Troutline

Shoshone River

Wyoming·Bighorn Basin·44.53° N, 109.06° W
Flow
1,460 CFS
North Fork Shoshone River at Wapiti
Water Temp
—
Condition
Above Normal
Weather
72°F
Mostly Cloudy
near Cody

Insights

Wind
Wind 3 mph — calm
Easy casting and clean surface presentations.
Sky
Overcast skies
Subsurface streamers and nymphs are favored.
Flow
1,460 CFS — higher than typical
Push to the banks and softer water. Heavier flies.
Snowpack
Snowpack snowpack update
Snowpack data for Shoshone River basin is limited right now.

The Shoshone is Cody's home water and the eastern doorstep to Yellowstone, but it isn't one river — it's three stitched together by Buffalo Bill Reservoir. The North Fork runs down the Wapiti Valley alongside the North Fork Highway, a classic Rocky Mountain freestone of big-water pocket runs and riffles with cutthroat, rainbows, and cutbows that average around 16 inches. The South Fork is the quieter, smaller-fish cousin — a ranch-valley freestone where 8–12 inch cutthroat and rainbows dominate and the upper reaches toward the wilderness fish best. Below Buffalo Bill Dam runs the payoff water: the Lower Shoshone tailwater that Cody guides call the 'Lo-Sho,' a canyon-and-town stretch with an estimated 5,000–8,000 trout per mile — browns, rainbows, and cutthroat that average 14–16 inches but run to genuinely large, with fish in the 20s and the occasional report of something pushing 30.

Here's the honest catch on the tailwater, and it's a big one: it's an irrigation-season river. From roughly May into September, releases from Buffalo Bill Dam for downstream irrigation push flows past 1,000–1,700+ CFS, and the canyon runs high, off-color, and mostly unwadeable — nymphing high water is the only play if you're out there at all. The Lo-Sho's real season is October through April/May, when the dam drops to winter flows, the water clears, and you can wade or float to a genuinely dense trout population that eats midges, BWOs, and streamers all winter. If you're planning a summer Cody trip, the North Fork (and to a lesser extent the South Fork) is your trout water; the tailwater is a shoulder-season and winter fishery, and summer reports routinely flag high water temps and heavy moss on the lower river.

Access is easy by western standards. The North Fork runs right along US-14/16/20 with Shoshone National Forest and WGFD access, though much of the Wapiti Valley bottom is private — over 25 miles of the North Fork sits in national forest. The tailwater has good bank access off the Lower Dam Road (Hayden Arch Bridge Road) and where Highways 14 and 120 cross near Cody, running the roughly 15-mile instream-flow segment from the base of the dam down to the Corbett diversion. Cody itself has real fly shops, an airport (COD) with daily service, and everything a trip needs, and Yellowstone's East Entrance is about an hour up the North Fork Highway — so the river doubles as a warm-up or wind-down for a park trip.

Species

  • Brown Trout
    Primary · Oct-Nov, winter · 12-24"

    The tailwater specialty. Streamers produce twelve months a year, best on the fall pre-spawn; fish to roughly 30 inches have been reported in the Lo-Sho.

  • Rainbow Trout
    Primary · Oct-May (tailwater), Jun-Aug (North Fork) · 12-18"

    Backbone of the tailwater population, with larger fish (20"+) in the Lo-Sho. Present in both forks as runoff drops.

  • Yellowstone Cutthroat Trout
    Common · Jun-Sep · 10-16"

    Native, and the regulation focus on the North Fork (see Regulations). Averages around 16 inches on the North Fork; cutbow hybrids are common where rainbows overlap.

  • Snake River Fine-Spotted Cutthroat Trout
    Present · Jun-Sep · 10-16"

    Reported in the lower Shoshone alongside browns and rainbows.

  • Mountain Whitefish
    Common · Year-round · 8-16"

    Abundant native in all sections; takes nymphs readily and a good cold-season target when trout are sluggish.

  • Brook Trout
    Present · Jul-Sep · 6-12"

    Small fish in the upper North Fork, South Fork, and headwater tributary water.

Ideal wading flow300–800 CFS
Blow-out>1,500 CFS
Ideal water temp48–62°F

Tailwater (Lo-Sho): October through April/May is prime — low, clear water over a dense trout population, with midges, BWOs, and streamers. Irrigation releases of roughly 1,000–1,700+ CFS from May into September make the canyon high, off-color, and effectively unwadeable, so summer trout fishing shifts to the forks. North Fork: fishes as runoff clears, typically wadeable by mid-June, with a June salmonfly/golden-stone window followed by drakes, PMDs, and hoppers into August. South Fork: a quieter summer cutthroat fishery, smaller fish, upper river best. Overcast days favor the tailwater BWO and midge fishing.

