Say Goodbye To Barbed Hooks On The North Platte River

Effective January 1, 2026, the Wyoming Game and Fish Department will implement new regulations requiring the use of single-point barbless hooks on the North Platte River sections downstream from Seminoe Reservoir, including the Miracle Mile, Cardwell, Afterbay, and Gray Reef areas.

These changes were made to address concerns about injuries to fish caused by barbed hooks, particularly in popular catch-and-release areas where fish are frequently caught and released.

Specifically:

Miracle Mile and Afterbay: Anglers can use single-point barbless hooks with any type of bait, lures, or flies.

Gray Reef and Cardwell: Only single-point barbless hooks with artificial flies and lures are permitted. Pegged attractors are also prohibited in these sections.

The new regulations are aimed at improving fish health and conservation efforts in these heavily-fished areas of the North Platte River, per Wyoming Game and Fish.

Flylords writer Spencer Durrant, who has worked in the fly fishing media industry for over a decade, wrote on the issue yesterday:

"You’ve probably seen this on fish yourself. Trout with deformed jaws, missing mandibles, or even lost eyes are just a few examples of the types of hooking injuries caused by catch-and-release with barbed hooks."

He posits that this isn't the first time Wyoming has used this barbless regulation, as they've been the norm in Yellowstone National Par for years.

"Also included in the new regulations is a complete ban on pegged attractor rigs. Pegging beads for salmon, dolly varden, Arctic char, and rainbow trout is a popular, effective method in Alaska that’s made its way to some trout fisheries in the Lower 48. This involves pegging a plastic bead a few inches above a bare hook. The fish thinks the bead is an egg, eats it, and the angler sets the hook, driving the hook point home.

With all that distance between the egg and the hook, though, it’s easy to snag fish in the head, side, stomach, or elsewhere. This rig was apparently enough of a problem on the North Platte that it’ll be illegal as well starting in 2026."