Troutline

New Fork River

Wyoming·Green River Basin·42.78° N, 109.82° W
Flow
244 CFS
New Fork River above Pine Cr, near Pinedale, WY
Water Temp
—
Condition
Above Normal
Weather
61°F
Slight Chance Showers And Thunderstorms
near Boulder

Insights

Flow
244 CFS — wading range
Solid water for fishing.
Sky
Overcast skies
Subsurface streamers and nymphs are favored.
Snowpack
Snowpack snowpack update
Snowpack data for New Fork River basin is limited right now. The June–July runoff forecast for New Fork R nr Big Piney is 46% of average.

The New Fork is the Upper Green's quieter twin. It drops out of the New Fork Lakes at the foot of the Wind River Range and winds about 70 miles of meadow and sagebrush-bench water down through Pinedale before it hands off to the Green near Big Piney. Where the Green above town gets the drift-boat traffic and the guidebook ink, the New Fork stays comparatively anonymous — a slower, more intimate, willow-lined river that holds the same brown trout with far fewer people watching. Browns are the draw: they run 16 to 20 inches with regularity, and there's a real chance at a fish over five pounds when the streamer bite turns on in fall. Rainbow trout and, up high toward the lakes and in the feeder creeks, brook trout round out the mix; mountain whitefish are present through the drainage as well.

Practically, this is a float river more than a wade river, and not for the reason you'd guess. It's not that it's too big — at the Pinedale gauge it often runs a modest 150-350 CFS in season — it's that almost the entire mainstem below Pinedale threads private ranchland. You can wade or bank-fish the public parcels (the reconstructed "Gas Wells" access on the lower river is the biggest chunk, roughly two miles), but to fish the meat of it you float and stay in the boat. A quirk worth knowing before you tow a boat out here: the old railroad-car bridges ranchers use to cross the river sit low, and standard drift boats don't clear them. Guides run aluminum jon boats, low-profile skiffs, and small rafts instead. The water itself is meadow character — undercut banks, willow sweepers, soft inside seams, the occasional riffle — technical enough to test an intermediate angler even though nothing about it looks intimidating.

Timing is everything here. Wind River snowmelt blows the river out through the June runoff (the lower river at Big Piney can push well past 1,000 CFS), and it doesn't settle into shape until roughly the first week of July. From then through September — and into October if flows cooperate — it fishes well, with golden stones and grey drakes early, PMDs and tricos through midsummer, hoppers on the banks, and streamers for the pre-spawn browns as the season winds down. Pinedale is the hub: Two Rivers Fishing Co. has the only real fly shop in town, and the same trip usually pairs the New Fork with the Green, so you're never far from a backup plan when one river's off.

Species

  • Brown Trout
    Primary · Jul-Oct · 12-20"

    The signature fish. Regularly 16-20"; legitimate shots at 5 lb+ on streamers pre-spawn in fall.

  • Rainbow Trout
    Common · Jul-Sep · 10-18"

    Common through the mainstem; takes dries and nymphs readily.

  • Brook Trout
    Common · Jul-Sep · 7-12"

    Upper river near the New Fork Lakes and in the feeder creeks (Pine, Pole, Willow, Boulder).

  • Cutthroat Trout
    Present · Jul-Sep · 10-16"

    Occasional; reported by local guides where the drainage overlaps cutthroat range.

  • Mountain Whitefish
    Abundant · Year-round · 10-16"

    Native to the Green drainage; abundant, takes nymphs — a common by-catch.

Ideal wading flow150–350 CFS
Blow-out>1,000 CFS
Ideal water temp50–62°F

Summer (Jul-Aug) is prime — flows have settled after the June runoff and the full hatch calendar is on: golden stones and grey drakes early, then PMDs, tricos, and hoppers. Early fall (Sep-Oct) is the streamer-and-brown window and the least crowded. Spring is largely a write-off to Wind River runoff. The upper river above the lakes is closed Sep 1-Apr 30.

Sections

4 sections on this river

Upper Meadows — New Fork Lakes to Cora

WadeBrook Trout · Rainbow Trout

Small, clear, intimate meadow water spilling out of the New Fork Lakes at the foot of the Wind River Range — willow banks, undercuts, and cold headwater flows. Brook trout and rainbow trout up high, with the reach above the lakes closed Sep 1-Apr 30.

Best for: Wade dry-fly and nymphing for brook trout and rainbow trout; a cold, quiet change of pace from the lower meadows.

Pinedale Reach — Pine Creek to Boulder

FloatBrown Trout · Rainbow Trout

Classic meadow river — soft seams, willow sweepers, and riffle-to-run transitions. The primary Pinedale gauge sits at the top of this reach above Pine Creek. Predominantly private between the town access and the Boulder launch, so it fishes as a float.

Best for: Brown trout and rainbow trout on hoppers, PMDs, grey drakes, and streamers; nymph the deeper seams. The most-fished stretch near town and reliable summer dry-fly water.

East Fork River — tributary

WadeBrook Trout · Brown Trout · Rainbow Trout

A distinct freestone tributary that joins the New Fork from the east near Boulder — smaller, wadeable pocket and riffle water with its own live USGS gauge. It adds cold water and volume to the lower New Fork.

Best for: Wade nymphing and dries for brown trout, rainbow trout, and brook trout; a fishable side-trip off the mainstem.

