The weather this week has been erratic, but at least two sources report fishing below the Wind River Mountains is consistently good.

Tina Rock, of the Great Outdoor Shop, said there is snow on the ground in the upper Green

River area, but plenty of open water remains filled with hungry fish.

"The lakes are still fishing, and they haven't frozen over yet," Rock said. "Fremont Lake's fishing is pretty good and so is Boulder Lake. At Fremont, they're using orange fluorescent lures, and green fluorescent lures have been working good."

Rock said the Green River is also open for business, but the snow is making some access routes "a little greasy."

"There is some ice you have to be careful with, but the fishing's pretty good with black woolly buggers, brown woolly buggers and almost any kind of streamer pattern," Rock said. "It's kind of snowy and stuff. We haven't been floating the river much, but if you can get in the river you can float it."

On the Wind River side of the range, the few anglers who are getting out are also finding success, said Bob Doll of Whisky Mountain Sporting Goods.

"There's been a few of them out on the river, and if they can brave the cold they're catching fish," Doll said. "We don't have enough ice to get out on the lakes, yet. They're just waiting for the water to freeze up enough to do some ice-fishing."

Doll said trout were biting on "mostly beadheads - princes, Hare's Ears, Green Drakes and halfbacks.

"Bait this time of year is always good," Doll added.

Central Wyoming

The weather in Natrona County has been windy, but not cold enough to make much ice. The North Platte River is open in most areas, as are the reservoirs.

Gwen Hool, of Bullwinkle's, said not many anglers have been braving the wind, but Alcova has been productive for those who dared.

Hool said some anglers are finding success on the river, although "things have been spotty."

My son, Will, was one who found a good spot, when he hooked a brown trout near Glenrock on Wednesday that he estimated weighed in at 6 pounds.

After he released his prized catch, however, he promptly lost the rainbow needlefish he caught it on.

He would be the first to say he learned that from me.

Bonneville cutthroats update

Anglers who fish the Bear River in western Wyoming received some good news recently when Wyoming State Engineer Pay Tyrrell approved four instream-flow applications for Bear River tributaries.

Tyrrell's approval guarantees natural flows for Poker Hollow Creek in the Smith's Fork drainage, and Huff, Giraffe and Raymond creeks in the Thomas Fork drainage. Those waters are critical habitat for Bonneville cutthroat trout populations.

The Bonneville cutthroat is native to the Bear River, and is being considered for protection under the Endangered Species Act.

"Helping protect natural flows up to the levels we recommend in these streams is part of our effort to maintain or improve habitat for sensitive cutthroat species in Wyoming," said Tom Annear, Game and Fish's Water Management supervisor.

Willy Zimmer is a features writer for the Star-Tribune.