Great day-trip guides to Fish in southeast Wyoming

If you have one day to fish in Southeast Wyoming, Sloans and Lake Absarraca have the variety you are looking for. With channel catfish, largemouth bass, pumpkinseed, yellow perch, black crappie, and rainbow trout, you can work towards the “Wyoming’s Wild One”, “Bass Battle”, “Pan Pair” and “Percid Prize” youth fishing challenges. Head up to Curt Gowdy State Park to catch brown trout, cutthroat trout, rainbow trout, or yellow perch in Granite and Crystal reservoirs. Stream fish the Middle Crow Creek between the two reservoirs to catch rainbow and brown trout or fish the beaver ponds on the South Fork of Middle Crow Creek to catch brook trout and earn your “Habitat Counts” challenge. 

Check out our day-trip guide tailored to the days you have to fish, but first make sure you get your WY fishing license

Two Days to Fish

If you have two days to fish, the Laramie or Saratoga areas are some great places to target. Rob Roy Reservoir is located in the Medicine Bow National Forest and roughly 45 miles west of Laramie and about 60 miles east of Saratoga. At Rob Roy you may catch brook, brown and rainbow trout, kokanee salmon, or splake to earn a “Trout Trio” or “Cool Catch” certificate. After fishing Rob Roy, stay in the mountains and head north to Brooklyn Lake off Highway 130 in the Snowy Range to fish for brook trout or splake.

When headed back to Laramie stop at the Plains Lakes west of Laramie to catch a variety of species, including rainbow, cutthroat, brown trout, kokanee salmon, and yellow perch. Lakes Alsop, Gelatt, Hattie (see photo,) Leazenby, Meeboer, and Twin Buttes Reservoir are all home to a variety of species. So the more waters you fish, the greater chances you’ll have at filling your creel. If you’re heading home to the Platte Valley from Rob Roy, stop by Saratoga Lake, just north of Saratoga to catch a brown, rainbow or even a tiger trout!

Three Days to Fish

Have a long weekend available to dedicate to fishing? Look no further than the Wheatland and Torrington area to cast your line. Just east of Torrington is Packers Lake, where you might land yourself a largemouth bass, black crappie, channel catfish, walleye, or tiger muskie. Talk about a “Cool Catch”! Thirty miles south of Torrington on Highway 85 is the Hawk Springs State Recreation Area, which has camping spots, outhouse, playground, and boat ramp. Hawk Springs has black crappie, channel catfish, largemouth bass, and walleye, which can be caught from the bank or by boat. Also 15 miles south of Torrington is the Springer/Bump Sullivan WHMA, and Bump Sullivan and Springer reservoirs.

Springer has camping available and a boat ramp for you to launch a boat and catch black crappie, green sunfish and perch. Bump Sullivan has black crappie, largemouth bass, green sunfish, and channel catfish for you to earn the “Bass Battle” or “Wyoming’s Wild One” challenges. Both reservoirs are closed to fishing from November 1 through February 15. Grayrocks Reservoir is about 20 miles east of Wheatland and is one of the best walleye fisheries in the state! West of Wheatland are Festo and Rock lakes where you can catch a variety of fish towards the youth fishing challenges.

Wheatland Reservoir #1 is another lake near town where you can catch channel catfish, black crappie, smallmouth bass, walleye, and perch! To catch that elusive trout travel west from either Torrington or Wheatland to the Laramie Range, where you can find trout in most streams and lakes with great angler access.

For more information on fishing in Wyoming, visit the Wyoming Game and Fish Department website or call the Laramie office at 307-745-4046.