Tag: alcova lodging

Post Storm Fly Fishing Report and Grey Reef Flush Update!

Posted on by AdminTRFS

While most of Wyoming and Colorado was hit by a major winter storm Alcova and Grey Reef hardly got an inch of snow! The roads are all opening up and the weather this weekend looks prime! Our cottages are full this weekend, but we still have guide availability. Please Call the shop for updated Miracle mile road reports.

The flush of Grey Reef is NOT happening this year due to a few different circumstances. Do not worry, the fishing has been and will remain good. We saw increased flows in October last year and that cleared out a ton of sediment and debris from the spawning areas. Honestly the fishing every year is usually the same pre flush as it is post flush. It’s just kind of a different and fun way to kick off to the season. We just beefed up our snowpack with the last storm and should hopefully be able to fill some of our reservoirs.

Flies: Fishing has been really good on all three tailwaters, conveniently the flies are similar for all of them. Leeches in brown, olive, natural #10, Reef Worms in red and purple #12-18, Scuds in olive, pink and orange #14-16, Pheasant Tails #16-18, Mayhem Midges black and purple #18-20, All day May in olive #18, PAL #16-20, and Rhinestone in #18-20 have all been great patterns the past few weeks!

Flows: Flows are low and will stay that way for the next few weeks. The only change we are supposed to see is Grey Reef go back up to 500 CFS from 400CFS

Grey Reef-400 CFS

Miracle Mile-500 CFS

Fremont canyon- 72 CFS

If you have any questions feel free to stop by the shop or give us a call!

Spring Weather is Here! North Platte Fly Fishing Report!

Posted on by AdminTRFS

Spring is finally here and we couldn’t be more excited! The fishing has been great and have guide trips out quite a bit! The weather looks great for the next ten days and the fish are on the feed! We still have our shoulder season rates going through March 15th and some availability left! Call the shop and lets get your 2021 fishing season started off right!

There has been no official announcement of the 2021 Flush. We will update our social pages and this report once we have confirmed dates. The flush is historically set for the second week of March.

Grey Reef- 500 CFS Fishing has been great on The Reef as you would expect from the North PLatte’s most consistent fishery. Leeches have been the top producer. Chocolate, natural and olive are all working well. Reef worms in red and purple, the Reef’s PAL, mayhem midges, tubing midges, and the Rhinestone are all getting fish too! The river is open from the Dam to Government bridge!

Fremont Canyon/Cardwell- 75 CFS It has been pretty busy up there so you might want to sixe down your tippet and get a little “techy”. Mini rigs for midges and good presentations!  The PAL, Tubing midges, Reef worms, Rhinestones, Mayhem Midges, and pheasant tails.

Miracle Mile – 530 CFS Fishing has been good lately but also have to deal with some crowds. Leeches are still the go to followed by Reef worms and san juan worms, the PAL, rhinestone and mayhem midges. Theres been sgreat midge hatches out there everyday!

Give us a call or stop be the shop if you have any questions!

 

Welcome to 2021! North Platte Fly Fishing Report!

Posted on by AdminTRFS

Happy New Year! We hope everyone had a fun and safe holidays. We are back to being open everyday of the week from 8:00 to 2:00 and still have some awesome deals in the shop before our 2021 gear arrives. We had guides out over the past week and had some good weather and great fishing! We fished The Mile, Afterbay, and Grey Reef, as usual The Reef outshined them all.

We have our shoulder season rates going on until March 15th: Half Day Guided trip- $350, Full day Guided trip- $450 1 night in a cottage and 1 full day guided fishing-$575, and 2 nights in a cottage and 1 full day guided trip- $625. This is a great time to fish the North Platte with no crowds and good fishing!

Flows are up in Fremont and the Miracle Mile as they are filling up Alcova reservoir. Miracle Mile is flowing at 1,200 CFS and Fremont is around 2,2,00 CFS. They are still very fishable just focus on the slower tailouts and edges of runs.

