Grey Reef is as good as it gets. Excellent fishing, hard fights, big fish, clear water, good hatches, dry fly!, streamer and nymphing. Our veteran guides comment everyday how this is probably the best overall fall fishing they have ever witnessed.

Is the river weedy? That is the question I get often. Yes, there are weed beds particularly on the upper 14 miles. The weed beds are far less than they used to be allowing easy weed-free drifts. The river is like a big spring creek and the current slows with the low flows and presence of grass. There are  willing fish in every obvious spot and lots of not so obvious spots.

The single biggest killer of Grey Reef success is too long of a leader and too much weight. We are anywhere from 4-5.5′ from indicator to split shot(#4 or a b) on a traditional nymph rig. Light tippet as the water is clear(4x fluoro is perfect). Many spots yesterday we went zero weight on our nymph rig (Natural Pine Squirrel Leech and an All Day May). The biggest fish are tending to barely move the indicator in slower water…in fast water they are crushing it.

Grey Reef has prolific hatches. Bugs generally move from the bottom of the river to the surface. This means there is food available at all depths….particularly suspended. Don’t sabotage your fun by setting to hook on bottom all day. Catch lots of fish instead…or should I say hook lots of fish? Land ’em if you can!