Wyoming Fishing Adventure

Just returned from a week fishing in Wyoming.  We started in Cody fishing the Shoshone river for three days and then drove to Casper to fish the North Platte River.  Our group fished one day at Gray Reef and then the next on the Miracle Mile.  Last day was hopper fishing on Freemont Canyon.

Hard to compare the fishing on the Shoshone river to the Reef or the Mile.  Shoshone is a freestone river floated on rafts.  Big wild fish, mostly Cutthroats, Rainbows, and Cutbows.  The “Chromers” (a sliver hybred Cutbow) are some of the largest and hardest fighting fish we encountered. They never stopped fighting, even when you had them in the net. The floating experience on the Shoshone is fantastic as you have your share of white water rafting among fantastic sheer granite cliffs. The scenery is just breath taking.  There are boulders as big as a house in that river and they make your floating experience memorable.

The “Mile” is a tail water floated in drift boats and certainly has some really huge fish.  There is more “Flat” water on Gray Reef and the Mile so no white water here.  The scenery is nothing like the Shoshone, just wide open plains and no significant vertical drops.  19-22 inch fish were pretty common for the three days we fished on the Platte.  I ran into Brown Trout for the most part but others in our party hit the Cutthroat and Rainbows.  Almost every fish I hooked, came out of the water like a rocket.  One fish darn near jumped into our boat, pretty exciting.

These fish and their environments put a 6 and 7 wt. rods to the test.  Bringing big fish to the boat or raft on 2X tippet was a chore especially against a stiff current.  Often, once the fish was brought to the boat, you had to net them yourself as the guide was busy keeping the raft under control in the white water. Wind was also a constant factor in swinging multi-fly rigs and indicators.

After six days of excellent weather and more than our share of fish, it was time to come home. Will post some pictures when I get them downloaded from my camera.

Bob Beckett