Tag: Grey Reef 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!

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!

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

Posted on by hosting@thebarkfirm.com

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.

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!

Why North Platte Lodge in 2020?

Posted on by AdminNPL

This is why^

Current Fishing report for Miracle Mile and Grey Reef is very good and the outlook is excellent. Clarity and temps are great at both venues. Grey Reef flows remain at 3600cfs and Miracle Mile flows are 2400cfs. Expect solid PMD, caddis and Yellow Sallie hatches at both tailwaters while Miracle Mile is enjoying excellent Golden Stone Fly activity and that should continue for the next couple weeks!

Fishing: What to expect for the remainder of 2020? Hoppers and Tricos in the near future! Central Wyoming is littered with grasshoppers and it’ll make for some of the funnest fishing you’ve ever experienced. Mid July through mid September is the range. Tricos are our daily and ultra consistent dry fly opportunity from mid July through mid October. Psuedo and crane fly fishing will ramp up mid September then the baetis will take over from there and stealing some glory from the daily caddis activity that covers the rest of the season. Streamer activity will be solid throughout with it really picking up mid October through mid November. Nymphing wont slow down and resident invertebrates keep our trout fat all year long.

Hunting: We start our big game hunting program in August with archery antelope and continue through November adding elk and deer to the schedule. Sage Grouse opens the 3rd week of September and is always a popular cast and blast option. Don’t miss this! Early season waterfowl starts late September and is another excellent cast and blast option.

Access, Experience and Location This is why you choose North Platte Lodge and The Reef Fly Shop, Cottages & RV.  We are the only private properties at Grey Reef, nothing can touch our location. Experience, simply put the most experienced crew on the lower North Platte River…bar none. We are the first permitted Grey Reef guiding operation, first lodge and shop on the river, since 1998 anglers have trusted us to provide an unparalleled angling experience. We employ sporting techniques and set the bar with regard to rejecting non sporting angling approaches. Our guides won’t take you down that rabbit hole because their experience and knowledge of the river means they don’t have to.

Accommodations and new lodging programs: North Platte Lodge Overlooking upper Grey Reef, the lodge welcomes up to 12 anglers in 6 rooms. Book as a single angler up to corporate and group options consuming the entire facility. A traditional lodge package includes all meals and guided fishing or hunting. The ultimate in convenience and seclusion with great meals and incredible views. The boat main ramp is one minute away. 2020 B&B Option due to the odd circumstances of 2020 we have some lodge vacancies and have begun to offer a bed and breakfast option. Book the entire lodge for your party of up to 12 guests with minimum stay of 3 eves. Breakfast is provided. Lunch and dinner can be enjoyed off site or you can add that service as an a la carte option. You may also add guided fishing trips as an a la carte option. Wyoming has become very popular during the covid era due to our seclusion, fresh air, and economical yet high quality and authentic experiences. Cottages and RV sites We have 4 great vacation rentals at The Reef Fly Shop that have full kitchens and grills and house up to 4 guests each. They are always a popular choice for our guided fishing guests, unguided anglers and those wanting to explore the Alcova area’s historic, and cultural sites and our local water recreation lakes (Alcova and Pathfinder Reservoirs) a stone’s throw away. The RV sites are basic and feature 20/30/50 amp service with sewer and fresh water available and the best bathhouse in the biz.

The Reef Fly Shop  307.232.9128 This is where you go for the most up to date advice, grab some bugs and a Bufftrout cap, book a 2 hour primer trip (intro to Grey Reef) or a half or full day guided fishing trip, rent a drift boat or grab a six pack or 2. Top shelf gear at Grey Reef and one minute to the main boat ramp…

Let’s be diligent and have a great time in 2020.

 

 

Spring Fly Fishing, Barbless Pledge and the Flushing Flows

Posted on by AdminNPL

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

 

 

Spring Fly Fishing, Barbless Pledge and the Flushing Flows

Posted on by hosting@thebarkfirm.com

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

 

 

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!