Flies are similar on all three tailwaters right now: Pine Squirrel leeches, Reef Worms, Scuds, Mayhem Midges, tubing midges, the LAZY, the brassie, and RS2’s have all been working. Some days it definitely pays off to be shorter, lighter, and higher up in the water column. Other days it seems you have to be deep and heavy, so I always start off short and light and work my way down from there. Streamer fishing has also been working: Goldies, Rusty Trombone, kreelex, peacock buggers, and all peanut envys are the go-tos.

If you have any questions or want to book your next trip give us a call or stop by the shop!

Taste of Winter

Posted on by AdminTRFS

After a very mild start to December its finally starting to feel a little bit more like winter in Central Wyoming.  Highs have consistently been in the 30s for the past week and we have even been getting a little snow.  Let’s keep hoping for more, especially in the upper drainage.  If you’ve been keeping up with our past reports, Alcova reservoir saw a serious decrease in lake level this October.  Well, that should begin to change on December 19, as they will begin filling the reservoir.  That being said, expect increased water flows on both the Miracle Mile and Fremont Canyon during this period.

As for the fishing, it is good.  Floating ice below Government Bridge has most folks spending their time on the upper river.  Nymphs and streamers are producing the numbers but don’t rule out fish on top when the midges start popping.  The fish are definetly oriented towards their winter haunts.  Softer edges and the lower half of the run seems to hold the larger concentrations of trout.  Pine squirrel leeches, reef worms, PALs, rhinestones, brassies, all-day mays have been our go-tos.  1-BBs and 4-7ft depending on the depth and speed of the water you’re fishing.  For the streamer fisherman out there, it’s still happening.  A small sink tip or intermediate line is the ticket.  Small articulated or bugger style patterns in tan or cream, olive and white have been the top producing colors on Grey Reef, Miracle Mile and Fremont Canyon.

 

Hoppertunities Abound! 7/20/2020

Posted on by The Reef Fly Shop

The fishing lately has been really fun, a good mix of nymphing, hoppers, and even a handful of streamers! Flows just dropped on The Mile and are still holding steady on Grey Reef and Fremont, but we do expect a drop in soon. The Weather has been in the low 90’s with some breeze in the afternoon which is a perfect storm for hopper fishing! If you haven’t experienced the hopper hatch on the Reef now is the time. We should have great dry fly fishing all the way into October!

The Rig: We’ve been fishing a really similar rig on all three tailwaters lately, an attractor up front like a Pat’s Rubber legs, Pine Squirrel Leech, or a san juan worm. We follow that up with a bead head fly like a Prince nymph, Pheasant Tail, Hare’s Ear, Poxypack PMD, Demon Sally or a tung teaser. For the bottom, some form of emerger as been good, midges and tricos in the AM switching to sallies, caddis and PMD’s in the PM. We’ve been fishing 3-4.5 Ft indicator to weight with 1-3 “BB’s” as our weight. 3x leaders going to 4x tippet on the smaller flies.

Miracle Mile 2,000 CFS- Clarity is off on the mile due to the reservoirs turning over, but that hasn’t affected the fishing. While the Golden Stonefly hatch is all but done the PMD’s, and Caddis are in full swing. You can try to throw some hoppers along the banks but nymphing has definitely been producing more fish.The is some floating vegetation but it’s really not too bad, it gets more prevalent the closer you get to Pathfinder. Right now the last bit of current before you reach the reservoir is around Chalk Bluffs. Use caution when driving around down there the lake is dropping and leaving the banks really soft. It is very easy to get stuck in that black stinky mud!

Fremont/Cardwell 1,600 CFS- Clarity is also pretty green right now, again it hasn’t affected the fishing. Fish are in all the cool “fishy” spots: shelves, drop offs, riffles and seams. We don’t recommend venturing into the Canyon section right now with the water being so swift.

Grey Reef-Casper 3,600 CFS- The clarity is great on the Reef and gets slightly green as you get closer to Casper. There is some floating vegetation out there if you stick to fishing the faster water and banks it’s not too much of an issue. The best thing you can do is make a proper backcast and most of that stuff comes right off. The hopper fishing has been insane some days and okay on others. South Fork Chernobyl, More-or-less hoppers in purple, pink goldenrod and tan, and the donkey kong hopper have all been winners! We’ve also been throwing some sallies behind our hoppers like the Headlight Sally, #16 rubberleg Stimi, or a clownshoe Sally.

