Blanket of White


Central Wyoming is covered in snow.  After about 24hrs straight we are probably looking at 8-10″ in the Alcova area.  That’s a pretty good amount of snow for us!  Let us hope the upper drainage is getting it as well.  Enough with the weather, here’s an updated fishing report for the North Platte River.

Current Flows:

Grey Reef: 450cfs   Fremont Canyon: 76cfs   Miracle Mile: 535cfs +/-

Top Flies:

Nymphs: amber scud, rhinestone, PAL, pine squirrel leech, mayhem midge, reef worm

Streamers: rusty t, goldie, articulated goldie, Seth special, twin lakes special 

Conditions are what you would expect for mid-winter.  Low and clear.  With temperatures dropping, lower Grey Reef (downstream of Lusby) is rolling some slush ice and shelf ice is building as we speak.  So if you want to hit the Reef, planning on staying up top.  As of yesterday the upper is still floatable but that could change any day.  With this storm you also want to be careful if you have plans to head out to the Mile.  Adhere to the old Boy Scout motto, “Be Prepared”.  We don’t currently have updated road conditions after this past storm but…our guess is, it’s probably pretty sporty heading that direction.  Overall, the fish have mostly slid in their winter haunts.  Plan on concentrating on the lower half of the run.  Now, we aren’t ruling out fish in other places it’s just gonna be a little more productive in the slower, deeper water.  Primetime has been late morning, early afternoon as you would expect.

The State of the Water – Grey Reef 2021


A little recap of our fishing conditions and what to expect at Grey Reef and Miracle Mile for the remainder of 2021. With much of the Western fly fishing world puckered because of drought caused low and warm water conditions this summer we are positioned to be enjoying awesome fishing throughout the 2021 season and put us in an incredible position for 2022…NPLs 24th season.

Our reality is that if Nebraska farming is requiring irrigation then Grey Reef will be flush with water. It took a little bit to get the Bureau of Reclamation to release water at Grey Reef this year. Several factors contributed to this “delay” and the most notable was that a bunch of volume was dumped from Alcova Reservoir in Oct 2020 and moved through Grey Reef to Glendo so that they could do some maintenance on the facilities. A so-so snowpack didn’t require elevated spring flows and there wasn’t much room to store it downstream so it was held in Seminoe and Pathfinder (uphill from Grey Reef). Miracle Mile had quite a bit of water pushing through early and the quality of fishing paralleled the flows…in a good way. I heard somewhere that fish like water and while we, as anglers, might not know how to contend with that, our scaly friends are masters of the river and thrive with volume. Typical spring flows at Grey Reef and even 50cfs less than the minimum prescribed made for excellent spring conditions and jaw-dropping wade fishing. Warm May weather created water temps enough to nudge some premature hatches but not too warm to cause concern for the fish. We finally experience a bump to 1500cfs then to 2000 and now to 3000cfs! Temps dropped, fish didn’t skip a beat, we purged premature algae growth and now have the volume we need to protect us from the water temps getting too warm for comfort and all the while pushing water up against the banks creating the edge structure *cough* ie hopper habitat. We’ll take 3 grand but would be pretty excited if that were doubled!

We’ve now transitioned to the ordinary summer hatches including Caddis, Yellow Sallies and Pale Morning Duns and our short-lived Golden Stonefly hatch that peaks for about 2 weeks. This is a fun time as we get dry fly opportunities and fish are spicy and hanging out in cool places. By mid July we should see the long-lived trico hatch ensue. Daily dry fly opportunities on the spinners typically extend well into October. Hoppers seems to be a little delayed this year so I’d think the 3rd week in July should get them really honing in on terrestrials. Hoppers should be prevalent through the 3rd week of September with a couple stagnant days in September as they reduce their activities during low pressure events. The grasshopper hatch is predicted to be a pretty serious threat to local farmers this year so that should translate to robust hopper fishing. High pressure is what we want for that…seems counterintuitive but we want hot, sunny and breezy conditions as they are most active and get knocked into the river.