Sections

4 sections on this river

Below Willwood Dam — Ralston

WadeBrown Trout · Rainbow Trout

A lower-gradient valley tailwater below Willwood Dam — more agricultural, warmer, and siltier than the upper tailwater, and it can carry heavy sediment after diversions, but it holds brown trout and rainbow trout in the cooler months. Mostly private valley land near Ralston and Willwood, so scout access. A low-water, cold-season reach only.

Best for: Brown trout and rainbow trout in the cold season, when flows drop and the water clears.

Lower Shoshone Tailwater — Buffalo Bill Dam through Cody ("Lo-Sho")

Wade & FloatCutthroat · Brown Trout · Rainbow Trout

The premium canyon tailwater below Buffalo Bill Dam — fast, rocky water through Shoshone Canyon, then past the town of Cody down toward the Corbett irrigation diversion (a roughly 15-mile instream-flow segment) with very high trout density, an estimated 5,000–8,000 fish per mile. This is an irrigation river: releases of 1,000–1,700+ CFS from May into September run it high, off-color, and unwadeable, so October through April is prime. Brown trout, rainbow trout, and cutthroat average 14–16 inches and run to genuinely large.

Best for: Brown trout, rainbow trout, and cutthroat. Streamers twelve months a year; midges and BWOs in the cold months; golden stones in June–July when fishable.

North Fork — Wapiti Valley (East Gate to Buffalo Bill Reservoir)

Wade & FloatSalmon · Cutthroat · Cutbow · Rainbow Trout

Big freestone pocket water and riffle-run water flowing east down the Wapiti Valley from the Absaroka high country toward Buffalo Bill Reservoir, running right along the North Fork Highway (US-14/16/20) with dramatic canyon-corridor scenery. This is the summer trout water of the Cody area — it clears first after runoff and usually fishes by mid-June. Yellowstone cutthroat, rainbow trout, and cutbow hybrids average around 16 inches.

Best for: Cutthroat, rainbow trout, and cutbows on dries and nymphs; a salmonfly and golden-stone dry-dropper window as the water drops in June, then drakes, PMDs, and hoppers into August.

South Fork Shoshone (Valley to Buffalo Bill Reservoir)

WadeCutthroat · Rainbow Trout

A smaller, quieter ranch-valley freestone flowing north out of the Washakie and South Absaroka wilderness into Buffalo Bill Reservoir, reached by the South Fork Road (WY-291). Meadow and canyon runs with smaller average fish than the North Fork or tailwater; the upper reaches toward the wilderness boundary are the productive water. Cutthroat and rainbow trout run 8–12 inches.

Best for: Cutthroat and rainbow trout on attractor dries and nymphs; low-pressure summer fishing, with the upper river fishing best.

Regulations

Current fishing rules and restrictions

Wyoming Game & Fish Area 2. The tailwater below Buffalo Bill Dam carries the general 6-trout limit (no more than 1 over 16 inches); the North Fork drainage above Gibbs Bridge carries a stricter native-cutthroat regulation (3 trout, no more than 2 cutthroat, no more than 1 over 18 inches). A Wyoming fishing license and conservation stamp are required.

  • Shoshone River drainage, Buffalo Bill Dam downstream to Bighorn Lake: 6 trout per day or in possession, no more than 1 exceeding 16 inches
  • North Fork Shoshone River drainage upstream of Gibbs Bridge: 3 trout per day or in possession, no more than 2 cutthroat, no more than 1 exceeding 18 inches
  • Wyoming fishing license required (resident and nonresident; nonresident daily and annual options)
  • Conservation stamp required
  • No statewide fly-only or barbless mandate — standard artificial and bait rules apply within the creel limits above

The North Fork native-cutthroat regulation protects Yellowstone cutthroat; WGFD held public meetings in early 2025 on possible further North Fork regulation changes, so confirm the current-season rule before you fish. Verify all limits against the current-year Area 2 regulations.

Source: Wyoming Game & Fish Department — Area 2 Fishing Regulations. Regulations change annually — verify before fishing.

Access & Logistics

Getting there, fly shops, and lodging

Getting There

Cody, WY

In town at Cody; ~1 hr to Yellowstone's East Entrance up the North Fork Highway; ~1.5–2 hrs from Billings, MT (nearest large airport)

Camping & Lodging

Abundant Shoshone National Forest campgrounds line the North Fork Highway through the Wapiti Valley between Cody and Yellowstone's East Gate; Buffalo Bill State Park has campgrounds around the reservoir. Cody itself has full motel and hotel lodging.

Cody (Yellowstone Regional Airport, COD, with daily commercial service) is the hub. Bank access to the tailwater is good off the Lower Dam Road / Hayden Arch Bridge Road below the dam and where US-14 and WY-120 cross near town. The North Fork runs right along US-14/16/20; the South Fork is reached by South Fork Road (WY-291). Watch for private land in the valley bottoms of both forks.

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

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.