 

As always if you have any questions or want top book your next trip give us a call at 307-232-9128!

NORTH PLATTE RIVER FLY FISHING REPORT 1/25/2020

Posted on by The Reef Fly Shop

Fishing has been great this week! Weekend temps look awesome, highs in the low 40’s and upper 30’s. Upper Grey Reef down to Lusby has opened and is floatable, we don’t know about anything lower than that. Shoulder season rates are going until March 14th $450 for a full day guided trip, 2 nights in a cottage and full day guided trip for $650
Fremont/cardwell is still at 500 CFS and will be there through mid February. They are doing warranty work on the power plant and are diverting the water through the meadow/canyon until they’re done. With this larger water focus your efforts on the slowest water you can find. Inside corners and tail outs have all been producing.
Miracle mile is also fishing well! The road out there is definitely passable, just be cautious of side roads. The drifts can be deceivingly bad. Fishing has been good nymphing, but especially with streamers. Keep your retrieve slow!
The BigHorn in Thermopolis fished great this week! Nymphing was solid with leeches, Annelids, and sow bugs. Streamer fishing was also productive, the olive peanut envy was our best fly. Fishing the slower flats with a fast retrieve on a sinking line worked best for us. We are offering a shoulder season special $475 for 1 day and $450/day for a multiple day trip!
Nymphs: BH Brassie, Flashbag Midge, Red Midge Larva, Juju Midge, leeches, Reef Worms, and Scuds.
Streamers: Rusty Trombone, Goldie, Kreelex, peanut Envy, DWFC Flash Minnow.
Dries: Brooks Sprout Midge, small Parachute Adams, Matt’s Midge, and a Griffiths Gnat.
As always if you want to book a trip or have any questions stop by the shop or give us a call at 307-232-9128

North Platte River Fly Fishing Report 1/20/2020

Posted on by The Reef Fly Shop

What a good weekend of fishing, we hit all three tailwaters and they are all fishing great! Flows in Fremont Canyon have been bumped to 500 CFS, we don’t know how long this will last but it’s a fun time to fish the meadow. We would recommend fishing the meadow and not venturing into the canyon at these flows. Leeches were the ticket up there, you’ll have to fish heavier and deeper than you normally would. Focus on the slowest, deepest water you can find, the inside corners and tail-outs all held fish. Like we said leeches were hot but also try Reef Worms, Scuds ,and Midges, we didn’t try it but swinging a streamer that could be productive. We will get up there this week and give some streamers a try.

Grey Reef is still locked up with ice above Lusby, so stick to wade fishing for the moment. All of the deeper runs below the dam are wadable and fishing well. The Mile produced some nice fish yesterday swing streamers! The road wasn’t perfect, but definitely passable. Be wary of some of the side roads leading down to the river, there are some nasty drifts going into certain runs.

Grey Reef- 500 CFS

Miracle Mile- 550 CFS

Fremont/Cardwell- 500 CFS

Nymphs: BH Brassie, Juju Midge, PAL, Red Midge Larva, Macgruber Midge, Biot Emerger, UV Emerger, Flashbang Midge, Pine Squirrel Leech, Scuds, and Reef Worms.

Streamers: Rusty Trombone, Goldie, Kreelex, Peanut Envy, Dungeons, and DWFC Flash Minnows.

Dries: Small Parachute Adams, Griffiths Gnat, Matt’s Midge, and Brook’s Sprout Midge.

We are heading up to the Big Horn in Thermopolis tomorrow and will have a report coming up this week. We are running a shoulder season special up there, $475 for a full day guided trip!

If you have any questions or want to book a trip, stop by the shop or give us a call at 307-232-9128!