Let’s touch on availability for the remainder of 2021. North Platte Lodge has very little availability through the middle of October. We only have two 4 night/3 day spots for 2 anglers available from now until the 3rd of September. Labor Day weekend still has a couple spots available, a couple mid September spots, we still have a couple Sage Grouse cast and blast dates the last ten days of September. Our first full lodge availability is Oct 6th then we jump to Oct 15th for the next. For corporate groups and those who prefer to secure the full facility October and November are the targets.  For those who are interested in shooting we’ll touch on that lower in the report. We have RV sites and guide availability for day trips and we have our 4 cottages, the vacation rentals, located on The Reef Fly Shop property with some options still remaining through August. A solid option is to start planning now for October or even spring 2022. We love entering fall and particularly mid Oct through mid No(yes!)vember  Baetis, Caddis and Tricos make for awesome dry fly and nymph fishing. Long shadows create the best scenes, colored leaves and a little morning chill in the air is as refreshing as it gets…not to mention a significant slowdown of river traffic and a ramping up of trout feeding for the coming winter. Late October through November is trophy trout season and a streamer junky’s dream and waterfowl cast and blast is full-steam. Spring fishing is, by far, the best option for novice anglers and those who really seek the highest volume fishing available anywhere. It is easier for the angler to have a lot of success, plain and simple. April and May are prime.

Shooting and Hunting with Pathfinder Outfitters, North Platte Lodge and The Reef Fly Shop, Cottages & RV – Big Game, Upland Bird Hunting, Waterfowl Hunting and Sporting Clays. Sharing passions is what we do here. We’ve done the bird hunting since the beginning and added our awesome big game program a few years ago. Sporting Clays at our good neighbor’s place Riverbend Roosters just came online last month! Sage Grouse, we are the premier outfitter in the world for this rare hunt. This hunt is perfect as a fishing and hunting Cast and Blast and available as a NPL package. Other upland species include Blue Grouse and Hungarian partridge and preserve hunts with pheasants and chukar.  Waterfowl, private access and guides who know the behavior of the birds makes the early season (first 2 weeks of October) the best intro to the waterfowl season. A mixed bag of puddle ducks and geese including fast flying teal get the juices flowing before spending the remainder of the day on the river. Our early season waterfowl cast and blast is underrated. Big Game – Antelope, Deer and Elk. Impressive populations and growth rates coupled with tough draws and you have a recipe for a really cool experience. Here are the differences, you stay at the North Platte Lodge that includes gourmet dining and in close range to the field rather than a motel room or tent. You benefit from our focus on quality over quantity and the best fallback in the business. You don’t need contingency planning when you hunt with Pathfinder Outfitters. What happens if you fill your tag the first morning of a four day hunt? You made the right choice to pick Pathfinder Outfitters because you continue your stay in comfort deciding if you’d like to fish, hunt birds, shoot clays or all of the above. Others send you home, we send you back out there to experience the best of Central Wyoming. We’ve already enjoyed the combination days with fishing and sporting clays and booking more and more of these. Everything is provided for the shooting and is billed separately by Riverbend Roosters. During the warm months there is plenty of daylight to fish a bunch water and still get a round of shooting in. Jump on for a central Wyoming waterfowl hunt during the regular season  Nov – Jan. We aren’t going to blow smoke and tell you this is the most amazing hunting, day in and day out, because it isn’t. It is noteworthy for excellent decoying and calling birds when the conditions are ripe and it is noteworthy because if the birds aren’t responding the fish will and it is noteworthy because you get to stay in or come to Central Wyoming. To summarize you can have incredible duck and goose hunting 45 minutes from Casper and just a few minutes from our exclusive Grey Reef locations but if they aren’t responding, you go fish. Be sure to check out Wyobraska Waterfowl if you want to travel a bit for a dedicated and excellent duck and goose experience.

Golfing – Yep, a couple of our guides are avid golfers and one is a former pro. We’ve got cast and swing trips on the books as well. This isn’t an official offering but it is officially awesome.

