Thursday Nights at Two Rivers: Where Pinedale's Fishing Season Goes When the Rivers Get Cold

"With this cooler weather, we have not seen much insect activity on the surface," the Two Rivers Fishing Co. report for October 14, 2026 noted, before adding that streamers and nymphs were still catching fish. A sentence later, the same report mentioned what the shop does on Thursdays: "Here in the shop, we are doing fly-tying nights on Thursdays from 6 - 8 PM."

Once the surface goes quiet, Pinedale's fly fishing moves indoors to 232 West Pine Street, and the calendar is built so anyone can join at the start of each month.

Three first Thursdays, each one a way in

The fall 2026 round started October 1 and has 11 Thursday sessions, 6 to 8 p.m., ending December 17. Every session is free and open to all ages, and the shop provides the materials. On most nights, the tyers follow an instructor through a single pattern.

The shop is clear that most of these nights aren't classes. Its event page says a basic grasp of tying technique is recommended for regular nights, though the hosts will help with technique and offer tips. The basics are taught on the Beginner's Nights, and this fall each one falls on the first Thursday of the month. October 1 opened with a BH Hares Ear. November 5 is a Woolly Bugger. December 3 is an Elk Hair Caddis.

So missing the October 1 beginner night doesn't mean missing the season. Each month starts again at the bottom, and the patterns that follow get harder.

Here's what's left on the shop's posted fall schedule, starting Thursday, October 29:

The November dates also appear in the Pinedale Roundup's 2026 community calendar, with the same 6 to 8 p.m. time and the shop's RSVP link.

A program that keeps coming back

The October 29 pattern isn't new to this room. Chubby Chernobyl was on the shop's winter schedule too, on March 12, 2026, hosted by Harley Edwards, according to Pinedale Online's February announcement of that round.

That winter round ran on Thursdays through February and March. Its lineup started with a Hot Head Mohair Leech on February 5 and ended with a Hitman on March 26, hosted by Conner Bailey. David Bowers led a UV Midge beginner night on February 12.

One name shows up on both calendars. Travis Gilbert of Trout Unlimited hosted the PMD Emerger on February 19 and the 20 Incher on March 5, then came back this fall for the Parachute Adams on October 15. He's on the schedule again November 19 for the Gray Drake Film Critic. Pinedale Online's report and the shop's current page show him as a returning guest instructor across both rounds, which gives the program some continuity beyond the shop's own staff.

The shop's About page lists Eric, Josh and Laura as its owners and says it has outfitted western Wyoming anglers for more than twenty years. That history shows in a schedule that comes back each season with recurring hosts and repeat patterns.

Why the fall round stops on December 17

The fall run ends one week before Christmas. According to Pinedale Online's ice fishing guide, lakes near town typically freeze from late December to about mid-March, and Fremont and Half Moon are the nearby ice fishing lakes. The same page warns that river ice is never safe.

Put the two rounds side by side and they cover the shoulder seasons on either end of the hard freeze. The fall nights run from October to just before the lakes usually lock up. The winter round ran through February and March and ended in late March, around the time the ice usually goes off. In the weeks between, the fishing moves onto the ice. The Wyoming Game and Fish Department's Pinedale Region has called Fremont Lake a good local place to start ice fishing and says other finger lakes along the Wind River front can work too.

The rivers don't freeze evenly, and the shop's spring reports show it. Its March 13, 2026 fishing report said the Green River around Pinedale was "still largely frozen" while the New Fork was "mostly open" to Olson Bridge. Flies tied at the vise in November may be in the water on one river weeks before the other opens.

Some places nearby have their own seasonal rules, and they're easy to confuse. Game and Fish's 2026 fishing regulations generally allow fishing year-round except on waters with specific exceptions, and they allow attended hand lines, poles or tip-ups through the ice. The regulations close the New Fork River above New Fork Lakes from September 1 through April 30. Halfmoon Lake has a limit of two lake trout per day, with no more than one over 24 inches.

Separately, Game and Fish's Half Moon Wildlife Habitat Management Area page lists a no-human-presence closure from December 1 to May 1 at 6 a.m. That rule covers the habitat management area. It's a different rule from the lake's fishing regulations, and the department's pages are the place to check how each applies before heading out. Ice conditions for the 2026–27 season are still ahead of us.

Before you walk in on a Thursday

The shop's event page covers most of the practical details, and they matter more than the pattern list:

1. Bring your own vise and tools if you have them. The shop says its supplies are limited.
2. RSVP ahead if you need equipment. The shop asks for RSVPs from anyone who needs gear, through tworiversfishing.com/fly-tying-nights.
3. Pick a Beginner's Night if you've never tied. November 5 and December 3 are the two left this fall.
4. Plan around Thanksgiving week. No session is listed for November 26.
5. Call with questions. Pinedale Online lists the shop's number as 307-367-4131.

The shop's contact page lists hours of 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. every day, so you can stop in for thread or hooks before a Thursday session. Those hours aren't labeled as winter hours, so it's worth a call as the season goes on.

Thursday mornings in town have a regular gathering too. The Roundup's calendar lists Coffee with the Editor every Thursday from 8 to 9:45 a.m. at Mountain Mamas Bakery & Cafe.

The next way in for a new tyer is November 5 at 6 p.m. on West Pine Street, with a Woolly Bugger.

At RE/MAX Elite, we know Pinedale through its seasons as well as its streets, including the stretch when the rivers go quiet and the lakes aren't frozen yet. If you're weighing a property near Fremont Lake, the New Fork or the Green and want to know how that ground works in November, Get in Touch.