Little Popo Agie River - Segment No. 1
1.4
Popo Agie
43IF
Ribbon
The primary purpose of the filing was to protect the investment the Commission made in the public fishing area, and the fishing it provides, by ensuring that water would be available at all times of year, when it was available in priority. The different quantities of flow that were recommended will maintain adequate winter habitat for adult and juvenile trout, protect the existing level of productivity for adult and juvenile trout in the summer and sustain adequate water for brown trout spawning in the fall.
The instream flow segment is located entirely within a public fishing area (PFA) that was purchased by the Department. Brown trout comprise over 95% of the trout within this stretch of stream, though mountain whitefish are also common. Recent surveys showed the stream held over 1,300 trout per mile. Like most stream fisheries, the majority of trout are less than 12 inches long but there are plenty of fish bigger than 16 inches to hold your interest. All the fish found in the segment are naturally spawned in the river, as the Department does not stock any trout here. This section of the stream is quite popular with local anglers for early season angling and also for some later fall fishing, but it’s also a convenient spot for tourists to try their luck when they don’t have time for a long drive and hike in the mountains.
PFA near Lander
From Lander go about 10 miles south of town on Highway 28 and turn right on a gravel road that’s about 1 mile south of the junction of Highway 28 and 287. There’s a public parking area within about a mile of the highway that services the lower end of the segment. There’s also a public parking area at the upper end of the segment that can be used by continuing on the main gravel road about another mile and a half.
Like most of the great rivers of Wyoming, people have been drawn to the Little Popo Agie for centuries in large part because of the diversity and abundance of plants and animals found along its banks. Elk, deer, antelope, and bighorn sheep commonly course the expansive slopes of the Wind River Mountains framing the river today. Folsom hunters from 10 millennia ago pursued wooly mammoth, giant bison and maybe even snagged a few native Yellowstone cutthroat trout on much the same stage. Today, the Little Popo Agie Valley is as colorful and pastoral a setting as any place in the state and offers much the same level of solace and sustenance to visitors as it has throughout time.