Carp fishing – Of course! Barefoot warm water wading on shallow sand flats, sight casting to cruising brutes. Split your day wading at Fremont Canyon, Grey Reef or Miracle Mile and spend a couple hours on the carp flats. It is ok and appropriate to get out of the boat to fish, too.

You might wonder what we don’t do? We don’t peg beads, fur or chenille to snag fish as an accepted approach to fly fishing. We don’t target fish on redds. We don’t do multiple floats a day abusing a small, couple mile, section of Grey Reef. We don’t employ barbs. We don’t put you on the river with inexperienced guides or those who don’t align with our highest sporting standards. We limit our daily bookings to satisfy this mission. You may have to adjust your plans a little bit as we won’t call up a warm body to guide you if that day our staff is fully booked, just so we can make a buck. If high standards and fair chase are important to you we’ll get along famously and have a long and storied relationship. Our guide staff is ridiculously experienced and will never stoop to being opportunists in the field or on the river…they don’t have to. They create the highest level experiences within set parameters and a sporting tradition.

Spring Baetis – The Epitome of Grey Reef fly Fishing


Mid-column Baetis presentations will cramp your smiles. Grey Reef is so good right now and Central Wyoming fly fishing couldn’t be better. River conditions from Grey Reef Dam ( in Alcova and a 1/4 mile from the lodge) all the way to Casper and Glenrock are excellent. Low and clear with lots of bug activity. Midges and Baetis ( blue winged olives) are where the fish are at. Fish a pair of sz 18 -20 imitations and you will be in fish all day long. The higher up you stay the better the bug activity. Keep it light with smaller tippet and a less obtrusive indicator. Swing soft hackles but leave your beads at home and experience what Grey Reef and fly fishing are all about. The wade fishing has been super productive and we have more quality private access than anybody in the state of Wyoming, not to mention private boat ramps. If you want to get in on the spring baetis book now to the 3rd week of May for the best window. As the hatch matures we will get more and more dry fly opportunities. While this won’t be the daily norm, bring a dry fly rod just in case you happen to be in the right place at the right time. Scroll down and save this page for Miracle Mile and Grey Reef stream flow graphs and current Grey Reef weather conditions.

We have lodge options and cottage spots still available. Bring a crew and book the lodge for inclusive fishing, lodging and meals OR opt for a cottage and day trips and you take care of the cooking.

Get here early so you have enough time to come back for another round while taking advantage of our “next trip discount”. After the spring melley, we will be thrust headlong into Yellow Sallie, PMD and Caddis season and by mid July Tricos and Hoppers enter the scene ..the beginning of our dry fly season. Mid September and pseudos and fall baetis, crane flies, upland bird hunting arrive as our big game season has been ticking for a few weeks. Waterfowl is cued in early October as dry fly and big game hunts proceed. Never a dull moment here on Grey Reef Rd.

 

 

Wyoming Fishing Report, Off Season Options and 2021


Central Wyoming fly fishing hasn’t skipped a beat but has scared some folks away with the windy conditions of late. The remainder of the week is warm and breezy, however slightly cooler temps and very little wind beginning Friday. Miracle Mile is fishing well. The water is clear and was nudged to 640 cfs this AM. Fishing is solid with standard Mile nymph rigs of worms, leaches and midges. Streamer enthusiasts as well as swingers are getting thumped with a variety of critters from Platte River Spiders to Goldies, Rusty Trombones, Near ‘Nuff Sculpins and Dungeons. We know it is tempting but please leave the Redds alone, folks. Fremont Canyon is level with the other tailwaters so not the cute little Disneyland fishery, but still fishing well. Scuds, midges, leaches and the aforementioned streamer selections. Always be ready for dry fly opportunities at anytime of the year. Matt’s Midge, traditional Adams, Renegade, and G-Gnat all good picks. Grey Reef has been the local star, clear and 600cfs,  with little traffic and great production. Short and light nymph rigs of scuds and midges on the edges and tail-outs  unless in the thick of a daily hatch…then target the heavier riffles and drops. Streamer activity has been very good keeping your imitation low and level across the run or swung/twitched with the current. Big Horn has been fishing well and a bit less exposed to the wind.

