Fishing Report - 4/23/26

Fishing consistency has been starting to pick up and we have had some pretty great days in the past week! We have had fish eating on a little bit of everything, and we are seeing them start to chase and eat streamers with good consistency. Flows are still fluctuating a fair bit with this week's weather and river conditions will remain day-to-day.

I expect to see flows dropping over the weekend with water temperatures dropping as well. Fishing action might slow down a bit over the weekend, but clarity should be great and there are certainly fish to be caught out there. Focus on the warmer parts of the day over the weekend.

Going into next week we are looking at moderate temperatures and some precipitation. Hopefully this will be a late addition to the snowpack and some rain will help boost flows at lower elevations. These conditions likely won't be ideal for fishing, but with insect activity increasing and fish starting to spread out a bit, there should still be plenty of opportunities out there over the next week!

As always, please feel free to give us a call at (307) 460-2221 or stop in the shop anytime for the most up-to-the-minute fishing reports and fly selections!

This healthy brown t-boned a tan mini dungeon.

Upper North Platte

Flows: ~ 80 cfs (Northgate)

Conditions: Flows on the Platte have been fluctuating a bit and now trending downward. Runoff is still on the way, but for the coming week it looks like both flows and water temperatures will be dropping a bit. Clarity should improve considerably, but fish are likely to be a little less active.

Flies: Nymphs; 20 Incher, Pat's Rubber Legs, Tim's Stone, Flexy Stone, Smethurst's Stone Bomb, San Juan Worm, Get Down Worm

Streamers; GB Crystal Bugger, Platte River Spider, Wolly Bugger, Mini Dungeon, Sculpzilla, Silvey's Sculpin, Circus Peanut

Laramie River

Flows: ~ 25 cfs (Woods Landing, WY)

Conditions: Flows have picked up a bit heading into the weekend, most likely as a result of some downstream ditches being closed as the Plains Lakes fill up. This should make for good flows over the weekend on the Laramie. I have been seeing some good action on streamers with fish starting to commit much better, they seem to be particularly susceptible to eating on the pause, so be sure to work a few pauses into your retrieve to trigger a strike!

Flies: Nymphs; 20 Incher, Pat's Rubber Legs, Tim's Stone, San Juan Worm, Get Down Worm

Streamers; Mini Dungeon, Circus Peanut, Mini Bangtail, Sculpzilla, Silvey's Sculpin, Platte Spider, Stacked Blonde, Zoo Cougar

Tributary Streams

Flows: ~ 50 - 300 cfs

Conditions: As always this time of year, flows on our local tributaries to the Laramie and Platte Rivers are varying considerably. I look for tributaries with flows that are on the drop this time of year as that typically indicates I should at least be able to find decent water clarity. Now is great time to throw big streamers and nymph patterns on smaller tributaries as the increased flows after the long winter should have fish looking to score a big meal!

Flies: Nymphs; 20 Incher, Rubber Legs, Hare's Ear, Copper John, San Juan Worm

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

Vedauwoo/Pole Mountain

Conditions: No reports from Veduawoo/Pole Mountain this season.

Flies: N/A

Alpine Lakes and Streams

Conditions: N/A

Flies: N/A