Wind River spring Nookies

No Wishin Just Fishin · 06-12-2002, 06:29 AM

Plenty of nice spring nookies still hitting in Wind River boundaries anchored with Sand shrimp and bobbers. Had 9 on yesterday with 8 landed. Also reports up in the canyon of many 4 fish limits as about 200 a day over the falls. Quite a hike down to fishing but well worth the effort. Be sure and take a backpack to carry fish out. Parking is at milepost 7. Happy fishing!!

No Wishin Just Fishin · 06-14-2002, 06:27 AM

Diehard
There are 2 places I like best. (1) around the corner about 100 yds 50 yds from the bank in about 12 feet of water and (2) just upstream from the bankies on the point. You will find a 12 foot shelf along 18 foot channel. Anchor on the shelf and fish the edge of the channel.

Remember to use lively sand shrimp or good eggs with bobber set up. Happy Fishing

Whitney · 06-14-2002, 10:05 AM

I have read many posts about this. I'm in pretty good shape, but is the hike in dangerous in any way?

DRUNK COWBOY · 06-14-2002, 10:19 AM

Whitney,

The hike can be dangerous if you do not know which path to take, and there is a lot of paths. The first time I went I almost slipped down a small waterfall. This would have not been good since it was 30 feet straight down to the ledge. :shocked: as long as you are carefull you will be fine.

Get Bent · 06-14-2002, 10:43 AM

No doubt about it, the Wind River canyon hike is a demanding one, especially with a full fishing vest and a rod in hand. Without that stuff it can be a bear.

A lot of guys hike in there and then come out with their limit of 4 fish, so it's doable. Of course, many of those folks try to keep their trip back light by not packing their trash out with them and also gutting/filleting their fish and leaving the carcass on the bank to rot in the hot spring sun. It's enough to gag a person, which in hindthought would also make your trip back up lighter. :whazzup:

Bait O' Eggs · 06-14-2002, 02:08 PM

I did the hike a week ago for the first time. I had never been in there and the stories made it sound kind of bad.

It was not nearly as bad as I had thought it would be. It is kind of steep, but not that bad, and it wasnt as far as I had heard the "stories" make it out to be.

I walked out of there in the dark, and I mean dark, with no flashlight and it was no big deal in my opinion. We dinked around for a while before we hit the trail getting out, and it got dark down in the canyon quick.

I didnt take anymore than I needed and a fish in the pack doesnt weigh much when you clean them and chop the head off etc....

If you have done any hunting that required climbing some ridges this was a stroll in the park. There are places I park the truck hunting and climb a ridge just to glass across a canyon that are far harder than this walk.

I will say that their are some vertical drops in the bottom of this canyon that will kill you if you fall over them. Of course the trails dont lead over them, stay on a trail. Once in the bottom of the canyon, you can get up and down the river under these bluffs for a little ways until the river meets the bluff and you are done going without getting wet or rock climbing which would be almost impossible.

Wear some good heavy lug soled shoes and plan on walking on a steep dirt trail in the trees and then across a big boulder field and then down some fairly steep trails that are rocky.

Before you park and head down the canyon, you will cross a bridge that you can look down and see the river from. You can see how far you will have to walk from the bridge to the river. Determine then if it is to far for you. If you are out of shape or have never walked in the woods this could be a miseable hike for you. Even being out of shape, a person could make several rest getting out of there.

[ 06-14-2002, 03:13 PM: Message edited by: Bait O' Eggs ]

Lured In · 06-14-2002, 02:17 PM

My 7 and 5 year olds made that hike with no problem. Just go slow and its no big deal. FYI I wouldn't recommend this for every kid out there. My boys wear their life jackets as its a nasty spill off the rocks into the river.

jet · 06-14-2002, 02:21 PM

Roy

You sould like a river guide or a tour guide of sorts.

I am sure many thank you for the real... what to expect when you fish here.

Jet~~~

Get Bent · 06-14-2002, 02:51 PM

When I went I made the mistake of going down to what I believe folks called "the falls", which is a good hike. There are spots that aren't as bad, but I thought that maybe if I fished the harder hike that there wouldn't be as many anglers...guess that was a popular misconception.

Ramstrong · 06-14-2002, 03:09 PM

Couldn't have put it better myself Roy. I should have been taking breaks, but didn't on my way out. I just went slooowww. Packing a fish or two isn't bad on a pack frame. But I wouldn't want a limit on my back as well as all of the gear. At least not in the shape I'm in now.

Though it's good to have a flash light available, one is not necessary. Just ask Roy. Ryan is that you? Ryan is that you? :grin: :grin:

It's a place that would be absolutely beatiful if it weren't for all of the garbage. This year isn't as bad as last year though. At least not in the place I fish. It's probablly peaking or already peaked right about now. But you should be able to scrape some fish up for the next week or two. There will be fish around up until the closure but it'll be on the downswing for sure.

Ramstrong · 06-14-2002, 03:13 PM

Dave, I've heard it called the natural falls before in the past. It wasn't even that crowded that day. We even wound up with a hole to ourselves. The hike would have been about the same as the main trail, and it's the same one I brought Roy down last week.

Hilo · 06-14-2002, 06:15 PM

I wanted to give a little specifics about the trail to take down to the river from the parking lot. I would not recommend the trail straight down from the parking area. Walk up river along the road for an 1/8 to a 1/4 mile along the guardrail. After the guardrail you will see an obvious path (I find it in the dark all the time). This path is the "better" path to go down as it leads to more water access.

My first trip there I made the mistake of heading down the trail right out of the parking area. I got down there and there were several spots to fish, unfortuantely for me they were occupied. I made my way upriver from there and found where the majority of people were fishing. I can say with certainty that I will not do that again. Many steep drops and tricky spots to get by and at times there really did not seem to be a path. Needless to say I hiked out the other way and walked back down the road. Much safer!

Last week a person fell in off a pretty steep slope and walloped his head pretty good so don't take it too lightly. Lots of beer cans down there, can't imagine walking those trails inebriated, it can't be the wisest choice to make.

As always take some trash with you, too many yahoos don't and it does detract from one of the most beautiful canyons I have fished in!

Jooky · 06-14-2002, 07:15 PM

ok Ive never fished there. where do I drive to, what do i do? i am use to fishing close to people, but what pound test and heavy of stuff do you use?
I see I would drive up fr-30 where do i park?

or is anyone going I can learn from?

Get Bent · 06-14-2002, 07:22 PM

I suppose it would have helped if I would have stayed on the trail on the way back and wasn't trying to haul a bunch of trash in a salmon net.

Thumper · 06-14-2002, 11:56 PM

Whitney --- I am an asthmatic 61 year-old and I managed it with 2 full garbage bags on the way out. Just take your time. It is beautiful down there.