Anglers are met with two very different fishing opportunities at Little Wood River. The upper portion of the river above Little Wood Reservoir features a small running stream amid a forest of cottonwood trees. If you try dry fly fishing here, you can land a few small to medium-sized rainbow or brook trout. The lower end of the river, known as Desert Stretch, has an entirely different landscape with sagebrush and lava rocks. Here the fishing is best in the mornings or evenings when it’s not too hot. Brown and rainbow trout inhabit these rocky waters and are usually medium to large in size.
The Little Wood River has very limited access points because so much of the land is privately owned. To access the river you must often ask permission from the landowners. The upside is that the river is usually uncrowded as a result, and there are plenty of fish to catch!
The prime fishing area starts where Silver Creek joins the Little Wood. Though the river can be fished all year, the best times of year are June, and then late summer and fall. During the spring, the Little Wood runs off-color, and visibility is limited. If you are wading, be cautious of the large number of rocks and boulders on the river bottom.
Note that the Taylor/Williams Recreation area is catch-and-release. From the lowest end of Bear Tracks Williams State Recreation area to milepost 192.5 (about 2.5 miles of stream), the river is catch-and-release, fly-fishing only.
Little Wood River Fish:
Little Wood River boat ramps:
The following boat ramps provide access to Little Wood River.
