The fishing action is picking up around Cody and the rest of the Big Horn Basin thanks to very different weather compared to the last several years.
Previously, anglers have had to contend with abundant amounts of snow and Arctic temperatures in January and early February. The colder weather also made for colder water temps which slows the metabolism of trout and whitefish, the two principle inhabitants of our freshwater rivers and streams in northwest Wyoming.
Based on the long range weather forecast, there is not a prediction with any record amounts of snow to be found headed into the Cody region for the next few weeks. Again, compared to past winters, our mountains are severely lacking snowpack, which is what the Rocky Mountain West relies upon for good river and streams flows to keep trout fat and happy, filled reservoirs for irrigation and other commercial interests, and to provide some power generation to pack the electrical grid for power to run lights and heat for people.
Because the temperatures during the day have been moderately warm for winter and the nights have above zero, if not 10 degrees most of this winter, the insect activity has been better than past years, comparatively speaking that is. Midges (small mosquito-looking aquatic insects) have been hatching in prodigious numbers this winter on the lower Shoshone and the Big Horn River south of Kirby.
These small bugs have made the trout fat and plump on both river systems this year. Trout feed on the larvae, pupae, emergent and adult imitation of this insect. This gives the fly fishing angler the ability to fish deep, mid-depth and on the surface practically all day. To make it even better, there has been a limited amount of ice in the fly rod guides, unless you are one of those die-hard anglers who has to be the first one in the river every day. Mild temperatures also mean your fly line isn’t getting scarred up from ice in the guides and your fly reels aren’t frozen solid, so we can let some of the bigger trout make a dash for freedom and still have functional disc drags.
Twenty-inchers are hard to come by this year, thanks to a reduction in flows on the lower Shoshone at the critical time when the large mature brown trout had moved into the shallows to spawn. The loss of flow, sadly, trapped larger and even smaller brown trout in these shallow gravel bed areas with no access or ability to get to the main stem of the lower Shoshone before dying from lack of oxygen.
There does seem to be a fair number of 6-15 inch trout in the lower Shoshone to keep anglers busy. As mentioned above, these trout are fattened up from eating midges. Now, the trout are also seeing small winter stoneflies whose nymphs are great protein and energy as rainbows begin to fatten up for the spring spawning season March through June on the river section below Buffalo Bill Dam downstream to Willwood Dam.
The end of January usually stirs the biological urges of tiny mayflies called blue winged olives in sizes 16-22. These insects just add variety to the food options now available. Blue-winged olives also bring trout to the surface when the nymphal stage of this mayfly rises to the surface to emerge and fly off the river as adults. Blue-wing olived adults and adult midges have been active, or hatching, in mid-afternoon for about two solid hours. Plenty of time for fly fishers to figure out if the trout want an olive or gray sparkle or compara dun, a parachute Adams or other dry fly imitation of blue wings.
On the Big Horn River, fishing has been best from a boat. However, there are some walk-in areas on this river that provide rod-bending fun. There is one at Wedding of the Waters, several in town near the famous Thermopolis Hot Springs, then down river to the Wakely access before walking in becomes a challenge. Expect to see clouds of midges on the really warm days and also blue-winged olives on the days that are more cool and cloudy, if not stormy days on both rivers.
Rig up two, even three rods if fishing a boat. One should be set for dry fly fishing and the other rod to fish wet flies like soft-hackled sowbugs, hare’s ears and pheasant tails. Standard tailwater nymph, larvae and pupae imitations should be fished under an indicator or by using the Euro nymphing techniques. Streamers always work when nothing else does, so have some of your favorite streamers handy to tie onto your third rod.
I hope these suggestions motivate you to get outdoors. Trout don’t carry COVID-19 so you can socially distance all you want and have fun doing so. Remember to layer up under those waders and cover your hands and head in the colder parts of the day to avoid hypothermia. This is especially true if you are a wading angler. Water and air temps are still too cold to wet-wade despite the fact we have seen older citizens and students running around in short-sleeved T’s and short pants with flip flops this January.
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