Where I Fish
Big Horn River (WY)
The Bighorn River located in Thermopolis, Wyoming is a truly amazing and consistent tailwater that’s fishable 12 months of the year and boasts consistent hatches. Midges, Sow Bugs, BWOs, Yellow Sallies, Hoppers, Crayfish, Caddis, Tricos and small baitfish - the biomass allows these fish to eat really good. Given the slightly warmer climate in this area of Wyoming, the Big Horn can be an extremely productive place when other rivers back in the Jackson area are still cold and snow covered. Given the high trout numbers, nymphs, streamers, and dry flies are all effective at certain times. I guide here from January through mid June and the month of October. The Big Horn has something to offer for every angler! Healthy chunky Brown Trout, Rainbows, Cutthroat Trout, hybrids and Carp are all feeding heavily.
Because this river is located approximately 200 miles east of Jackson, an overnight multi-day trip is ideal. You can find plenty of lodging and Airbnb options in Thermopolis along with a few bars and restaurants. While single day trips are possible, it requires a significant amount of travel on your part. Over the years most of my visiting anglers come for 2-4 days of fishing here. While the Big Horn River is the only local fishing option, I have access to 8 boat ramps and can cater your day to longer or shorter floats depending on the style of fishing you prefer. If you prefer Stillwater fishing, there are 3 lakes in Dubois, Wyoming which is about a two hour drive and sits between Thermopolis and Jackson.
Best Months to fish the Big Horn River
I usually like to start fishing this river between late February and early March as hungry Brown Trout and pre-spawn Rainbow and Cutthroat Trout turn on the feed bag as the days slowly get longer and warmer. The fishing consistently gets better through the spring with Sow Bugs, Midges, BWOs and streamers all producing nice fish.
March consists mostly of nymph and streamer fishing, while we can sometimes find trout rising to BWOS in mid April through early June. The streamer fishing can also be phenomenal on the right day.
Early June starts some sporadic Yellow Sally hatches that overlap with small terrestrials. October fishing is a blast with the tail end of crayfish nymphing and some other small nymphs.
This fall season also provides opportunities for fishing small single dry flies including Tricos, Pseudos, and the start of BWOs when the weather starts to move in. I love the rainy days down here! Streamers… Dries… Life is good!
Snake River
The headwaters of the Snake River flow through Yellowstone National Park before entering into Jackson Lake Dam and then flowing through Grand Teton National Park. The river is technically a tailwater after exiting the dam (but it can have the feel of a Freestone river) and provides anglers with a high concentration of Snake River Cutthroat Trout eating flies at the base of the Tetons. They say that a trout’s diet is 90% subsurface but luckily for all of us on the Snake River 90% of the time we are fishing a dry fly! I would highly recommend this river for any skill level.
There are two different options for fishing the Snake River in Jackson, Wyoming. There is a Bridger Teton national Forest permit, which allows those booking through Westbank Anglers to float below the South Park bridge south of Jackson. Westbank Anglers is also fortunate enough to have access to fish the stunning sections of the Snake River that flow through Grand Teton National Park. This is a true dry fly river! It’s also a great place to get out of the boat and fish some of the smaller side channels where some the bigger fish seem to live.
While all sections are characterized by beautiful landscapes and native cutthroat trout, there are some seasonal differences in catch rates and difficulty, so it’s always helpful to plan our trip ahead of time so that it best meets your needs and expectations.
Best months to fish the Snake River:
Midge and streamer fishing starts in early March and typically extends through mid April or right before runoff begins. This is my absolute favorite time to fish the Snake on lower snow years. We can have an amazing Skwala Hatch that will last for about a week to 10 days starting around mid April.
Other great times to fish to fish the Snake are mid August through October as we see everything from Nocturnal Stoneflies, Caddis, Midges, PMD’s, Mahogany Duns, Hecubas and more.
Green/New Fork River
By working for Westbank Anglers I’m very fortunate to have access to this River drainage. With 60 miles of the New Fork accessible along with 160 miles of the Green River, these are true Wyoming freestone rivers flowing from wild national forests through agricultural land. These Wyoming rivers contain opportunistic Rainbow, Cutthroat hybrids and large Brown Trout that respond well to both hatches and streamers. As soon as the ice melts off these rivers can be productive, but prime time is in the summer months when large trout devour Gray Drakes, Stoneflies, Yellow Sallies, Caddis, skating Craneflies and then Hoppers.
When fishing these rivers I recommend staying in Pinedale, Wyoming which is close to the action and allows us to be flexible based on the most immediate fishing productivity. Sometimes we need to get up early or stay out late based on fishing pressure, number of other fishing boats, flows, hatches, weather and general trout behavior, so a shorter drive to Pinedale, while not imperative, can be helpful.
There is a small private airport in Pinedale, but most folks fly into Jackson Hole located about 2 hrs from here. It’s another amazing and scenic drive the entire way!
Best months to fish the Green and New Fork Rivers
Mid May starts the season off with solid nymph fishing with worms, Stoneflies and small streamers.
In late May through early June the river will start to continuously drop from runoff and the dry fly fishing turns on with Salmonflies Golden Stones, PMDs, Yellow Sallies, Green Drakes and a couple great weeks of Gray Drakes. These hatches will taper off in late July, but some sections of the river will still have strong hopper and Cranefly fishing (my favorite) throughout the end of summer.
It’s important to note that by the end of July (and sometimes earlier) these rivers are usually only fishable from 12am - 1pm due to hot summer days warming the water temps. Usually by the 1st week of August I'm ready to fish the South Fork since it’s a nice cool tailwater.
