good time despite the poor weather conditions. Half of the group floated while the other half fished other rivers in the area. It was great to get to see how much this group has grown as fisherman over the course of the trip. Working on things like hook sets and clean drifts...

Yellowstone Adventure 2 - Update 3

Hi all, We are out of our second and final backcountry in the Grand Canyon of Yellowstone on the Yellowstone River. The crew splitting up into two groups again, we enjoyed awesome numbers of fish caught, a great reward for a strenuous hike into and out of the canyon. The day after our last update we fished the park section of the Snake River. A beautiful day on the river came with some great...

Yellowstone Expedition 2 - update 3

Hi all, Greetings from Bridge Bay campsite! So far the trip has gone wonderfully! We are currently in the park - we have spent six days inside Yellowstone fishing four unique waters, three rivers and one lake. Within these fisheries, the group has had the opportunity to target many species including the Yellowstone cutthroat trout, brown trout, rainbow trout, and grayling. On the first day in the...

Montana Road Trip Adventure - Update 4

As we get into the final stretch of the trip, the group continued to float the Bighorn River. We're still sweating, but the fishing is still very good! It's been a very productive few days; we've really been able to dial in what was working from our previous days of fishing and the kids all managed to land nice fish with some especially large ones making it to the net. It's fun for us guides to...

Colorado Adventure II - update 3

The Colorado adventure II is wrapping up and what a trip it has been! We just finished our day of float fishing and are having our banquet dinner in Silverthorne tonight. The kids just spent the day relaxing in the pool at the rec center and a ready to come home. The last couple days have been very exciting. We camped at Pumphouse last night and caught a great evening hatch with a few nice browns...

Colorado Adventure - Update 2

The Colorado Adventure II has just exited the backcountry and it was a blast! The group caught endless Brook trout and even a few Colorado River Cutthroat trout. They explored the East Inlet drainage of Grand Lake in Rocky Mountain National Park. We will be heading towards Kremmling tomorrow for our float the following day! On our first day of the backcountry we packed everything we needed in our...

Yellowstone Expedition II 2023 Update II

The Yellowstone Expedition is on the board! We spent our first day in the park practicing some basics while fishing the Gibbon River for some eager Brown and Brook Trout. It was a great start to the trip, as everyone found some success during our first day on the water. After fishing, we continued on to our campsite at Grant Village along the banks of Yellowstone Lake. Half the group hit the trail...

Montana Road Trip Adventure - Update 3

For the last couple of days, the group has been float fishing the Bighorn River. It's been hot, but the fishing has been even hotter. The guys are having fun and catching lots of great fish. We are staying at the Cottonwood Campground, located right in the center of the Bighorn Valley. This campground boasts large green lawns which is great for the group as it allows us to spread out. Evenings...

Yellowstone Adventure 2 - Update 2

Hi everyone, our trip has gotten off to a fast start these first five days! We have been fishing in the park, catching a variety of different species in several lakes and rivers. The group has enjoyed catching native westslope, Yellowstone, and Snake River Cutthroat which have been our main focuses of the trip so far. Additionally, we've caught rainbow, brown trout, grayling, and whitefish. On our...

Yellowstone Expedition 2 - 1st update

Hello! Our names are Ed, Burke, and Max. We are the guides for your camper’s Yellowstone Expedition. Ed is a middle school Social Studies teacher from Flagstaff, Arizona. Burke is student at Boise State University, and Max is a student at Montana State University. Ed will be departing in the middle of the trip to begin the next school year, and he will be replaced by Will Lillard, the founder of...

Montana Road Trip Adventure - update 2

After settling into camp and watching the sunset, the group was quick to get into bed, anticipation hight for the next day. After breakfast, we loaded up the group and went to a local fly shop to get some intel on what was working on the local rivers. From there the group headed to the upper Madison for their first day of fishing. The guys were clearer excited - we quickly rigged our rods and got...

Colorado Adventure II - update 1

Hello all, The Colorado Rocky Mountain Adventure is off to a great start! After meeting up with the campers and stopping for some sandwiches, we've landed at the Green Ridge Campground outside of Grand Lake, CO. Ideally located on the Colorado River, coming out of Shadow Mountain Reservoir, campers will have the opportunity to fish the heavy evening hatches for some trophy trout here. After...

Bob Marshall - trip update 2

Dear parents, It is with great pleasure to announce that the inaugural Bob Marshall Wilderness trip has exited the backcountry after nearly 60 miles of hiking, many fish landed, and countless memories made. Following airport day (7/14), the group made camp at Monterey Creek campground on the Blackfoot river. For those of you who don’t know, the film and book “A River Runs Through It” is based on...

Montana Road Trip Adventure Update I

Greetings from beautiful Ennis, Montana! This evening we arrived at our own slice of paradise here on the banks of the world-famous Madison River. After a little wait at the Bozeman airport we made short work of the hour drive through the mountains, with a rather lively and optimistic van full of boys -- immediate van chatter always bodes well for the days ahead. Upon arrival we set up our...

Yellowstone Adventure II Update I

Greetings from beautiful Ennis, Montana! Deep in the heart of the Madison River Valley, thus of course near the banks of the world-famous Madison River, we have our own little slice of paradise here at basecamp. After gathering everyone this afternoon at the Bozeman airport we began our drive through the Big Sky and Gallatin Mountains, a quick hour to our destination. Upon arrival we set up our...

Yellowstone Expedition 1 - final update

Hi all, We made it! Since our last update, the boys have been soaking up the sun and their last few days of fishing before airport day. We have been located at headquarters in Ennis Montana, fishing the world famous Madison River. Despite tougher fishing conditions and high water temperatures, the floats were still successful. All boats were able to catch a handful of fish under the blazing hot...

