Upland Natural Lake · Mixed · Wyoming

Shoshone Lake

Shoshone Lake venue image

Shoshone Lake is the largest backcountry lake in the lower 48 with no road to it — you reach it by paddling up the Lewis River Channel or hiking in, which keeps the crowds honest and the experience genuinely wild.

Marginal · Trout
Callibaetis Nymph · 12-16
A patient day, if you fancy it
Glassy and bright — hard work without a breeze. A flat lough is a quiet lough — wait for the breeze.
44% confidence
limited data
What moved it
  • WindSE 4 km/hCalm
Today's fly
CN
Callibaetis Nymph12-16
High-confidence seasonal pick
Conditions on the water
Live gauge
Wind
Calm
SE 4 km/h
N
SE
from the south-east
WaveFlat calm
Water temp
Air temp13°C
CloudClear
Pressure1020 hPa
Rain · recent0.0 mm

Some readings unavailable — check directly before fishing.

How to fish it · for Trout
When
Autumn for the channel brown run; summer for the open water
Where
With limited drift, anchor or fish static from sheltered positions. Work a bushy searching pattern on the bob and drop a contrasting nymph on the point. In the calm, a single dry fly or a slowly-fished nymph tends to out-fish an active retrieve.
The plan
Plan A

With limited drift, anchor or fish static from sheltered positions. Work a bushy searching pattern on the bob and drop a contrasting nymph on the point. In the calm, a single dry fly or a slowly-fished nymph tends to out-fish an active retrieve.

Plan B

If the main plan is not working, switch to a smaller, more imitative pattern fished slower and deeper. A change of drift angle can also make a difference.

Watch for

Evening tends to be the best period in summer — stay late if you can for a sedge or spinner fall.

Bank

Flat calm suits bank fishing near features — points, weed beds, and inflows where fish patrol.

Sub-surface · on the nymphunder the surface

Hatch predictions

Top nymph shown — see all 3 guilds with Pro.

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Beyond the hatch · worth watchingambient prey

Hatch predictions

Top prey shown — see all 3 with Pro.

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Through the year
0–3 scale · July highlighted
J
F
M
A
M
J
J
A
S
O
N
D
Black MidgeHatch
2
3
3
3
3
3
3
3
3
3
3
2
Flying AntsHatch
1
1
Gray DrakeHatch
1
1
CallibaetisHatch
1
2
2
2
1

Numbers are intensity 0 (none) to 3 (peak) — a guide, not a guarantee.

Ranked for today
Trout fly box
Permits & access
Permit required — see local rules.
  • Yellowstone NP licence and special regulations
  • Backcountry access only (paddle or hike)
  • Handle spawning fish minimally — check NPS rules.
What's coming
Plan ahead
5-day outlook
Condition match
52%
Cloud25%
Wind65%
Temp60%

A reasonable day here, though cloud isn't quite in the sweet spot.

Other water nearby · 5
Gallery · 1
  1. Terrain map of the venue
    Terrain map
About this water

Shoshone Lake is the largest backcountry lake in the lower 48 with no road to it — you reach it by paddling up the Lewis River Channel or hiking in, which keeps the crowds honest and the experience genuinely wild. It holds brown trout and lake trout in big, cold, lonely water. The famous event is the fall, when the browns stack into the channel between Shoshone and Lewis to spawn and a patient angler with a streamer can have the kind of day they'll never quite shut up about. Earn it on foot or by paddle, and treat the spawning fish gently.

  • Lake
  • Mixed
Why this score
  • summer conditions with clear skies and calm wind.
Directions
Seasons & zones
  • TroutSaturday of Memorial Day weekendFirst Sunday in November
Related guides
Booking & contacts