Ever wish it was possible to step backward a century or so and fly fish in a pristine atmosphere without too many people or too much noise? If a urge to experience the wilderness of the 1800's mountain men or the rough and ready surroundings where President Teddy Roosevelt once visited, consider a visit to Buffalo, Wyoming and the Bighorn Mountains.

The Bighorn's unspoiled rivers, lakes and crystal clear streams are virtually untapped. The trout abound there and there's plenty of wide open space to go around. It's almost certain that a fishing experience there will surround you with more deer, antelope and moose than members of the human species. Whether one's personal preference leans toward the "near the sky" surroundings or the lower elevations of marshlands and ponds, it's all there in the Bighorns.

Trophy fish abound in these waters. The middle Fork of the Powder river is what has been termed "a blue-ribbon stream," loaded with rainbow trout and browns. The streams in the Bighorn National Forest is a good place to find those mouthwatering brookies and rainbow trout.

If lake fishing is one's choice, the Cloud Peak Wilderness area has lakes brimming with rainbows, cutthroats, cutbows, greyling and splake. Wetting a line in any of these waters is like a dream come true. If meditation is one's cup of tea, it's possible to hear the winds in the pines and imagine the continuing presence of fisherman from the past.