Cast and Blast and Waterfowl Hunts have been surprisingly good! The basics needs of the birds are improving in Central Wyoming…pssst, food. With our access the hunting and fishing is pretty impressive. We also do upland hunts and cast and blast utilizing our good neighbor’s Riverbend Roosters preserve. Prefer wild birds? We can do that, too!

We’ve entered our off season rate part of the year so cottage and day trips rates are reduced a bunch. Weather may or may not be as good as regular season but the fishing doesn’t suffer. Trout still do all the same trout stuff after the anglers have packed it in for the season.

Thanks so much for checking in with us re: 2021! 2020 was an interesting round and we suspect 2021 will carry some of the odd issues but we will continue to roll along. We made adjustments in procedure but the nature of our operation almost excluded us from altering the basis of our program. Distance, seclusion, fresh air and cleanliness is built in…we’ve always done it and always will. It is what we do. Get back on track for the best trip of the year!

Picture: A recent trip up Fremont Canyon to test the streamer fishing in recently exposed and  short lived runs due to Alcova Reservoir being lower than it has in many decades.

 

Wyoming Fly Fishing, Big Game & Bird Hunting – Cast and Blast


It has been a whirlwind several weeks of Cast and Blast, Upland Bird Hunts, Waterfowl Hunts, Elk Hunts, Deer Hunts, Antelope Hunts and our meat and potatoes Fly Fishing in Central Wyoming. We are thankful to have more on the horizon and even developing additional opportunities that are in alignment with our expertise – It is what we do. Firstly,  we’ve had very temperate weather conditions but experiencing a few days of cooler and windy. Our air quality has been good and we haven’t experienced much of the smoke that has been plaguing much of the West.

CENTRAL WYOMING FLY FISHING – Flows at Grey Reef were bumped to 2300cfs on October 1st and to 2600cfs a couple days ago. The reason is that the BuRec is lowering Alcova Reservoir for maintenance. With this comes confusion and opportunity. Grey Reef trico hatches are still clicking but with fewer available risers – don’t perceive this language as no dry fly fishing. The psuedos are still popping and baetis have been delayed. This is a good thing as it can be a bit overwhelming having, tricos, midges, psuedos/baetis, crane flies and caddis all competing for the trout’s attention – cue Eddie Van Halen’s Eruption – it can cause premature nymph-ication. The common theme with the North Platte Lodge and The Reef Fly Shop’s guide crew has been working harder and generally fewer fish hitting the net but the number of high quality fish has been impressive. Daily, we are getting pics from the guides with very large fish. You’ve been waiting for the “opportunity” piece of this conversation? Fishing is solid right now but Grey Reef flows will be dropping abruptly somewhere around the 3rd week of October and this drop in flows will displace crawdads and baitfish. Prediction is some crazy streamer and nymphing. Miracle Mile is probably nudging Grey Reef on the numbers front but the stories of big fish encounters are mostly right out in front of our properties on Grey Reef Rd. Fremont is clicking along just fine and well worth the effort.

BIRD HUNTING- Sage Grouse hunts and cast and blast packages were a big success this season. Sage Grouse will be packaged as an NPL option for 2021 and that is currently available to book. We can comfortably say that we provide the best sage grouse hunting anywhere. Our private access and guides are nothing short of excellent. Blue Grouse are providing some great hunts and that is still available to book. These are day hunts and logistically not great as a cast and blast (hunt and fish the same day) but make an awesome addition to a fishing trip or vise versa. We also have Chukar and Hungarian Partridge opportunities. Cast and Blast Pheasant Preserve – Next door to North Platte Lodge is Riverbend Roosters upland preserve and our guests have been loving the cast and blast package with pheasants, chukar and now quail. High volume fishing and hunting in such close proximity! Waterfowl hunts and cast and blast are already kicking off and have been really productive for the early season. Waterfowl hunts and cast and blast are available through Jan 20, 2020.

