Fishing Report - 4/17/25

Freestone season is officially back in southern Wyoming - virtually all of the water around us with the exception of the high country is open and fishing, and we should see conditions start to improve heading into next week. Rain and snow in the forecast for the weekend will add a bit to flows initially, although we can expect to see flows dropping on Friday and Saturday following the colder weather. Flows should start coming back up next week with some warmer weather in the forecast, which will bring higher water temperatures and more actively feeding fish.

Fishing has been a little bit slow with the volatile weather, but I am happy to be getting some precipitation this weekend as our snowpack really fizzled out over the past month, and unfortunately, two or three more springs storms are going to be just what we need. Expect somewhat slower fishing over the weekend, with flow levels, water temperatures, and feeding activity all picking up heading into next week.

As always with this time of year, conditions are variable and very much day-to-day, stop in the shop or give us a call for the most up-to-date conditions:

Freeflow Outdoors

(307) 460-2221

516 S 3rd St, Laramie, WY

Laramie River

Upper North Platte

Flows: ~ 321 cfs (Northgate)

Conditions: The Platte is a little on the high side for wading with some snowmelt this past week, but it should drop into prime wading condition over the weekend, before puffing back up next week. Lower temperatures will result in less active fish, so fishing a deeper nymph rig will likely be the best option until water temperatures start to come up a bit. Some combination of a large stonefly, crayfish, or sculpin pattern trailed by a worm or smaller mayfly nymph will be the most effective in pre runoff conditions. Fish have been chasing streamers a little bit, but the bite has been fairly slow - stick with something a little bit smaller (less than 3") and utilize slower retrieves until water temperatures start to come up.

Flies: Nymphs; Rubber Legs, 20 Incher, San Juan Worm, Squirmy Wormy, Restless Stone, CDC Stone, Copper John, Hell Razor Craw

Streamers; Platte River Spider, Tequeely, Slumpbuster, Pine Squirrel, Dirty Hippie, Baby Gonga

Laramie River

Flows: ~ 60 cfs (Woods Landing, WY)

Conditions: The Big Laramie is almost entirely free of ice upstream to the Colorado border and is in very wadeable condition. We may see flows jump up a bit and make wade fishing a little trickier over the weekend, but I would expect flows to return to around 50 cfs before slowly starting to rise next week. Nymph rigs will be the way to go with very similar selections to the Platte: stoneflies, crayfish, baitfish, and scuds will be the go-to's until we start seeing some more insect activity. Streamer fishing has been slow, but fish seem to be starting to move a little bit more. I would recommend keeping streamers on the smaller side, and using a slower retrieve with plenty of pauses.

Flies: Nymphs; Rubber Legs, 20 Incher, San Juan Worm, Squirmy Wormy, Restless Stone, CDC Stone, Copper John, Hell Razor Craw

Streamers; Platte River Spider, Tequeely, Slumpbuster, Pine Squirrel, Dirty Hippie, Baby Gonga

Tributary Streams

Flows: ~ 50 - 250 cfs

Conditions: Tributaries to the Laramie and North Platte Rivers can be wildly variable this time of year. Currently we are seeing North Platte tributaries on the higher side, with some up over 250 cfs, while the Little Laramie River is trickling along at 30 cfs, so there is plenty of variety in flows and clarity across the Laramie and North Platte drainages. This is the time of year to really keep an eye on flows and weather as conditions are on even more of a day-to-day basis than the main branches of the rivers. Fly selection and fishing techniques should mirror those used for the North Platte and Laramie at this point in the season.

Flies: Nymphs; Rubber Legs, 20 Incher, San Juan Worm, Squirmy Wormy, Restless Stone, CDC Stone, Copper John, Hell Razor Craw

Streamers; Thin Mint, Wolly Bugger, Platte River Spider, Tequeely, Slumpbuster, Pine Squirrel, Dirty Hippie, Baby Gonga

Laramie Plains Lakes

Conditions: The Plains Lakes are all open and reportedly fishing well! Now is a great time of year to target large fish on streamers patterns as fish should be cruising the shallows looking for an easy meal to bulk up on after a long winter under the ice.

Flies: Hell Razor Craw, Tequeely, Platte River Spider, Hot Head Leech, Pine Squirrel, Wolly Bugger, Juju Midge, WD-40