Wyoming Freestone
Snake River Fishing Report, Flows and Hatches
Native finespotted Snake River cutthroat under the Tetons, the iconic western float. High snowmelt runs it hard from April into early June, then it settles into classic drift-boat and side-channel water through the summer and fall.
Freestone
Wyoming
6,200 ft
Gauge 13018750
Right now
Live conditions
The hatch chart
Snake River hatch chart
The emergences that come off the Snake by month, straight from the Rivus hatch model.
| Hatch | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Midge Midge, #18-24 | ||||||||||||
Skwala Stonefly, #10-14 | ||||||||||||
March Brown Mayfly, #12-14 | ||||||||||||
Caddisfly Caddis, #12-18 | ||||||||||||
Blue Winged Olive Mayfly, #12-20 | ||||||||||||
Salmonfly Stonefly, #4-6 | ||||||||||||
Golden Stonefly Stonefly, #6-10 | ||||||||||||
Grey Drake Mayfly, #10-12 | ||||||||||||
Pale Morning Dun Mayfly, #14-18 | ||||||||||||
Little Yellow Sally Stonefly, #12-14 | ||||||||||||
Grasshopper / Terrestrial Hopper, #8-12 | ||||||||||||
October Caddis Caddis, #10-14 |
How it fishes
A Wyoming freestone
A freestone river runs free off snowmelt and rain, so it swings hard with the seasons. It blows out and browns up in spring runoff, then drops and warms into summer. The hatches track the water temperature more than the calendar, so you time your trip to the flow and the thermometer.
Flow and gauge
Reading the flows
The Snake is metered at USGS gauge 13018750. Watch the trend as much as the number: a river that is dropping and clearing fishes very differently from one that is coming up.
Low
under 5,000 cfs
Optimal
5,000 to 12,000 cfs
High
above 15,000 cfs
Access and regulations
Before you fish
Access and the right to fish are the angler’s responsibility, every time. Public access, private water, and seasonal closures vary along the river, so confirm where you can legally stand and wade before you go. We do not point you to a specific spot.
Read the current rules, license requirements, and any special-regulation water before you go. Regulations change season to season, so check them fresh.
Flow and water temperature from USGS, weather from NWS and NOAA, refreshed hourly. Real-time USGS readings are provisional and subject to revision. The hatch chart and river read are Rivus model output.