What to expect for the remainder of 2020? The end of October through November has been the most productive time to target trophy class trout of 25″ or more. This year it should be supercharged due to the interesting flows. Our off-season reduced rates start Nov 15 but we’ll give up a couple days to that schedule to get you here the weekend prior. Day trips and cottage rates are reduced through March 14, 2021. Waterfowl and upland hunts packaged with or without one of the best trout fisheries on the planet. NEXT TRIP DISCOUNT – Many of you have returned several times in 2020 and we can’t thank you enough. The best way we can express our  “thanks” is to knock $50 off of your day trips an 10% off of lodging and boat rentals. Still lots of time to book your next trip 2020 Grey Reef trip.

Again, thanks so much for believing in us! The original North Platte Lodge has been around for more than 2 decades and we’ve been through the dotcom and mortgage bubble popping, 911, the bottom dropping out of the 2008 economy,  H1n1, Covid and other uncomfortable episodes. We’ve realized that our niche is staying in our lane and staying the course. There is inherent beauty in solitude and separation. This has always been and will always be what we do.

Dog Days, Hatches & Haze


Central Wyoming anglers are squarely involved in the dog days of summer. Lots of great things happen this time of year and some not so great. Not so great items are…it is pretty warm (for us, folks from other parts of the country laugh at our whining), water temps are getting to be a concern (stay high in the system, keep fish in the current- release them quickly with a pinched barb and don’t fish if the water is too warm), the sky has been hazy the past few days due to wildfires across the West. The great items include awesome hatches, dry fly, streamer, nymphing, river swims, wet wading, light river traffic, and how much better a cold beer tastes at the end of the day.

Grey Reef Flows are 1500CFS, Miracle Mile flows are 780cfs and Fremont Canyon flows are 75cfs. Hatches include AM and PM Tricos, PM PMDs , midday hoppers, PM caddis, PM stones. Grey Reef has been having fun fishing with trico spinners in the AM and emergers and duns in the early evening, this is also true of the PMDs in the evening. Midday caddis movement in heavy water has been stellar for nymphing and they get gulped off of the surface in the eves. The hopper bite has been luke warm lately but still very worth it. Nocturnal Stones have been hurting our Pat’s Rubberleg supply and fish are crushing streamers in hot spots. Leeches everywhere and scuds always produce this time of year dredged along weed beds. Fremont Canyon has been a bit more tech but the trico and caddis thing is solid. Miracle Mile is pretty standard with leeches, crawdads, stones and worms shouldering the majority of the labor but Milers in-the-know will step back and give ’em some emerging tricos, midges and PMDs and keep a caddis pattern rolling through the riffles.

The forecast for this Friday is 84*! The next week will be significantly cooler so that will help with late day angler energy levels and water temps.

Don’t forget to come back again in 2020 and take advantage of our discount! We have a couple guests keeping the whole crew employed it seems:) This is a stretch but we are very thankful for all of you!

Our first big game hunt starts next week, wow. We’ve had a tremendous response to cast and blasts this year and are tapped for 2020 Sage Grouse hunts. We limit this program to just a few hunts and will book for 2021 starting the first week of October. These will all be hunting and lodging packaged moving forward. Seeing huns and blue grouse and have had a robust interest in waterfowl cast and blasts as well.

Still time to jump on a Sept or Oct or early Nov lodge package for your crew! Give a call and we’ll put something together!

Fishing after 2PM and Return Trip Benefits


Caddis, Hoppers, PMDs Wyoming Fly Fishing. We are thoroughly enjoying the warm days of summer and although it might get a bit warm on the river in the mid to late afternoon that is really high time for hopper eating trout production. We love the fact that everybody else is taking out at 2PM. Grey Reef water temps are not dangerous to trout but a well presented hopper after 2PM certainly is. There is no need to sacrifice two hours of the best fishing of the day. The Reef Fly Shop and North Platte Lodge schedule is roughly 7AM – 4PM. Tricos, PMDS, Hopper and Caddis are getting their attention.

