The Cloud Peak Wilderness area, a true fly-fishing paradise, is located in north central Wyoming. This 189,000 acre wilderness area lies within the Bighorn National Forest, which totals 1.1 million acres.

One of the best means of access to the Cloud Peak Wilderness (CPW), Highway 16 West leads out of Buffalo, Wyoming-a small, quiet town of 3,600 people. Most fly fishermen pass right through this area on their way to Yellowstone National Park and the Big Horn River in Montana. Buffalo is situated at the intersection of I-25 coming up from Denver, and I-90 coming from Rapid City, SD. There are lakes and creeks within the CPW that will challenge any fisherman's skill and ability.

The CPW is easy to reach, and the length of the trip is very short. You don't have to ride horseback for several hours to get into the wilderness lakes and creek drainages. With several access points and trailheads in the Buffalo District, you can be fishing in less than a half hour drive from town.

U.S. Forest Service maps and U.S.G.S. topographic maps provide information on trailheads and CPW fisheries, and a Wilderness Fish Survey lists the names of most lakes, their locations, and the types of fish present. Once you have your maps and ideas on where to go, there are a few important Bighorn National Forest regulations that needs to be followed. Travel into the Cloud Peak Wilderness Area is by foot or horseback only-no mountain bikes, motor bikes or four wheelers are allowed. Group size is limited to 10 people to keep large groups of hikers and horseback riders down to a more manageable size, and to minimize resource damage and improve the wilderness experience. You must also have in your possession a CPW Wilderness Registration. This is free and available at U.S.F.S. offices or through my shop in Buffalo, Just Gone Fishing.

Having all of this information in hand and in your pack, your next step is to decide what type of fish you want to catch. Fishing these lakes and creeks runs from mid-June through September. The elevation will dictate when the ice comes off and how quickly water temperatures rise. The majority of the lakes we fish range in elevation from 8,800 to 10,200 feet. Trailheads which can be reached by car are all in the 8,000- to 8,400-foot range. Access points like Sourdough Road off of Highway 16 offer a 20-minute hike to Magdelene and Brown Bear Lakes for Snake River cutthroat and rainbow. There is no U.S.F.S. trail into these lakes, but good map-reading skills and a compass will get you to the right spot. We also have a handdrawn map available at Just Gone Fishing.

Another great access point is off the Trigger Lake Road. This is a 4-wheel drive road for approximately four miles to the wilderness boundary and then a 2-1/2 mile hike to Trigger Lake. Snake River cutthroats, rainbows and cuttbows will be caught in this lake. An offshoot of this well-defined trail will bring you to Old Crow Lake. Here you can choose to go to the Fire Hole Lakes for lakers, brookies and goldens, or to Lame Deer Lake for big rainbows and browns. Both of these lakes are best fished on a two- to three-day trip, and an overnight stay at either lake will permit great early morning and evening fishing.

Another excellent access point is the Circle Park Trailhead. This is also off of U.S. 16 and is a good gravel road for 2-1/2 miles. Park at the trailhead and enjoy a beautiful two-mile hike to Sherd Lake for Snake River cutthroats. From Sherd Lake there are two additional options. The first is a trail that goes up the Oliver Creek drainage to Long and Ringbone Lakes. Here you can catch Yellowstone cutthroats, grayling and brookies. The other trail from Sherd heads up the ridge line to the west another 2-1/2 miles to Willow and Martin Lakes. Grayling and splake in Willow, and splake only in Martin, are the quarry. Splake are a cross between lake trout and brook trout. We call them brookies with teeth!

These three access points and trailheads offer more than 14 lakes and connecting creeks for the fly fisher to enjoy. But with over 100 different lakes and drainages to fish in the Cloud Peak Wilderness Area, these are just the tip of the iceberg. The majority of these lakes are within an easy day hike, while others require a little more effort on the fisherman's part.

Typical of mountain lakes, there are always pine trees growing right down to the waters edge. A good roll cast or a quick look backwards before casting will keep you from landing those Pine Trout. Most lakes will have several boulder fields extending right down to the edge of the lake, providing any number of good casting platforms with nothing behind them. While getting out to these boulders, be sure to cast alongside the rock ahead of you. Many big cutthroats have fallen to well-placed flies delivered by rock-hopping fisherman.

Most lakes in the Cloud Peak Wilderness have small creeks flowing in and out. These creek channels are always good spots to drift a dry fly or a nymph. Several lakes have shallow shorelines that either go down to the creek channel or drop off immediately-good places to wet a line. As you fish in the CPW, weather is always a factor. Usually sunny and calm in the morning, changing to light clouds and a slight breeze in the afternoon. The breeze is a great help to the fly fisherman. A slight ripple on the water will improve your hookup rate with these hungry trout, and will help to disguise your leader and cast.

The basic fly selection will vary from one angler to another, but a good dry-fly selection would include Adams, Adams irresistible, elk hair caddis, Goddard's caddis, humpies (yellow, red and black), light Cahills, blue duns, black gnats, Griffith's gnats, and small Renegades, all in sizes 12 to 18. Nymph fishermen will need hare's ears, pheasant tails, prince nymphs, beadheads, halfbacks and wooly buggers, all in sizes 8 to 12, and all with a small strike indicator.

Rod styles and types may vary from one fisherman to another. The most popular rods are 8- to 9-foot 5- or 6-weights. Four piece rods are the easiest to hike in. Light rods are nice, but remember that the wind does blow here in Wyoming, so it never hurts to bring a 7- or 8-weight if you have room. Most anglers on my trips use 9-foot leaders tapering to 5X or 6X tippet, but we sometimes go smaller as conditions dictate.

Several CPW lakes-Lame Deer, Angeline, Powell and South Piney-grow truly large trout, but you will have to put out a little more effort to reach them. On the average, trout size will run anywhere from 8 to 14 inches for almost all species. A 16- to 17-inch trout certainly isn't rare, but at 9,500 feet in elevation these can be considered trophies. In late August through September it is not uncommon to catch trout and grayling in the 16- to 17inch range.

To take advantage of all the different angling opportunities in the Cloud Peak Wilderness, a minimum stay of three to four days should be considered. There are many U.S.F.S. campgrounds in the Bighorn National Forest as well as several mountain lodges, like South Fork Inn on the Buffalo side that can be your Wyoming home away from home.

The Cloud Peak Wilderness Area offers a one-of-a-kind fly fishing experience. You can't put a value on the peace and quiet, the spectacular scenery, or beautiful mountain lakes this area has to offer.

Charlie Gould is the owner of Just Gone Fishing in Buffalo, WY, and a frequent contributor to Fly Fish America. He can be reached at (307) 684-2755, or by e-mail at mailto:justfish@vcn.com
ROCKY MOUNTAIN
Shops
Shows
Suppliers
indicates a direct
website link
COLORADO
Boxwood Gulch Ranch, Colorado
Breckenridge Outfitters
Front Range Anglers
Longs Drugs
Ramble House
IDAHO
Drifters, Idaho
MONTANA
Montana Fly Goods Company
NEW MEXICO
Rainbow Lodge
Blackfire Flyfishing Guest Ranch New Mexico
WYOMING
Two Rivers Emporium
Ugly Bug Fly Shop
OTHER DESTINATIONS
Alaska Trophy Adventures, Alaska
Northern Escape, British Columbia
SUPPLIERS
BT's Fly Fishing Products
Discount Fly Fishing
Professor Bodkin