Fishing at Bear Lodge

Bear Lodge is a great place on top of the Big Horn Mountains right near Burgess Junction. People have been going there forever for all kinds of winter and summer mountain fun. I arranged for my brother and I to meet our folks and the girls one Saturday so we could all be together if only for an afternoon. Nostalgia was thick (for me anyway) and the good fishing was a bonus!

When I was a kid, we would meet my cousins there since Bear Lodge is situated about halfway between Sheridan and Powell and was a relatively quick drive (about an hour and a half). It wasn't always feasible for us to get over to see them when they were visiting our grandparents and this way everybody could fish and have fun and enjoy weather that was 15 degrees cooler (or more) than down in the valley. I am pretty sure that I caught my first fish in that pond -- probably standing next to my cousin Inga. I think many of us cousins caught our first fish there.... The pond is still stocked with lake trout and is perfect for teaching little kids to fish. There is almost always a nice breeze blowing and the shoreline is plentiful and easy to navigate (though mucky in spots). The girls had a great time (though K did *not* like having to "break" nightcrawlers). Each of the girls caught several fish and only one ended up getting mucky. :-) It's good that some things *don't* change.


Back when I was a kid the lodge was kind of a dubious looking place. A little run down with the feel of an old mountain tavern. The kind of place that, as a mother, you thought twice about letting your kids use the bathroom.

Now, though, it is under new ownership and they have really turned things around. We had a lovely lunch there and the scenery was perfect. Thunderstorms came rolling in just as we were leaving and that was quite something. The pie is good too. How can you beat an afternoon of fishing and pie? Anyway, if you get the chance, it is a great place to go for the afternoon or the weekend. No pretension, just mountain fun.