Wind River Range

[Laddie]

Hi all, new to the site and looking for some advice. A few friends and I have about 5-6 days for a trip in Mid-August and we are hoping to go to the Winds for some Goldens. I made a trip to the winds last year but want to target a new area, we are thinking the Northeast corner in the Fitzpatrick Wilderness. Any advice on whether to shuttle in the res or hike through a trailhead? Our main goal I would say is to fly fish but hiking a lot is not a deal breaker.

 

[isleroyaleguy]

Ay! Laddie.
Search some of the older trip reports here.
I know there are some guy's that target "goldens" too. You might be able to get some ideas that way. From my research, I don't think there is any quick or easy way into the Wind's. You will have too put on some miles in and out. Hopefully some more experienced guys will chime in too.
Cheers
IRG

 

[Absarokanaut]

Hiking in from the Rez can be incredibly rewarding. I am very familiar with the Glacier Trailhead at Trail Lake. The beauty of the Northeastern Winds is the ease of access; not many places like Ross Lake or Bomber Basin/ Lake you'll get too as quickly from any other Winds Trailhead.

As to Goldens Rez would offer best opportunities. I could tell you privately about an unnamed lake with goldens about fifteen miles into the Absaroka across the valley if you want.

 

[Artemus]

x2 on @isleroyaleguy's advice. There is plenty of stuff on here already. I use google to domain search the site instead of the site search. It just works better. Once you find info re-ask specific questions on details.

 

[climbhigh1119]

I did a trip to that area a couple of years ago, starting and ending from Elkhart Park trailhead, and basically circumnavigating Mt. Quintet via Angel pass and fishing all of the lakes along the way. Our trip was also in mid August. I did a lot of research beforehand and had some pretty reliable reports that many of these lakes and others in the surrounding area were good golden lakes. We talked to one of the employees at the great outdoor shop in Pinedale on the way in and he confirmed many of the reports that I read, but stated that usually August isn't the best month to go for goldens, especially if you are going to be fishing from shore. Apparently, in mid summer the golden tend to all go deep to the center of the lakes and are really tough to fish for. He said that for that time of your, our best bet would be to pack in a float tube and a sinking line and use fast sinking scuds as, and that shore fishing would be pretty non-productive. We already had the trip planned at that point so we went for it anyway. Turns out he was correct, as we managed to get some smaller goldens from the creeks connecting the lakes, but it was much more difficult fishing than I expected. And we passed by some gorgeous, very fishy looking water that were basically devoid of any fish, at least when we were there. It was an incredible trip with some of the best off trail travel that I have ever done anywhere, but the fishing (at least for golden) was overall a little disappointing. So if fishing is priority #1 for you, I'll give you the same advice as that employee at the great outdoor shop gave me - to get back to that area at ice off in July or wait until mid September, as the fishing then will likely be much better.

It's still a very worthwhile trip and I'm happy to share more details if you would like so PM me if you're interested. As far as I know, there isn't any easy way to access that area. It's really out of the way and takes 2 full days minimum just to get to it just about any way you shake it. So unless you're hiking machines and can really pound out the miles, I'd plan a solid week at least to make your time there worthwhile. I'm headed back to the winds (through the reservation side this time) myself here next week so I'll let you know what I find. We're going to a different area this time and not targeting goldens, but you never know what you'll find.