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Home › Waters › Wyoming › North Platte River below Whalen Diversion Dam
Tailwater · Platte and Goshen counties, the North Platte below the Whalen diversion between Guernsey and Fort Laramie · Wyoming

North Platte River below Whalen Diversion Dam Fishing Guides

The North Platte below the Whalen irrigation diversion near Guernsey, a transitional reach whose flows are set by canal demand rather than by trout management.

A mountain river running clear through conifer forest in the Rockies
Gauge location. Map data © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Guides on the North Platte River below Whalen Diversion Dam

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About the North Platte River below Whalen Diversion Dam

Whalen Diversion Dam sits on the North Platte between Guernsey and Fort Laramie, and its purpose is irrigation. It is the structure that feeds the Interstate and Fort Laramie canals, sending a large share of the river out across the farmland of Goshen County. The gauge below it measures what is left, and understanding that arrangement is the whole key to fishing this reach.

It needs saying plainly that this is not one of Wyoming’s famous North Platte tailwaters. Grey Reef and the Miracle Mile, far upstream, are managed with trout in mind and have the flows and reputation to match. Below Whalen the river is run for canal demand. Through the irrigation season, roughly May to September, a great deal of water is diverted and the river below the dam runs correspondingly low and warm. When the canals shut down in autumn, flows in the river come back up. That is the opposite of the pattern anglers expect from a dam, and it inverts the usual seasonal logic.

The fishery reflects that. This is a transitional reach rather than a trout stronghold: brown trout and rainbow trout are present and can be caught, particularly in the cooler months and in the faster water near the structure, while walleye and channel catfish become increasingly important downstream as the river warms and slows toward Torrington and the Nebraska line. Carp and suckers are abundant throughout.

The gauge reports discharge and gage height and no temperature. Discharge is the number that matters here, because it is a direct readout of how much water the canals have taken. A low midsummer reading is a straightforward signal to fish elsewhere; a strong autumn reading, after the diversions close, points to the best window this reach offers.

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We keep your name, email address, the credit name, the water and date you gave us, and the network address the submission came from, with the submission record, as our evidence of this license. We hold that record for as long as the photo is published and for the retention period described in our privacy policy. Location data that your camera or phone embedded in the file is removed before the photo is published.

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Posting to North Platte River below Whalen Diversion Dam.

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Reader photo license v1.0 — the short version:

  • You grant Guided Floats, LLC a non-exclusive, royalty-free license to publish, resize and crop your photo on guidedfloats.com and in GuidedFloats’ own social posts and apps. You keep the copyright and can use the photo anywhere else.
  • You confirm that you took the photo yourself, that publishing it does not infringe anyone else’s rights, and that anyone recognisable in it (or a parent or guardian, if they are under 18) is happy for it to appear here.
  • Credit is printed beside the photo wherever it appears on the site, using the credit name you give us. Leave it blank and we use your name; write “Anonymous” for no name. Your email address is never published.
  • Withdrawing is one email to hello@guidedfloats.com naming the photo. It comes off the site within 7 days.
Read the full license

Version 1.0, dated 6 September 2026. Applies to every photograph submitted to GuidedFloats through the contact form, a species page, or the community board.

1. What you give us

By ticking the box on the form you grant Guided Floats, LLC (“GuidedFloats”, “we”) a non-exclusive, worldwide, royalty-free license to store, copy, resize, crop and display your photograph on guidedfloats.com, in GuidedFloats’ own social media accounts and mobile apps, and in material that promotes the site itself, in connection with the fish, water or community feature you sent it in for. The license lasts until you withdraw it (section 4).

You keep the copyright. The license is not exclusive, so you can use the photo anywhere else and license it to anyone else. We will not sell your photo, license it on to anyone else on its own, or use it in paid advertising for a third party.

2. What you confirm

You confirm that you took the photograph yourself (or otherwise own the rights to it), that you have the right to grant this license, and that publishing the photo does not infringe anyone else’s copyright, privacy or other rights.

If any person is recognisable in the photo, you confirm that they have agreed to its being published here, and that a parent or guardian has agreed on behalf of anyone under 18. Please do not send photographs of other people’s catches, screenshots, or pictures copied from other websites or social media.