Lower New Fork — East Fork Confluence to the Green (Gas Wells reach)

FloatBrown Trout · Rainbow Trout

Bigger, warmer, higher-volume water below the East Fork adds in — the streamer-and-hopper heart of the river. Includes the reconstructed Gas Wells habitat and boat-access site, the largest public parcel on the lower river at roughly two miles. Mesa Road Bridge down to the East Fork confluence is artificial-fly-and-lure only.

Best for: Trophy brown trout on streamers in fall and hopper-dropper on the banks; the largest-fish potential on the river. Float and stay in the boat — wade only on the public Gas Wells parcel.

Regulations

Current fishing rules and restrictions

Wyoming Game & Fish Area 4 (Green River drainage) regulations. The upper river above the New Fork Lakes is closed to fishing Sep 1-Apr 30, and the Mesa Road Bridge-to-East Fork confluence reach is artificial-fly-and-lure only. Confirm current-year limits before fishing.

  • New Fork River above the New Fork Lakes: closed to fishing September 1 - April 30
  • Mesa Road Bridge (Sublette County Road 23-123) downstream to the East Fork confluence: artificial flies and lures only
  • General Area 4 stream trout limit: 3 trout, no more than 1 exceeding 16"
  • Live baitfish possession and use is prohibited throughout Areas 1 and 4
  • Valid Wyoming fishing license required (nonresident daily and annual options available); conservation stamp required for annual licenses

2026 Wyoming regulation changes are in effect; verify current per-segment limits against the official Area 4 regulations before publishing a trip plan.

Source: Wyoming Game & Fish Department — Area 4 Fishing Regulations. Regulations change annually — verify before fishing.

Access & Logistics

Getting there, fly shops, and lodging

Getting There

Pinedale, WY

~1.5 hrs from Jackson, WY (JAC); ~1.5-2 hrs from Rock Springs (RKS, closest commercial)

Fly Shops

Camping & Lodging

Pinedale has motels, groceries, fuel, and the region's fly shop. Developed campgrounds ring Fremont Lake and Half Moon Lake; BLM and Bridger-Teton National Forest offer dispersed sites through the drainage.

Most of the mainstem below Pinedale is private ranchland — plan on floating with an outfitter, and note that low ranch-bridge clearance rules out standard drift boats (guides run jon boats, skiffs, and rafts). Stay in the boat and don't anchor on private reaches. The reconstructed Gas Wells parcel off Boulder South Road is the main public wade/DIY option on the lower river, roughly two miles.

Conditions data is live from public monitoring networks. Regulations change annually — always verify current rules with your state fish & wildlife agency before fishing.

More in Wyoming

View all 15 rivers

Green River Basin

Upper Green RiverWY

The freestone Upper Green in Sublette County, Wyoming — 30-plus miles of wild-trout water spilling out of the Green River Lakes below the Wind River Range through Warren Bridge and Pinedale ranch country toward Fontenelle. Cutthroat, rainbows, and brookies up high; trophy browns in the private lower float water. Not the Utah tailwater.

Other regions

Buffalo Fork RiverWY

The wild, back-of-beyond cousin to the Snake it feeds — a small snowmelt freestone that gathers its North and South Forks deep in the Teton Wilderness and comes together in Buffalo Valley before joining the Snake near Moran. Almost pure Snake River fine-spotted cutthroat water, with mountain whitefish thick enough to rise during a stonefly emergence. The lower river along Buffalo Valley Road is an easy float-or-wade cutthroat float; the upper forks are a backcountry pack trip. No dam to steady it, so it fishes best on the drop from August into September.

Firehole RiverWY

The most unusual trout stream in the Lower 48 — a geyser-fed meadow river inside Yellowstone NP with vast White Miller caddis hatches, PMD and BWO windows, and a short fishing season (late May through early July, then September to early November) bracketing a summer that's too warm to fish.

Gibbon RiverWY

The Firehole's quieter sibling — the other geothermally-influenced headwater that joins it at Madison Junction to form the Madison. Technical spring-creek meadow flats above Gibbon Falls (the biggest fish) and forgiving canyon pocket water below, holding wild brown, rainbow, brook, native westslope cutthroat, and the odd Arctic grayling. A spring-and-fall fishery inside Yellowstone NP.

Greys RiverWY

A 50-plus-mile freestone that drops out of the Wyoming Range to meet the Snake at Alpine, the Greys is one of the few genuinely wild cutthroat rivers in the West you can fish from a gravel road. More than 95% of its trout are native Snake River fine-spotted cutthroat, and they come up hard for attractor dries from July through October once spring runoff drops out.

Gros Ventre RiverWY

The walk-and-wade counterpart to the crowded Snake River float scene in Jackson Hole — a medium freestone that drops out of the Gros Ventre Wilderness past the 1925 slide and its two slide lakes, then runs through the National Elk Refuge and Grand Teton National Park corridor to meet the Snake. Wild Snake River fine-spotted cutthroat eat attractor dries from July into fall once runoff drops; irrigation diversion pulls the lower river down hard by late summer.

Hoback RiverWY

The small roadside freestone you drive right past heading south out of Jackson — US-189/191 traces it the whole way down Hoback Canyon to the Snake at Hoback Junction. Wade-only water, mostly 15 feet wide, holding native Snake River fine-spotted cutthroat that charge attractor dries. Most fish run 8–13 inches, with bigger migratory Snake River cutthroat pushing up in late spring and early fall; the early-summer salmonfly and golden stone hatches are the marquee event once runoff drops in late June.