We can’t thank our guests enough for their patronage in 2020. We’ve had an high rate of folks returning for 2nd, 3rd and even 4th trips this season. As a result, we are showing our appreciation by discounting your next 2020 trip.

Fremont is giving up some fun dry fly fishing but it is still at bigger flows than the norm. Miracle Mile nymphing is rock solid and Grey Reef is giving us streamer, nymphing and dry fly thrills.

Have a group but don’t want a full lodge package? Give us a shout to discuss the NPL B&B option. You rent the full lodge (6 rooms). It isn’t packaged with guided fishing but you can add that, it isn’t packaged with dinner service but you can add that, too. The best location to access Grey Reef, Miracle Mile, Fremont Canyon, Alcova and Pathfinder Reservoir, Independence Rock and Martin’s Cove with seclusion and wide open space.

Bufftrout Hats are getting snatched up but we have an order of small sizes arriving in the next couple days and another huge order of all styles to follow soon. Call the shop 307.232.9128 and we’ll be happy to ship. Howler Bros and lots of Simms sun hoodies are also available.

Seth and Guest with a post 2PM hopper eater

 

Grey Reef and Miracle Mile Win Again


Central Wyoming Fly Fishing, as always, is firing on all cylinders. Expect the hatches to include PMDs, Yellow Sallies, Caddis, Midges, hoppers and the Golden Stones at Miracle Mile. Incredibly diverse and productive trout fishing. The North Platte River is in incredible condition and flows are nice with 3600cfs at Grey Reef and 2400cfs at Miracle Mile. No going to lie, the North Platte Lodge and The Reef Fly Shop guide staff would not be disappointed if flows were bumped up a grand or two. At this rate we still have great hopper banks and will maintain cool water all summer. Pat’s Rubber Legs, Soft Hackled PT, Bread Crust, Big Bear, Epoxy Back Sulfur, Foam Wing RS2 etc have all been excellent choices. 4x Fluorocarbon and a lovingly pinched barb is on-point.

What to expect in the coming warm months? Hoppers. There as so many grasshoppers right now it may be too many? The land is dry-dry and we have lots of water in the drainages…the perfect storm to get the grasshopper to the riparian zones and teed-up for crazy dry fly fishing. We are already getting some hopper eats but don’t expect it to get really keyed up until later in July. And, cross your fingers for a little wind. By mid July we should see our resident tech dry fly attraction, tricos, swarming in mini funnel clouds and splaying out on the river’s surface – the conveyor of floating trout food. Tricos will be a morning event through early to mid October and the Hoppers will get ’em through mid September. pssst! don’t forget about evening caddis on dry flies, if you aren’t too tired?

This season has been a wild ride and we are receiving last minute Lodge bookings like crazy. Yesterday we booked a vacated spot from a group whose Alaska trip became riddled with too many hoops to jump through. We saved them thousands and will deliver a high quality product with our location, private access and operating philosophy. Flights to Casper are cheap right now.

You have a smaller group and want the best fly fishing experience but also concerned about sharing space with other folks? We’ve been tailoring some great exclusive lodge packages for groups of as few as 6 anglers and securing the entire lodge. Guest each get their own room and we have many separate dining tables and bars that you have plenty of space.

We have had an inordinate  amount of returning guests in 2020. They come once and have such a great time and feel relaxed and comfortable that they have been rebooking for another 2020 visit. Because of this we are offering discounts on “Your Next Visit” in 2020. If you have a trip scheduled for later in the year but might like to get some relief from the burdens of life a little sooner? You will qualify for the discount as well.

Thanks so much for your support through the years and especially this year!

 

Spring Fly Fishing, Barbless Pledge and the Flushing Flows


Wyoming is sparsely populated with people but densely populated with trout. The fly fishing at Miracle Mile, Fremont Canyon and Grey Reef is firing on all cylinders. Slowly retrieved streamers are getting some love but the most effective rigs have been a scud/midge nymph rig with pretty light tippet and keeping the midge up in the water column a little bit. The Reef Fly Shop has a great selection of custom foam winged (buoyant) patterns to accomplish this approach. Worms and leeches are also good lead patterns. Miracle Mile has a pretty strong preference for red San Juan Worms or Bead Head Mohair Leeches, Fremont Canyon likes light tippet and a rig with 2 midges. Focusing on soft edges and tailouts is a really good idea but don’t discount shelves and riffles in heavier parts of the daily midge hatch.

