Winter Wyoming Fly Fishing

It was early in 2018 that my husband and I found ourselves at the Denver Fly Fishing Show for the first time. Talk about getting fired up! Not only were the speakers phenomenal but the vendors were as well. As we made our way through the maze of booths we happened upon Cowboy Drifters from Alcova, Wy. These guides were amped up about the current fishing conditions as well as the weather they had been enjoying. I mean this is Wyoming in January, nice weather without wind sounded non-existent to us. They were offering a discount for booking in the spring which included a cabin on the North Platte. That was all the encouragement we needed. They had us hook, line and sinker.  What better way to get away from being cooped up than to spend a couple days lost in the wildlands of Wyoming...in January.

Sunset on our first evening in Wyoming 

As our trip approached we smiled at each other with hesitant excitement. Weather predictions were not looking good and the weather forecast boasted 40+ mile hour winds. The thought of pulling in one overgrown trout after another took the backseat as we contemplated 8 plus hours of casting our fly rods....directly into the wind.  For those of you that have not been there, let me just say it is one of those experiences best heard about. But there was also the glimpse of an amazing weekend away, after all, isn't it all about taking life by the horns? Living outside of our norm and finding adventure whenever we can was our motto. And we thought we were up for the challenge...

Everyone reaches that point when planning a trip where you just go with what you got. There is no canceling, changing dates, getting refunds etc., etc. There is just that small amount of dread that this getaway could be a VERY long, cold and miserable three days. In fact, I think that we may have sold out our local Jax on their supply of HotHands. No joke. Of course, at the back of both of our minds is the small consolation that should the conditions merit it, there is always whiskey. We in for a surprise when we showed up at the end of January to check in to our cabin at Cowboy Drifters. 

It was afternoon before we arrived, after jumping into our waders and rigging up our rods we stepped into the North Platte. Dusk is always a challenge to fish, especially if you don't know the river. It was our first time and so we settled for grabbing a beer and seeing the local countryside as the sun set. Both of us were curious and a tad apprehensive as to how our 8 hour float trip the next day would turn out. The term Embrace the Journey comes to mind at this point...

The next day dawned bright & bold and as the sun crested the ridge we realized there was not an ounce of wind in the air. The snow glinted in the sun and weather almost felt warm on your face. Turns out, the 14 layers of clothing we brought to survive the wind and sub zero temperatures would not be needed after all. A few minutes past 8 AM our guide Craig Kwiatkowski arrived at our door ready to roll. His energy and excitement was intoxicating, we were bouncing with excitement ourselves by the time we reached the river. 

To say we were busy was an understatement, we pulled in over 25 trout throughout the course of the day. Several times, my husband and I both had fish on the line and Craig scrambled as we reeled them in bit by bit. The sun was on our backs and the nonexistent breeze did little to cool the air. Clear sky's and beautiful scenery were the icing on the cake as we rowed down the Grey Reef. 

It was one of the best trips we have been on and Cowboy Drifters were the perfect outfitter for us. We enjoyed every minute, even bundled up for those 40 mile hour winds that never materialized. By 10, we were both shedding the layers often times while reeling in fish. Lesson learned, never miss an adventure because of the weather report. Of course, even if there had been wind, it would have been a blast. These folks know what their doing and it shows. 

I am so happy neither of us voiced our concern and instead chose to head out to Wyoming in January. Many of our friends and family thought we were a little nuts. It was worth it in so many ways, we learned so much from Craig and caught so many trout even in waders the next day. It was a treat to experience the North Platte and we are eager to go back for our next visit. 

- Kathryn