Colorado Expedition - Update 4

Hello all! The final days of the Rocky Mountain Expedition have been amazing, with most of the kids catching their biggest fish of the trip in that time. The fishing around our campsite at Pumphouse, near Kremmling, has been solid, and the evening dry fly fishing has been exceptional. Everybody had a great time with the guides of Cutthroat Anglers, and they are looking forward to a day of...

Yellowstone Adventure I - Update 5

Hi all, Our trip has come to a close and while it is full of farewells and goodbyes, it also marks the end of two weeks full of memories that we will never forget. We spent our last full day on the Madison River chasing large brown and rainbow trout in strong current. A legendary river, today we found trout eating small flies subsurface. A fun way to fish, many of the kids hooked up and lots of...

Yellowstone Expedition 1 - 4th update

Hi all, Since our last update, we've done another great backcountry trip. On Saturday, the group split in half and headed in two directions. Snake River Group Eli J, Wyatt, Tyler, Fletcher, David and Andrew drove to the very south end of the park to embark on a four day adventure on the Upper Snake River. Leaving from the South Boundary Trailhead, we started off hot with a quick ford of the Snake...

Yellowstone Custom Trip Update 4

Hello All, The Yellowstone Custom Adventure just finished up an exciting final backcountry! The last time you heard from us we had just set up camp in the front country and were getting ready to relax and prep for our final trip into Slough Creek. That night we got some much needed sleep after a long day of hiking. We got up the next morning and made a game plan for the day. The kids were low on...

Yellowstone Adventure I - Update 4

Greetings all, As our trip is wrapping up, the boys are hitting the water hard in hopes of landing some absolutely stunning fish. To begin our final stretch of the trip, the boys floated the Madison with three LFFE legends: Pat, Henry, and David. Lots of fish were caught and the boys got a break from fighting the swift current all day. While half of the trip floated, the other half went to another...

Montana Road Trip Expedition - Update 4

Hi all, On the final section of the trip, we spent time at a few of the rivers a little bit closer to base camp. On the first day back at base camp, the conditions were hot making the fishing very slow. So the guys decided to blow up the inner-tubes and break out the rafts and went swimming in the lower sections of the Madison River. As it cooled down, we strung up our rods and made a plan to fish...

Colorado Expedition - Update 3

Hi all! The Rocky Mountain Expedition just finished our second backcountry and it was a huge success! We hiked deep into the North Inlet of Grand Lake within Rocky Mountain National Park in search of native Colorado River Cutthroat Trout. We found tons of these fish, with some campers catching over one hundred (!!!) in a single day. The hiking was tough, but the group pushed hard, supporting each...

MT Road Trip Expedition II - Update 3

Hi all, We're still at it - moving around a lot, seeing and fishing awesome, varied rivers that are unique and present different challenges. For this portion of the trip, the group split up and branched out in order to be able to fish rivers that are farther away from our base camp in Ennis. Some guys fished the Yellowstone with the rest of the crew fishing the Big Horn. Both rivers fished...

Yellowstone Expedition 1 - 3rd update

Hello all, Since our last update, we've been staying in the Paradise Valley for the past couple days. Lucky for us, it’s hard to find a better place to recover from lots of hiking and hard work in the backcountry. On top of that, we were lucky enough to fish the Lamar River in the Park. In order to get there, we took a short hike where we descended into the beautiful river valley, which is almost...

Yellowstone Expedition 1 - 2nd update

Hi families, Since our last update, we have been based out of Bridge Bay Campground on Yellowstone Lake. We drove in from the West Yellowstone entrance and immediately started fishing the upper section the Yellowstone River. This section of river is especially prized because it contains lake run cutthroat trout. The area had been closed until July 1, so the fish hadn’t seen too many flies before...

Yellowstone Adventure I - Update 3

Greetings from Yellowstone! Following our stay in the backcountry at Grebe and Cascade Lakes, our group recouped with much needed warm showers and pizza in West Yellowstone. But our rest was brief - the following morning, half our group headed into the backcountry for another stint in the famous second meadow of Slough Creek, while the other half spent that day fishing in the front country along...

Yellowstone Custom Trip Update 3

Hello All, The Yellowstone custom adventure just finished up an incredible second backcountry! The last time you heard from us, we had just arrived at the scenic B4 Ranch near Cooke City, Montana, and were settling in for a fun few days of fishing. The first day at the ranch was a fun one. We unpacked all of our gear from the last backcountry, got settled into our cabins, and headed out to fish...

Yellowstone Adventure I - Update 2

Hello! The Yellowstone Adventure I just came out of our first of two backcountry adventures, fishing, and exploring the picturesque Grebe and Cascade Lakes in the northern part of Yellowstone National Park. The first five days of our journey fishing the legendary lakes and rivers of Yellowstone have been quite eventful, already catching six different species. Starting from the first day we wet...

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Lillard Fly Fishing Expeditions was started in 2010 as a graduate thesis for my Master's Degree in Environmental Conservation Education at NYU. The operating premise was simple - by coupling amazing wilderness fly fishing camps for teens with environmental education and service learning we can help inspire future generations of fly fishing conservationists. We have been growing our unique list of trips and experiences ever since.

When it comes to choosing a summer program for your teen the options are endless. For the teen who loves to fish, be outside, and has a strong sense of adventure we have made the choice easy. We are the leader in teen fly fishing adventures and are dedicated to providing the best backcountry fly fishing experience with opportunities for teens to engage in leadership training, community service, and backcountry camping.

Sincerely,

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Will Lillard, Founder/Director/Guide

Contact Us

[email protected]

Lillard Fly Fishing Expeditions
2540 King Road
Pisgah Forest, NC 28768

(828) 577-8204