3. Credit

We print the credit name you give us beside the photo wherever it appears on the site, and record it as the photo’s creator in the page’s structured data. If you leave the credit blank we use the name you gave us on the form. Write “Anonymous” if you prefer no name at all. Your email address, phone number and the exact spot the photo was taken are never published.

4. Withdrawing the license

You can withdraw the license at any time by emailing hello@guidedfloats.com, or by using the contact form, and telling us which photo you mean. We will remove the photo from guidedfloats.com within 7 days of receiving your message and stop using it in anything new. Copies that are already outside our control — search-engine caches, social posts that have already gone out, printed material already produced — may take longer to disappear or may not be recallable, and we are not responsible for those.

5. What we may do

We choose which photos to publish and may decline any submission without giving a reason. We may crop, resize, sharpen or colour-correct a photo for display, and we may remove a photo at any time. We will not alter a photo in a way that misrepresents the fish, the water or you.

6. Your details

We keep your name, email address, the credit name, the water and date you gave us, and the network address the submission came from, with the submission record, as our evidence of this license. We hold that record for as long as the photo is published and for the retention period described in our privacy policy. Location data that your camera or phone embedded in the file is removed before the photo is published.

7. Versions

The version of this license you accepted is stored with your submission and printed with the photo. A later version does not apply to a photo you have already sent unless you agree to it.

Flow alert

Tell me when the North Platte River below Whalen Diversion Dam cfs

Now: 14 cfs, read 5:00 pm CDT, Sun Oct 18, 2026 (USGS 06657000, NORTH PLATTE RIVER BELOW WHALEN DIVERSION DAM, WY).

We never use this address for anything else and never share it. See the privacy policy.

Access

Whalen Diversion Dam - the structure itself, with the fastest, coolest water in the reach immediately below it.
Guernsey - the nearest town upstream, with fuel, food and access to the reservoir and state park.
Guernsey State Park - the reservoir above the diversion, with camping, ramps and a separate fishery.
Fort Laramie National Historic Site - public ground on the river downstream, with walk-in access and history.
Torrington - the larger town further down the valley, with tackle, lodging and full services.
Grayrocks Reservoir - the impoundment on the Laramie River nearby, a reliable walleye alternative.
Glendo Reservoir - the larger reservoir upstream on the North Platte, the usual destination for a full day.

Seasons

Spring: variable, with runoff and the start of diversion season, though trout fishing below the structure can be good in April.
Summer: the weakest stretch, with the canals taking their full share and the river low, warm and thin for trout.
Fall: the best window by a clear margin, as the irrigation season ends, flows rise and water cools with brown trout on the move.
Winter: cold with open water in the faster reaches, offering quiet trout fishing on mild days for those willing to travel.

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Questions

What is the current flow on the North Platte River below Whalen Diversion Dam?

As of Oct 18, 5:00 pm, the USGS gauge NORTH PLATTE RIVER BELOW WHALEN DIVERSION DAM, WY reads 14 cfs. Conditions update every 15 minutes.

What species can you catch on the North Platte River below Whalen Diversion Dam?

Anglers target Brown Trout, Channel Catfish, Common Carp, Rainbow Trout, Walleye, White Sucker on the North Platte River below Whalen Diversion Dam in Wyoming.

Where can you access the North Platte River below Whalen Diversion Dam?

Whalen Diversion Dam - the structure itself, with the fastest, coolest water in the reach immediately below it. Guernsey - the nearest town upstream, with fuel, food and access to the reservoir and state park. Guernsey State Park - the reservoir above the diversion, with camping, ramps and a separate fishery. Fort Laramie National Historic Site - public ground on the river downstream, with walk-in access and history. Torrington - the larger town further down the valley, with tackle, lodging and full services. Grayrocks Reservoir - the impoundment on the Laramie River nearby, a reliable walleye...

When is the best time to fish the North Platte River below Whalen Diversion Dam?

Spring: variable, with runoff and the start of diversion season, though trout fishing below the structure can be good in April. Summer: the weakest stretch, with the canals taking their full share and the river low, warm and thin for trout. Fall: the best window by a clear margin, as the irrigation season ends, flows rise and water cools with brown trout on the move. Winter: cold with open water in the faster reaches, offering quiet trout fishing on mild days for those willing to travel.

Where are the fishing regulations for the North Platte River below Whalen Diversion Dam?

Regulations change by season and section. Read the current rules on the Wyoming agency site: https://wgfd.wyo.gov/regulations