Give us a shout if you are shopping for an awesome domestic fly fishing package for 2020. We are easy to fly and drive to and can compete with any destination in the world when it comes to the experience and high quality fishing. We have a great corporate and group option (including reduced rates and airport transportation) as well. We have Grey Reef’s most experienced guide staff, best location and unmatched private access since 1998.

The Flushing Flows are scheduled to begin March 28 and continue for 10 days. Many factors can alter the schedule so expect some changes. Grey Reef Reservoir will be down to the river channel on March 24th.

We pledged to fish barbless over 20 years ago and hope you’ll join us. It is really simple to pinch your barbs and it is the right thing to do for our trout population and catch-and-release fly fishing. Recently we’ve witnessed an uptick of social media accounts almost glorify pictures of trout that are missing parts of their face. This is caused by irresponsible angling. There are many things we can do to reduce the instances of disfigured trout but pinching barbs is the first step. Let’s not make the fish suffer for our lack of ability. Preserve trout faces at Grey Reef and fisheries everywhere by pledging to pinch your and your fishing customers’ barbs.

This brown was proud to swim away with all lips

 

 

River Report, Cheap Trips and Up and Coming for 2020


Fishing has been solid with variable weather conditions at Grey Reef and Miracle Mile. Low pressure has been frequent so snow and slushy conditions have persisted in Central Wyoming. Our snow pack is well above average and that should mean excellent flows sooner than later. Grey Reef is humming with big midge hatches and stout trout enjoying easy pickings. One of our original patterns the PAL (an acronym for a semi-crass name beginning with Periwinkle, this is what Colorado based tiers have come to identify it as) is a multi purpose rockstar pattern that gets it done year round. Trail it behind a scud or a leech, pinch the barb, and let it go to work. We can thank one of Grey Reef’s original full time fishing guides , Adrian Keeler, for that morsel. Miracle Mile fishing is also good and a slow stripped Rusty Trombone or a worm/midge nymph rig will get their attention in the nondescript fringe water and way in the tailouts. The Reef fly Shop has good guide availability for the best discounted trips and lodging packages in the business. This will run through mid March. We also have a 3 night/2 day cottage/guided fishing package beginning where the off season rates end…this will be available starting March 15 and terminate April 10 for $1295. This is a #bugsnotbeads promo.

NPL has some great inclusive spots available for up to 12 anglers staying (eating well!) and fishing all of our famous private access. Come solo or bring 11 or your best fishing friends to enjoy the famous spring fishing at Grey Reef. We also do corporate packages but don’t book this if you don’t want to build connections with your customers.

Father’s Day Event – two nights and 2 days packaged for the Friday and Saturday before Father’s Day. Arrive by noon on Friday and we’ll fish well into the eve before retuning to the lodge for dinner and rise early for a full day trip on Saturday. Depart Sunday AM in time to make it back for an afternoon BBQ at home with your family. This is PERFECT for the Front Range folks.

Women’s Event- This was a huge hit last year with a great menu, morning yoga sessions, excellent dry fly fishing, wine tasting, cigar sampling and great camaraderie. We have one spot for 2 anglers left. Do it!

Trophy Trout Tournament – Are you an aggressive streamer angler and can out pace anybody on the river? This is your show. Teams of 2 but a single winner. The longest fish of the weekend takes home cash and prizes from Scott Fly Rods, Simms, Nautilus Reels, The Reef Fly Shop etc. Enjoy adult beverages from Gruner Brothers Brewing and Backwards Distilling both local craft wizards. This is the last weekend of October so expect some adverse weather conditions and heavily foraging trophy-class North Platte River trout.