The flush started early this AM and things are going well. By 10 Am Grey Reef was back to 500cfs below the dam and conditions are very good. The surge made it to the Narrows at about 9;15AM and was carrying a load of ice and debris. Our strong winds and low water on Grey Reef Reservoir caused some off colored water due to lapping waves but the water coming from the dam looked great.

The Denver Post published and article about the Grey Reef Flush and is mostly inaccurate. Take this stuff with a grain of salt. The flush isn’t meant to disperse fish or increase biomass, or last only seven days. The flush has a singular purpose…attempt to remove sediment from gravel that is key for a successful spawn. If the Wyoming Game and Fish and BuRec are interested in successful spawning we should be too. Refrain from fishing to actively spawning fish, it really isn’t sporting anyway. Never walk through or above spawning beds, as this crushes eggs or distributes sediment on them and squelches their development. Game and Fish is reviewing core samples to bee how deep the sediment is and how effective the flush is. Even with the flushing flows low water years have very little recruitment.

The North Platte River below the true Grey Reef section (Grey Reef Dam to Government Bridge) is dirty and probably will be for a while. The 10 day cycle should do wonders and it will fish very well right through the flush despite the Denver Post report to the contrary.