South Fork of the Snake River
The south of the Snake River flows out of Palisades Reservoir about 45 minutes south of Jackson, Wyoming. This tailwater is a year-round fishery that fishes best between April and October. Once the releases from Palisades Dam start to increase in late spring, this becomes a large river as it’s flows will increase from around 1,000 cfs to close to 20,000 cfs on strong snowpack years. This is a great river if you enjoy doing all aspects of fly fishing - dry flies, nymphs, streamers, dry droppers and even some spot and stalk options.
Best Months to fish the South Fork of the Snake:
Salmonflies start to show up in mid/late June and officially kickoff the dry fly season, while streamers and nymphing are still effective at this time
Salmonflies, Yellow Sallies, PMDs and Caddis are in full swing as July progresses, while streamers can still be effective on cloudy days
August sees a very productive Nocturnal Stone hatch, as well as the PMDs and Hoppers
In September the Nocturnal Stones and Terresterials continue, while Mahogany Duns enter the mix. BWOs and streamers can be quite effective on cloudy days.
BWO fishing is strong in October, as is streamer and nymph fishing for aggressive pre-spawn browns.
Yellowstone Lake
After being nearly extinct, effective recovery efforts have minimized the Lake Trout population and have allowed the Yellowstone Cutthroat Trout to thrive again and grow to impressive sizes. Fishing often entails casting streamers and balanced leeches into deep drop off shelves or throwing foam dry flies to rising trout. I’m always so thankful when we get the right conditions at this lake as it usually provides one of the more memorable fishing days each season. This fishing experience often includes pristine clear water, an undisturbed landscape and a visual fishing experience where we are able to watch the fish chase and rise to our flies.
Best months to fish the Yellowstone Lake
June provides subsurface fishing with small streamers and leeches.
Strong Callibaetis hatches occur in July, which overlap with the massive Sedge Caddis that can extend into the first week of August. During this time these fish swim shallow, which makes our job of intercepting them on the dry fly much easier and more visual.
Lewis Lake
Lewis Lake is a great option for anglers staying in Jackson but wanting to fish in Yellowstone National Park. It’s about a 90 minute drive from Jackson as we drive north through Moran, WY, Grand Teton National Park and eventually reach the Yellowstone Park boundary. We usually grab our licenses and have the boat checked by the National Parks Service which is a daily occurrence unless you stay the night in the park. Geysers, hot springs, waterfalls, rivers, pristine country, this is a place everyone must see at least once in their life. Solid Brown Trout and Rainbow Trout dwell in this pristine environment and clear water. I teach a lot of Stillwater techniques including indicator nymphing, different styles of retrieve fishing, dry dropper, and even dry fishing. There’s plenty of angling space on Lewis Lake, so if sight fishing to cruising brown and lake trout in shallow water is your thing, then you may want to come with me for a day of fishing on Lewis Lake. The fishing can be technical at times, but these trout are fun to stalk and cast to.
Best months to fish Lewis Lake
One of the best times to fish this lake is mid to late June (depending on winter conditions) through mid July.
Early to mid September provides some dry fly fishing with terrestrials and sight fishing with leeches and small streamers in the Lewis Channel that flows into the lake.
In October the browns starts to run out of Lewis Lake and make their way up the Lewis channel. This is a great point of time to intercept these fish as they travel to their spawning grounds (NOTE: We never fish to them on their spawning grounds). This can last through the end of October, but due to its high elevation, it starts to get snow and cold fairly quickly in October so I like early October for that reason.
Firehole River
Located in Yellowstone National Park, the Firehole river is another great late spring and early summer option as the water warms earlier from springs and geothermal features. The fishing can be productive and the scenery is unbeatable. Geyser Hot Springs, Elk, Bison and a few tourists all reside along the side of the river. This is a great river for all types of anglers, including families and kids. Personally, I love taking kids on their first fly fishing outing to this location as these trips can provide a well round fishing and learning experience. If you show them how to have a good time, even without catching a fish, you created an angler for life.
Best months to fish the Firehole River
Fishing opens around Memorial Day Weekend and is a great time to fish if the weather permits
Given the influx of warm spring water, this is not a river we fish in late summer
If you like to catch a lot of fish (often times on dry flies) and you aren’t chasing trophy trout, this is a great river for you. The fishing environment and experience is unbeatable
This river is about 2 hours and 45 minutes from Jackson. Doing a single day trip requires a good deal of driving time, so I would recommend staying in the park overnight if possible
Custom Fly Fishing Trips
Many of the people who have fished with me are now life long clients who now visit and fish on an annual basis. One of the qualities they appreciate most is my attention to the details for each and every trip. Westbank Anglers and I are committed to working with with you to put together the best trip based on your interests, needs and anticipated fishing conditions. When coming to fish in the Jackson Hole area, many people find that three or four days are ideal (although many people would like to fish for a week) as we can focus on specific techniques (e.g., streamer fishing, dry fly fishing), locations, hatches (e.g., PMDs, Hoppers) or provide a well rounded and diverse fishing experience.
For the angler looking for a little more of a less traditional adventurous trip, we can fish sections of the upper Snake River above Jackson Lake, the Lewis River, Fire Hole River, Slough Creek, Bechler Meadows and the Yellowstone River within Yellowstone National Park. We can customize non-traditional trips to some of these rivers, lakes and streams that may take a little more work but some anglers find even more rewarding. I’m willing to do camping trips where we fish in Yellowstone National Park and travel through the park together. This is a great way to share my experience from fishing here over the years while enjoying more wild and remote fishing options and locations.
Similarly, if you are an angler primarily looking for wade fishing, there are a few different options to fit your style of fishing. I like to float the upper Green River, the Snake in Grand Teton National Park, or the South Fork of the Snake but focus on wading the side channels, riffles and pools. This is a fun way to wade access much of the river without having to walk long distances to get to prime locations.