Wyoming Game and Fish issued a voluntary catch-and-release closure on the Snake River and Flat Creek on Wednesday, July 29, asking anglers to pause catch-and-release fishing between noon and sunrise on the Snake from the Yellowstone National Park boundary to Palisades Reservoir, and on all of Flat Creek.
Harvest fishing within standard daily limits is unaffected. Water temperatures on both waters exceeded 70°F on multiple days over the past week, and WGFD says the guidance will stay in place while hot and dry conditions continue, which the agency projects will run for multiple weeks.
The escalation was not sudden. In a July 14 release, Jackson Region Fisheries Supervisor Darren Rhea flagged that a formal voluntary closure or an emergency closure might follow if conditions did not improve. Late-afternoon readings on the Snake were approaching 68 degrees at that point. “We know Wyoming anglers care deeply about the health of these rivers,” Rhea said in this week’s release. “By hitting the water early and wrapping up catch-and-release fishing by noon, anglers can enjoy great fishing while ensuring our trout populations remain resilient.”
The Jackson Region action is one of several unfolding across Wyoming and the greater Yellowstone corridor this week. WGFD’s Casper Region issued its own noon-to-sunrise closure the same day on a stretch of the North Platte River from the Lusby boat ramp to the dam at Dave Johnston Power Plant, and on Deer Creek at Deer Creek Canyon Public Access Area. The Laramie Region asked anglers to stop fishing entirely on a section of the Upper North Platte on July 18. Yellowstone National Park closed all rivers and streams to fishing daily from 2 p.m. to sunrise starting July 29, and Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks continues to add restrictions of its own, including a full closure on a section of the Madison earlier this month.
