Over the past couple of years, we have been taking backpacking trips to the Wind Rivers in search of golden trout. Finding lakes with golden trout has been a bit challenging. When it comes to fishing, people just don't want to give away their secret sacred fishing locations. I'm right there with them, I don't either. If you read through our articles on golden trout fishing in the Wind Rivers (see articles at the bottom of the page), you will see that we don't share what exact lakes we are fishing at. But, I hope that the list of resources we were able to find and use for our trips can help you plan out your next adventure to catch golden trout.
Here are the best resources we found for locating lakes with golden trout and planning our routes on backpacking trips. Finding where they are at is the first challenge, the biggest challenge is catching the darn fish. In my opinion, they are hands down the hardest trout to catch by far.
What lakes have golden trout in the Wind Rivers?
- As a general rule, golden trout tend to be in the highest, most remote lakes of the Wind Rivers. Often, lakes that have a waterfall not far from the outlet keep brook trout from swimming upstream and taking over the lake. If brook trout get into a lake with goldens, they will push the golden trout out.
- Interactive Wyoming Fishing Guide • As titled, you can use this interactive map to explore what fish are found in what lakes of the Wind Rivers and the rest of Wyoming.
- Bridger Fishing Guide • This is the current location of an elusive PDF file that provides a detailed map and list of all the lakes in the Bridger Wilderness, along with the fish species found in each one. This covers a significant portion of the Wind Rivers but not all of it. This pdf file is great to download on your phone and access while you are in the Wind Rivers.
- Wyoming Fishing Guide • This is a PDF that covers the state but not in as much detail as the Bridger Fishing Guide.
How to catch golden trout.
- I'm no expert at Goldens, but in my opinion, they are many times harder to catch than any other trout. It is not uncommon to hear of fishermen getting skunked on a Wind River backpacking trip trying to catch them, so be prepared for some very picky fish.
- Shown here are two of my favorite flies I have used to catch golden trout. I fish a size 12 scud as my bottom fly and a size 20 to 22 Ice Cream Cone Midge pattern as my upper fly, under an indicator. If I were to use only a single fly, it would be this really small Ice Cream Cone midge.
- If you are using a spinning rod, the lure we have had the most success with is a Pink Trout Magnet, but the right flies are far better for catching them.
- Some additional tips and flies we use for catching them are found in this article: I Hate Golden Trout! - 2025 Wind River Backpacking Trip
A good way to catch your first golden trout.
- Catching small golden trout in creeks can be a lot easier than in lakes, so if you are looking to catch your first golden trout, finding a small creek with golden trout might be your ticket. Goldens in creeks are a lot less finicky about your choice in flies, often having to make a split-second decision on a fly, making them a lot easier to catch.
- As a bonus, small goldens are absolutely the most beautiful of all the trout species.
Finding the Golden Trout at a Lake that is supposed to have them, but looks dead.
- Golden trout are often either really deep in the middle of the lake where you will never see them, let alone catch them... or they will be congregated by or in the inlets or outlets.
- In the photo above, it shows me with a Golden I caught in the outlet of a lake that looked completely devoid of fish. And yes, this was one really cold trip to the Wind Rivers the last week of June of 2026. We got snowed on for three days, with wind and temperatures that barely rose above freezing for the day's high temperature. Breaking ice forming in the eyelets of my flyrod in the middle of summer was a little odd, to say the least.
Other helpful resources to learn more about their behavior and how to catch goldens
- Trout Howler on YouTube • Kendall is a backcountry trout-catching fool. You can glean a lot about how to catch golden trout and get an idea of the beautiful country they live in from his YouTube videos
- Fly-Fishing the Rocky Mountain Backcountry by Rich Osthoff • This is a great book I would recommend on backcountry fishing locations and strategies.
Here is a great video from Dyson Morgan where he discusses the challenges in finding goldens and how he catches them.
Best of luck out there in your golden trout backpacking adventures!