Troutline

Upper Green River

Wyoming·Green River Basin·43.02° N, 110.12° W
Flow
934 CFS
Green River at Warren Bridge, near Daniel, WY
Water Temp
—
Condition
Below Normal
Weather
60°F
Slight Chance Showers And Thunderstorms
near Cora

Insights

Flow
Low flows at 934 CFS
Fish are spooky. Lighten tippet and lengthen leaders.
Pressure
Pressure rising
Feeding may slow as fish sit tight.
Snowpack
Snowpack snowpack update
Snowpack data for Upper Green River basin is limited right now. The June–July runoff forecast for Green R at Warren Bridge is 59% of average.

This is the Wyoming Green — the freestone Upper Green in Sublette County, not the Utah tailwater below Flaming Gorge that shares its name. It spills out of the Green River Lakes under the Square Top peaks of the Wind River Range and runs roughly 30 miles of clear freestone through Bridger-Teton National Forest and BLM sagebrush before Warren Bridge, then keeps sliding south past Daniel through private ranch country toward Fontenelle Reservoir near La Barge. Pinedale is the hub for gas, flies, and a bed. Up high it's a wild-trout river of Colorado River cutthroat, brookies, and rainbows that genuinely average 14-16 inches; down low, in the meadow braids and undercut banks of the private float water, it turns into a brown-trout river where 20-inch fish are a real possibility and the occasional 24-incher eats a hopper.

This is a summer-and-fall fishery keyed entirely to snowmelt. The Winds hold snow late, so runoff usually peaks in late May and June and the river doesn't drop into shape until the first or second week of July — try it in June and you're staring at chocolate milk pushing 3,000-plus CFS at Warren Bridge. Once it clears it fishes beautifully: very wadeable around 900 CFS, still wadeable but pushy near 1,400, and floatable in a raft or driftboat above about 700. The thing locals will tell you — and they're not wrong — is that during the late-June-through-July window this river throws Green Drakes, Golden Stones, and Yellow Sallies thick enough to rival Montana, with a fraction of the Madison's crowd.

Access is the honest catch. The Green River Lakes-to-Warren Bridge run is public and generous — Warren Bridge itself has a boat launch, and BLM Road 5201 on the north side serves a string of a dozen developed river accesses. But once you're below Daniel the banks go private fast, which is why the guide operations out of Pinedale exist and why they advertise their private-water leases so heavily. It's remote — roughly 1h40 from Jackson and about 3 hours from the nearest big airport — which is exactly why the fishing stays good.

Species

  • Colorado River Cutthroat Trout
    Primary · Jul-Sep · 10-16"

    Native subspecies; dominant in the upper reaches near the Green River Lakes and headwaters.

  • Brown Trout
    Common · Sep-Oct · 12-20"+

    Increasingly dominant lower down; fall pre-spawn streamer fish, 24" possible in the private float water.

  • Rainbow Trout
    Common · Jul-Sep · 12-18"

    Wild fish mixed throughout the freestone reaches.

  • Brook Trout
    Common · Jul-Sep · 8-13"

    Common in the upper freestone and tributaries.

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

    Part of the cutthroat mix through the system; often lumped as "cutthroat" in reports.

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

    Native and abundant; eats nymphs readily and often caught while prospecting.

Ideal wading flow700–1,400 CFS
Blow-out>3,000 CFS
Ideal water temp50–62°F

July is the peak — the post-runoff Green Drake, Golden Stone, and Yellow Sally blitz once the river clears. September-October is the second act: hoppers into pre-spawn brown streamer fishing with fall colors. August fishes well on terrestrials and Tricos but can get low and warm. June is runoff and generally out.

Sections

3 sections on this river

Green River Lakes to Warren Bridge (Kendall Valley)

WadeCutthroat · Brook Trout · Rainbow Trout

Clear alpine freestone — pocket water, riffles, and Kendall Valley meadow runs — dropping out of the Green River Lakes through Bridger-Teton National Forest and BLM sagebrush with the Wind River Range as backdrop. Roughly 30 miles of wild Colorado River cutthroat trout, rainbow trout, and brook trout, averaging a genuine 14-16 inches.

Best for: The wade angler's stretch of the Green. Dry-fly and nymphing for cutthroat trout, rainbow trout, and brook trout — classic attractor and hatch-matching water with big public access.

Warren Bridge to Swain's (Wood's) Bridge

Wade & FloatCutthroat · Brown Trout · Rainbow Trout

Broader freestone with riffle-pool structure below the Warren Bridge launch — the most-fished stretch of the river and the special-regulation reach (artificial flies and lures only). This is the signature July hatch water where Green Drakes, Golden Stones, and Yellow Sallies stack up for cutthroat trout, rainbow trout, and brown trout.

Best for: Hatch fishing and attractor dries for cutthroat trout, rainbow trout, and brown trout. Very wadeable near 900 CFS, pushy near 1,400; good float water above ~700 CFS.

Daniel to La Barge (Private Ranch Float Water)

FloatBrown Trout · Rainbow Trout

Meandering meadow river with braids, undercut banks, and deep bends winding through private ranchland toward the head of Fontenelle Reservoir. This is the trophy brown trout float water outfitters guard with private leases — fish to 24 inches reported.

Best for: Larger brown trout on streamers, hoppers, and big dries. Predominantly a guided driftboat/raft float; public bank access is limited.

Regulations

Current fishing rules and restrictions

Wyoming Game & Fish Area 4 (Green River drainage) regulations. The Warren Bridge-to-Swain's (Wood's) Bridge reach is a special-regulation stretch: artificial flies and lures only, with a reduced trout limit. Confirm current-year limits before fishing — 2026 regulation changes are in effect.

  • Warren Bridge (US-191) downstream to Swain's (Wood's) Bridge: creel limit 3 trout per day or in possession, only 1 over 16", and only 1 may be a cutthroat
  • Warren Bridge to Swain's Bridge: artificial flies and lures only
  • Elsewhere in the drainage: standard Area 4 trout limits apply — verify per-segment
  • Valid Wyoming fishing license required (nonresident daily and annual options available)

2026 Wyoming regulation changes are in effect; verify current 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

~1h40 from Jackson, WY; ~3 hrs from the nearest major airport (Jackson Hole is the closest small airport; Salt Lake City ~4 hrs)

Fly Shops

Camping & Lodging

Pinedale has motels, gas, and fly shops. Public camping at the Warren Bridge BLM campground on Hwy 191 and the Green River Lakes Campground in Bridger-Teton NF at the end of FR 352, plus dispersed BLM/National Forest sites along the upper river.

The Green River Lakes-to-Warren Bridge water is public with excellent access (Warren Bridge boat launch and ~12 developed accesses off BLM Road 5201). Below Daniel the river is largely private ranchland — fished via guide operations holding walk/wade and float leases. No river-access fee on the public water; a Wyoming fishing license is required.

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

New Fork RiverWY

The Upper Green's quieter twin — a willow-lined meadow river dropping out of the New Fork Lakes below the Wind River Range and winding past Pinedale toward the Green near Big Piney. Wild brown trout are the draw (16-20 inches with a real shot at a 5-pounder on fall streamers), with rainbows, brookies up high, and native whitefish throughout. Mostly private ranchland, so it fishes as a float river — but low ranch bridges mean jon boats, not drift boats.

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.