Fishing the Powder River

If you have ever seen the Powder River in northwest Wyoming and southern Montana, you would not imagine there would be fish in such turbid water. And for much of its course there are only a variety of small eyed minnows and other mud loving fish. But if you follow the stream upriver past where I 90 crosses it, past the town of Kaycee, past the confluence of the Red Fork and the wall of red rock, where incidentally the hide-out known as “The Hole in the Wall” can be found, through the ranchlands and into the rugged hills of the southern Bighorn Mountains, then hike a mile or so down the cliffs, you will find a stream perfect for trout. This is the Middle Fork of the Powder River. Due to the limited access, requiring a good pair of waders and a bit of bushwhacking, this is a bit of a tricky stream. Only about 20 feet wide, it has ample ripples, deep holes and fine habitat for trout.

I arrived in late afternoon and was able to catch a few 10 inch brook trout before dark clouds began to form from the west. I decided to hike out before rain made the path a muddy mess. When I did get to the top of the canyon rim, I saw that the dark cloud was merely one cloud and not an impending storm. Not wanting to hike back down the canyon, I hiked the road towards a mapped campground. My original intent had been to camp, but the road from the fishing access to the campground was much too rugged for my low-clearance Passat wagon. Despite the spectacular and dramatic location, the campground is located high on the rim and a good mile hike down to the stream and offers no protection from the weather. With the forecast storm on the way, I elected to head downstream to the town of Kaycee to camp the night.
In Kaycee, I got to talking to the locals about fishing, they agreed, it was a fine trout stream, but said most of the best and accessible waters run through private land. And the landowners, knowing what they have, charge fisher-people to access the waters. The going price seems to range from about $25, to over $200 per rod per day. Not being either obsessed or that desperate I choose to head north into the Bighorn National Forest for a day of free fishing after, of course, the 76 buck non-resident license fee.