Scouting out the Green River in Wyoming

Fishing a new place takes a bit of scouting.  I noticed at the Wasatch Fly Tying & Fly Fishing Expo last month that The Four Seasons Fly Shop was offering guided trips to the Green River below the Fontenelle Reservoir.  This can also be considered the Green River above Flaming Gorge.   

The Green River below Flaming Gorge, of course, is the famous section that gets all the attention and crowds.  It is very scenic with all the red rock and canyons and has a very high trout count per mile.  The section in Wyoming below Fontenelle is quite different.  It is not famous and therefore not crowded.  

It is in a desert with flat land sage brush.  It has no red rock or pine trees.  It also has fewer trout per mile.  The trout however, are quite large.  The river flows through the Seedskadee wildlife refuge and therefore it is remote and you will see quite a bit of wildlife.

I drove up to the river last week to scout out the area.  It is only two and a half hours from Salt Lake.  In Kemmerer there is a BLM office with camping information and maps.

There are four campsites right near the dam.   

Three are right on the river which are free.  

I camped at Slate Creek Campground which is four miles downstream from the dam. This campground has a few outhouses and garbage bins.  It is right on a bend in the river which looks like it would have good fishing.  Even further downstream on the other side of the bridge there are some access points near some good stretches that have some deeper pools.  I didn’t fish much on this trip but did catch a few small rainbows and even managed to hook some big crawdads that I saw near the shore. 

Weeping rock campground is a mile below the dam.  On the opposite side of the river from the campground, water seeps through the mountain, thus its name. 

This also seems like a nice campground near some good fishing. They say in the summer when the mosquitoes are out, this campground has fewer mosquitoes.

Right at the base of the dam is tailrace campground which is also located right on the river.

I did catch a little rainbow here and looks like it could be good fishing.

I drove through the wildlife refuge a few miles downstream from the campgrounds.  

There is a dirt/gravel road that runs through the refuge with a few access points to the river.  

I saw ducks, pelicans, several other pretty birds, antelope, goats and marmots.  

I was the only one on the road and even at the visitor center.

I talked to a few fishermen there.  The stretch of the river near Slate Creek seemed to be the best stretch for fishing.  I saw one fisherman catch a fish right at the bend, similar the rainbows I had caught the day before.  The fish seem to take caddis nymphs and San Juan worms. On my next trip I will bring some crawdad imitations also.  

I booked a trip with a Four Season’s guide for next month.  I'll be able to provide more specifics regarding the fishing when I blog about that trip.