Yellowstone Park 2024 Volunteer FF Program

Yellowstone National Park Volunteer Fly Fishing Program - 2024 

This opportunity is for high level intermediate and advanced fly fishers only with considerable hiking and the required skills to assist the grad students and biologists with native fish restoration and sustainability in Yellowstone National Park waters. This conservation work program will provide opportunities for up to seven (7) individuals to participate.

The trip is currently fully subscribed at eight participants, but please use the waitlist registration if you are still interested as there may be cancellations.  We will select replacements based upon waitlist position.

Note that this is not a sponsored TVFF trip; it is notification for those interested in volunteering their service and working for YNP during the event.

The Yellowstone Volunteer Fly Fishing Program has confirmed their open dates for this year and has requested TVFF’s assistance again in 2024 on a new task.  There were over 300 volunteers who registered for the program with only 64 session slots available in 2024 (4 individuals per slot). Thus, we are fortunate to not only be invited back, but also to participate in one of two “expanded and special” programs this year that will focus on catching and tagging rare Westslope Cutthroat and Endangered Grayling in two of Yellowstone’s premier protected lakes.  The program in 2024 will include new waters to be surveyed with fish capture and tagging.  The targeted waters for 2024 include Grebe and Wolf lakes in the central portion of the park, close to Canyon Village.

Participants on this expanded program will be hiking 3 miles into Grebe Lake to camp in the backcountry for three evenings and fish for both species in Grebe Lake and nearby (1 mile hike) Wolf Lake.  We will be camping with the lead biologist, so you must be willing to camp and fish in Yellowstone’s remote backcountry.  And yes, we will be in grizzly, bison, and wolf country, as you are throughout the park. 

If you attend, you must bring your own camping gear, food, clothing, fishing gear, bear spray and water purification equipment with you, which our gear will be shuttled to and from our reserved park campsite by park pack horses, while we hike the three miles into the lake.  You will need to be fully self-sufficient with your own food and higher-level fishing skills as this is not a guided event.  This is a conservation work event for the benefit of the park’s native trout program, and not a casual fishing outing.  You should make your decision appropriate to the actual work required. 

You register HERE before December 27, 2023 or I will be unable to guarantee you a position for the trip.  The formal program begins taking reservations for open slots at 11:00 AM (MST) on January 6^th, and it will be first come, first served.  I will submit TVFF’s application prior to that (as we have previously established priority and our capabilities with the Program) and can submit the names of all attending on my application as well.   

What do you need to do?  

1. Confirmed dates for our conservation event:  August 19, 20, 21, 22 2024 
2. Number of attendees:  maximum of seven (7) 
3. Call me by December 27 with your firm decision so I can include you on the application. 
4. Taking your own camping gear will likely require that you drive to the park (we will carpool if possible). 
5. Your request to participate must be accompanied by a $40 nonrefundable deposit which we will collect on our website with the full details (event coming shortly).  The amounts collected will secure your registration and will be donated to the Native Trout program with Yellowstone Forever at the conclusion of our trip. 
6. Additional fishing opportunities:  You can either front-end the trip or stay after and fish any of the other park waters, or perhaps chase the Wyoming Cutthroat Slam as you wish.  Both pre and post fishing will be unplanned and up to each participant, although I will communicate what my personal plans are, and you are welcome to join me if it fits your agenda. 
7. Please note that there are other 2 day non camping conservation slots similar to what TVFF participated in last year.  I will not be organizing those events, but I can send you the information, dates (July 8 – September 12), and application form if you are interested (same application date of 1/6/24).  You will need to plan your trip and submit those applications on your own (although I will try to get them prioritized by the Program).  Call me if you are interested in these. 
8. Please note the following recommended considerations from the Yellowstone Volunteer Fly Fishing Program for those planning on participating: 

1. "Your Health and Conditioning:  You must be able to hike at least 3 miles with moderate elevation gains, at a moderate pace.  If you volunteer and cannot do this, you'll force the rest of our group to proceed more slowly, causing us to take more time to reach our fishing destinations and therefore leaving us with less time to fish and to collect our data.  
2. Your Fly-Fishing Ability: YFFVP volunteers will, ideally, be proficient fly fishers with all-around skills.  This program is not intended for fly-fishing beginners.  And it is not a "guided" fly fishing trip.  Are you competent fishing dry flies, wet flies, nymphs, and streamers both in still-water environments as well as rivers and creeks?  We need to catch as many as possible, to provide Yellowstone's biologists with as much data as possible.  So, if you're a fly fisher who only fishes dry flies, you won't be able to contribute if the fish are only eating nymphs.  And vice versa.  This is true for all the fly-fishing disciplines.   
3. The YFFVP is Not a Normal Fly-Fishing Trip: We often fish designated sections of rivers and creeks which are shorter in length than we'd normally fish with a group of anglers outside the program.  We will fish very close to each other (spatial etiquette is not important among members of our YFFVP group).  We will be limited to where we can fish, so you can't decide to leave our beat or move without the group.   
4. You're Donating to Yellowstone's Native Fish: The YFFVP's budget is small.  We cannot provide or pay for housing for our volunteers.  You must pay for your own lodging to participate in the program.  YFFVP volunteers are also expected to pay for their Yellowstone National Park entrance fees, fishing license, food, drinks, and any other expenses incurred while participating in the program. 
5. You need to Be Flexible: The YFFVP is constrained by many factors:  weather, water conditions, dealing with wild animals, safety concerns, and other things.  While we do our best to provide you with as much information as possible at the earliest dates possible, things that are beyond our control will force us to change plans.   
6. You need to Be Committed to the Program:  None of us know with certainty what will be occurring in our lives during the summer of 2024.  Plans change.  Life happens.  But please do not apply for next year's program unless you are sure, with the information you have at this time, that you'll be able to participate.  Some volunteers with the best of intentions will most likely have to cancel next year.  That's ok.  But no one should apply unless they are planning to participate. “ 

Registration and Costs:

Registration is currently open for qualified fly fishers for 2024.  Your registration here secures your working position for the program once your non refundable deposit is submitted ($40)  which will be donated to the Native Trout program with Yellowstone Forever at the conclusion of the program.

Contacts:

For more information please contact Rob Farris, (925)286-5502; RFFarris@comcast.net

TVFF Cancellation Policy

To sign-up for a TVFF Event  that is currently open for registration and chargeable (as set by the Fishmeister), you must both register and pay online, or via check or cash, within two weeks of registering (sent to the TVFF Treasurer) whatever fee is described for that particular Event (trip) at the time of registration. There may be multiple payments required before the trip is actually taken (usually in the case of expensive trips), but it is necessary that you do make payment in the above timely fashion for the initial amount to secure your position on the trip.  However, please note that you are still responsible for the entire amount of the trip if you should need to cancel. 

Once you are registered, there are no refunds for chargeable Events and trips.  In the situation that a member is, for any reason unable to attend, they may resell their registration slot to another TVFF member (by first pulling from the waitlist if one exists).  New participants must come first from the waitlist in the order they signed up.  The member cancelling is fully and solely responsible for contacting potential members to replace them and notifying the appropriate Fishmeister.

If an event/trip is fully registered and closed to registration, you may still sign up on the Wait List to be notified if there are any cancellations.  In such a case of registering provisionally on the Wait List, you do not have to pay until such time that you clear the Wait List and are confirmed for participation.