Fly Fishing The North Platte River in Fall/Winter

By Jeff McDonald

As winter begins to tighten its grip on Wyoming, it is a good time to get out the skis and snowboards. But it doesn’t mean that you have to put the fly rods and waders away for the next six months — there are still plenty of great opportunities to catch trout on the fly.

One such place to find these opportunities is the North Platte River in Central Wyoming. The North Platte proudly makes its way through a series of dams and reservoirs, including Seminoe, Pathfinder, Alcova, and Gray Reef before moving on toward the city of Casper. Because of these dams, the water that is released below maintains a relatively steady temperature and does not ice over as many other Wyoming rivers and streams do in the wintertime.

Steve McDonald (my dad) with a trophy brown trout on the North Platte River,
by Jeff McDonald.

The North Platte is well known for producing trophy trout on the fly, and these fish stick around and take full advantage of the tailwaters below the dams. Food remains abundant and the fish continue to strike on fly patterns popular to the region.

Most public sections of the river can be easily waded in winter, but consider the outdoor temperature/conditions and dress accordingly before you go out. It is best to layer up as you would for a day on the ski hill, keeping in mind that the best way to stay warm is to stay dry.

If standing in a river, casting a fly rod when the air temperature drops into the teens (or lower) does not sound like much fun, even for the chance to hook into a 25+ inch trout, floating the river in a drift boat is a great alternative. Although you are still exposed to the elements, being in a drift boat keeps you out of the water and allows you to cover more of the river in a day.

Local fly shops and outfitters continue to offer guide services throughout the winter, such as North Platte River Fly Shop and The Reef Fly Shop. Shop staff and guides are also a great resource for learning about the hot fly selections for the conditions, specific fishing technique and suggestions on the best spots to go to.

Winter fly fishing in Wyoming can be tough, but it makes the victories that much sweeter.  And trust me when I tell you … when you hook into a monster trout with a fly rod on the North Platte River, you forget all about the temperature.

Jeff McDonald is a member of the Laramie chapter of Trout Unlimited (Laramie Valley Trout Unlimited). He enjoys traveling Wyoming with his wife and daughter, fly fishing, skiing and photography. You can watch Jeff's fly fishing videos on his Laramie Angler YouTube channel.

Brown & Gold

By Jeff McDonald

Brown Trout by Jeff McDonald

The thought of fall in Wyoming is always exciting to me, and it brings to mind two words: brown and gold.  Sure, there are the beautiful changing leaves on the cottonwood and aspen trees and the University of Wyoming football games, but to me brown and gold describes something else entirely.

Fall is the best time of year to fly fish for brown trout in the Big Laramie River in southeast Wyoming.  They display brilliant colors of brown and gold, and they are aggressive hunters in the cooler temperatures and lower light of fall.

After a long summer of feeding and growing, the resident brown trout are larger and more confident than they were in the spring.  They like to hold in deeper holes of the river or in undercut banks and submerged brush piles, waiting to ambush a meal.

They can be almost ghost-like; merely a dark shadow that appears out of nowhere to attack their prey.  They are very calculated and will only show themselves if the meal opportunity is worth it.

Because of this behavior, I typically fish for fall browns with large flies that imitate such a meal opportunity.  I use large streamer patterns, such as a black and red cone-head woolly bugger or a crayfish pattern.  These flies are large and heavy, and they sink fast.