 

Good Weekend for Some Fishing! North Platte Fly Fishing Report

Posted on by The Reef Fly Shop

Fishing has still been consistently good on our tailwater sections of the North Platte and with rising temps this weekend has some great fishing opportunities! Looks like highs in the mid 30’s with lots of sun and not much of that “W” word. Grey Reef is still frozen over at the “Three Islands” section of braids above lusby but there are plenty of great wade fishing options to be had. We DO NOT recommend portaging your boat over ice!!! If you do want to float give us a call and take advantage of our shoulder season guide rates! We have private put boat ramps that still allow us to float the upper Grey Reef. The Mile and fremont, both, are accessible and have been fishing great!

Patterns and techniques are all pretty similar on all our sections of the North Platte right now. Most of the fish are holding in the deeper, slower runs and pools. Nymph a little deeper and heavier, anywhere from 4-6 Ft indicator to weight with 1-2 “BB’s” as your weight. With streamers keep the retrieve really slow or slowly swing your flies in the deep sections on the river. On the right day we are seeing some fish feeding on the surface, pick your fish and have a nice soft presentation.

Nymphs: BH Brassie, Flashbang Midge in red and black, Red Midge Larva, PAL, Zebra Midge in red, black and purple, Scuds in olive, tan and orange, Pine Squirrel leeches in brown, black and olive, and Reef Worms in both red and purple.

Streamers: Rusty Trombone, Goldie, Peanut Envys in black, olive, and white, Dungeons in natural and white, and the Kreelex.

Dries: Parachute Adams #20-22, griffiths Gnat, and Matt’s Midge.

As always if you have any questions stop by the shop or give us a call at 307-232-9128!

Winter Time Fun! North Platte Fly Fishing Report

Posted on by The Reef Fly Shop

Things are getting cold around here, highs in the 20’s and lows in the teens. The Grey Reef is not floatable as of today, the river is frozen over just below Three Islands a mile or two above lusby. It is not advised to portage your boat over these frozen sections. That being said there are many great wade fishing options to be had right now!

Fremont Canyon/Cardwell 75 CFS- fishing has been solid up there, mostly nymphing but there have been some dry fly and streamer opportunities. Our top nymphs for up there are Flashbang midge, Red midge larva, Reef Worms, BH Brassies, and scuds in olive, tan, and orange. A griffiths gnat in #20 should fool those rising midge sippers this time of year.

Miracle Mile 500 CFS- As of right now the road from Alcova to the Mile is icy but open. Keep an eye on any winter storms, that road gets drifted pretty bad when it snows and blows. The fishing has been good out there, especially with a streamer. The goldie, rusty trombone, and the kreelex have been our top streamers. Keep that retrieve low and slow this time of  year.

 

Grey Reef 500 CFS- As we said the river should not be floated right now with it being frozen over in a few spots. We do have private take outs above the frozen sections and can still guide the reef though! The fishing has been great, we are seeing big, fat, healthy fish this winter that are fighting hard! Nymphing has been solid with Pine Squirrel leeches, rusty scuds, reef worms, macgruber midges, red midge larva, and flashbang midges. Focus your efforts on the bottom 2/3 of the run in the deeper, slower water. Streamers have also been picking up some nice fish. The Goldie, peanut envy in black, white, or olive, Dirty Water Fly Company flash minnows, and mini dungeons have all been producing!

 

As always, if you have any questions don’t hesitate to stop by the shop or give us a call at 307-232-9128

Don’t forget to ask about our shoulder season rates and packages! Fish the Reef and enjoy the lack of other fisherman in the Winter!!

 

Happy New Year! North Platte Fly Fishing Report

Posted on by The Reef Fly Shop

Winter fishing has been good! All three tailwaters are fishing great right now. As usual, nymphing has been producing, but we are finding a lot of nice fish that are willing to eat a streamer! The best days to fish in the wintertime are the sunny, calm days, keep an eye on the extended forecast and plan your trip around those nicer weather windows. Our top flies have been: Pine Squirrel Leech in black, natural and brown, Scuds in #14-18 orange, tan, and olive, Reef worms in #14-18 in red and purple, BH Brassie #18-22, Flashbang Midge in #18-20 black and red. and the Foamback Macgruber Midge #18-20. As far a streamers go the Kreelex, Rusty Trombone, and The Goldie have all been working well with a slower retrieve.

As always if you have any questions give us a call or stop by the shop!