Fishing

Fly Fishing

There is a wide choice of fishing locations around Cody. The Shoshone River is a favorite, the north and south fork of the river offering up a number of willing fish. The Greybull is also a popular dry fly fishing spot.

On the Bighorn River, you’ll find the canyon area offers the best places for marvelous rainbows and cutthroats. The Clarks Fork of the Yellowstone is surrounded by mountainous terrain and has 15 miles of free stone stream with plenty of pocket water.

• Beartooth Lake
  Fish from the shore or from a boat to catch some rainbow, brook and lake trout, as well as Artic grayling and Yellowstone cutthroat.
• Bighorn River
  Just a two-hour trip from Cody, you’ll find the Bighorn the perfect destination for a day’s fishing.
• Clarks Fork
  Three different sections of the Clarks Fork of the Yellowstone River offer up some wonderful trout, and a scenic and quiet solitude.
• Greybull Wood
  The headwaters of the Greybull and Wood Rivers are accessible on foot or by horseback. The only other way to get there is by four-wheel drive. It’s definitely worth it for the great fishing with no crowds.
• Island Lake
  Get away to the Beartooth Plateau for some great fishing. Catch some trophy rainbow or brook trout.
• Lily Lake
  This lake boasts brook and rainbow trout along with some Artic grayling. The high elevation and scenery make this a special mountain fishing spot.
• North Fork of Shoshone
  The North Fork of the Shoshone River will give you the opportunity to catch some of those elusive rainbow-cutthroat hybrids, as well as Yellowstone cutthroat, mountain whitefish and lake trout.
• South Fork of Shoshone
  On the South Fork of the Shoshone, you can fish all year, but will find large amounts of snow and ice to deal with in the winter. After the spring runoff at the end of June is the ideal time to go if you don’t want to do ice fishing.
• Yellowstone Park
  You won’t find any other location that offers such a wide array of rivers, lakes and streams for fishing. It’s the number one fly-fishing destination!

Ice Fishing

• Buffalo Bill Reservoir
  Great access and fishing. Look for rainbow trout, brown trout, lake trout, and cutthroats.
• Beartooth Lakes
  Accessible by snowmobile only in winter, the lakes on Beartooth Plateau can offer some good fishing.

Recognize Wyoming’s Various Fish

Wyoming’s trout species include rainbow, brook, lake, brown and cutthroat trout. The native species to the state are rainbow, lake and cutthroat. You’ll also find golden trout and Kokanee salmon as well as the Arctic grayling and Montana whitefish. Make sure you can identify each species and be familiar with the rules and regulations for each species. You can download a booklet of Wyoming’s fishing regulations here:
http://gf.state.wy.us/fish/fishing/fishregs.pdf

Licenses

You will be required to get a fishing license in Wyoming to legally fish in the state. For non-residents, the daily cost is $14, and $6 for residents of Wyoming.

Hire a Guide

Hiring a guide is always the smart choice, particularly when coming to a new area. The guides have much experience and know the area well. You can get guided fly-fishing walk wades as well as float trips that will get you to the perfect spots at the right time.