Private Access Ranches

In northern Wyoming, runoff begins usually about the first week in May. Once placid streams rage and roar and one wonders how a trout could survive in all that chaos. This coffee-colored maelstrom continues until about mid-June or until last winter's snowpack is almost spent and the roar then dissipates into a familiar song. As the streams drop and slow down, the summer sun now has a chance to warm the water. This change in temperature activates the trout and triggers the first real hatch of summer. Huge Pteronarcys stoneflies crawl to the willows and rocks that line the river's edge to shed their pupal shucks and take flight. One to one and one-half inches in length, charcoal bodied with salmon-colored accents, these huge insects are the famous salmonflies of fishing lore. Fishermen bring out big (size 8), dry flies that encourage trout to voraciously feed on the surface. After almost nine months of feeding on tiny nymphs, these stoneflies must seem huge.

The Pteronarcys adults disappear in early July, leaving only their shucks attached to rocks and bridge pilings as a reminder of their season. The water is now crystal clear - this is the classic, dry fly time of the year. The elk and deer lazily munch at the tall grass, the sky is a deep Wyoming blue, the trees are green and the fish are hungry. One can fish with nymphs, but it is the surface dry fly action, the lazy inspections and aggressive rises, that bring fishermen back year after year.

As July gives way to August, the days, as well as the fishing, gets even hotter. By mid-August, you swear you can feel a hint of autumn in the air, though the days are definitely summer days. This is hopper season and the rainbows and browns fatten on the pestilence. Big flies, big fish, beautiful days, what could be better?

The hopper season continues as the days shorten and the nights become cool by early September. This is the most beautiful time of the year and, although we can now have snowstorms at any time, you will most likely hit the weather right and your heart will ache with the beauty of it all. Yellow aspen and cottonwood, red sumac and green pines, now frame these chatty, lazy streams, their pools dimpled with rising trout making some of their last attempts to fatten on summer's bounty.

It is not unusual to catch 15 - 50 fish per day on our private ranches. These ranch waters are not heavily used and the fish are not sophisticated, but they are wild so stealth and proper presentation will be rewarded. When you book our private ranches you and your party will be the only anglers allowed access that day. No crowds and more water available to you than you could fish in a day.

Gorsuch Outfitters fishes three private ranches all different in character. You may choose to start high in the mountains fishing small streams. These creeks are loaded with brookies, browns and rainbows and are wonderful, not so much for the size of the fish, but for the environs in which they are caught. Gin-clear water and rich, alpine pine forests are framed by the high peaks of the Big Horn Mountains making for a classic angling experience.

Your second choice is to fish the waters of Big Goose Creek where it exits the high hills and tumbles out onto the prairie. The ranch we fish on is one of the most beautiful in the west; cottonwood and ponderosa line the river's banks and its bed is studded with granite boulders which pinch its waters into pools and falls. This is fabulous dry fly fishing and it is not uncommon to have 15 - 40 fish days. It's all catch and release and the browns and rainbows are all wild, usually 10-17" in length. Rises to your fly are not subtle on Big Goose and wild trout fight for all their worth.

If the wading is a bit too athletic for you on Big Goose or if you simply want to try another great stream, then we'll travel to Wyoming's Hole-In-The-Wall country to fish the wonderful waters of the North Fork of Powder River. The North Fork slows down after it hits the rolling hills on the prairie making it an easy stream to wade. The dry fly action with hoppers and attractor patterns can be spectacular and occasionally someone connects with a real monster.

Give us a call, we can arrange a week or a day. You can fish a couple days on the fabled Bighorn River, then fish our private ranches for a few days, perhaps finish with a day in the high country fishing for cutthroats. We will arrange it as you wish. Our guides are friendly and professional - our many repeat clients can attest to their expertise. We can arrange lodging with local motels, bed and breakfasts, or you can choose to overnight on dude ranches close to town.

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