Tag: north platte fly fishing

More Snow

Posted on by The Reef Fly Shop

It seems this year we are staying a little more consistent on the snow.  Southern and Central Wyoming has been seeing storm systems at least once, if not two times a week.  Snow pack in the North Platte drainage is anywhere from 116%-165%.  That’s pretty darn good if you ask us. Hopefully we continue to keep piling it on!

Now let’s talk about the conditions and the fishing…

Current Flows:

Grey Reef: 450cfs (*Floatable from Grey Reef Dam to Lusby.)   

Fremont Canyon: 76cfs  

Miracle Mile: 535cfs +/- (*As always this time of year use caution if you are thinking about venturing to the Mile.  Make sure to check with someone local and be prepared.)

What flies are working?  Here’s Mason Bouffard’s top pick nymphs….

PALs, rhinestones, leeches(brown, natural, UV brown and hot head) scuds(amber, orange and olive), reef worms and mayhems.

Remember to concentrate on the lower half of the run.  If the water looks deep and slow, fish it!

 

 

 

Back On Track

Posted on by The Reef Fly Shop

Whether its La Nina or just a wet weather pattern, we’ve been getting some decent moisture the past few weeks.  A few of these storms have made a mess of the lower river (Government Bridge-downstream) but it appears now that we are on the mend.  Currently, Grey Reef is flowing at 450cfs and fishable from the Dam to Glenrock.  It is still a little off colored through Casper but we wouldn’t hesitate putting a boat on.  Fremont Canyon is plugging along at the standard 75cfs and still off-colored due to Reservoir turnover.  Miracle Mile is also at winter flows and holding between 500-500cfs.

Streamers and nymphs are the program right now.  Not to say you can’t put together a decent dry fly day on Grey Reef because baetis and pseudos are still popping on a daily basis to some degree.  Our nymph program is pretty much the same for all three North Platte tailwaters.  Pine squirrel leeches, san juan worms, pheasant tails, Macgruber’s and PALs.  As far as streamers are concerned our guide crew is a little split.  Some of them are throwing small and dark (i.e. wounded sculpin aka Seth special, peacock buggers, twin lakes special) and the rest are in the articulated camp (i.e. rusty trombones, articulated goldies, articulated ebony, mini dungeons).  For streamers we have been mainly throwing floating or intermediate lines.

Our phone at the shop is currently down.  We are hoping to have it fixed asap and apologize for any inconvenience.   

Trico Time!

Posted on by AdminTRFS

As we hit the middle of August Tricos are in full swing here on the Reef and the fishing is still great! We are seeing a very healthy Trico hatch from early in the morning until about 9-10am. If you’re nymphing black RS2s and Mayhem Midges have been the ticket. We haven’t been seeing too much surface action for the Trico hatch, but if you hit it on the right day you can have some shots at sipping trout. Throwing smaller mayfly patterns or trico specific flies might get these sippers to eat. As the day goes on PMD’s, Yellow Sallies, Caddis, and Stoneflies have all been in the mix and productive. As was the case in early August, some sort of flashy bead head with an emerger off the back can’t really be beaten when nymphing. We have yet to see hopper action pick up, but that may mean just a later and greater season on that front. Of course we have to cover the topic of grass and weeds in the river as well because this time of year is when they really pop up. Surprisingly this year it isn’t that bad yet, but it seems like the grass is growing by the minute. The key to fishing when the weeds really come in is finding where channels open up and drifting your nymph rigs through there. Looking for faster current and deeper shelves where there grass doesn’t grow as high should be your target. Your first instinct may be to shorten up and lighten up in order to drift over the weeds, but you’d be surprised to see how many trout are actually living in the grass, making drifting a little bit deeper through the channels much more effective.

That’s all for this report, hopefully next report we will be able to give you all some good news about the hopper bite!

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.

 

Dropping Flows and Cold Weather

Posted on by The Reef Fly Shop

At midnight, the flows on Grey Reef started decreasing.  After weeks of living at 1,500cfs, Grey Reef is now settling in at its winter flow(500cfs).  We are also soaking in our last day of 90 degree temperatures, as a substantial cold front bears down on the West.  Projected highs Tuesday are expected to top out in the high 30s, with lows in the teens.  Talk about a temperature shift!  Welcome to Wyoming.  Good thing is, it will be short lived.  We will be seeing highs in the 70s by weeks end.  As for the fishing, it continues to only get better and with another drop in flows, the dry fly fishing should be excellent for the coming weeks.  Our guides are continuing to locate sizable pods of fish in the morning feeding on tricos and transitioning to nymph rigs or hopper/dropper rigs in the afternoon.  Water clarity is excellent, so be prepared to throw some lighter tippet.  Streamer fishing will also start becoming a larger part of the daily program.  Woohoo!  That’s what makes this time of year so great, you can do it all in a days fishing on the North Platte.

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!

Current Fishing Report

Posted on by The Reef Fly Shop

I guess let us start with the conditions.  Current flows as of 11:00am on July 19 are as follows:

GREY REEF-3,600cfs, clear from Grey Reef Dam to Glenrock.

MIRACLE MILE-2,400cfs, clear.

FREMONT CANYON/CARDWELL-1,350cfs, clear.

GREY REEF-  We are still living a little bit in “the between” zone.  Baetis have tapered off and PMDs are the next big hatch.  The nymphs are definitely starting to get more active so you’ll want some PMDs nymphs in the box.  San juans, pine squirrel leeches, various midge patterns, pheasant tails, caddis and PMDs are going to be the go-to nymph patterns.  You can fish them heavy and short(3-4ft/1-2AAA) to the banks or lengthen out(6-7ft/1-3AAA) and hit the inside seams and/or shelves.  If your wanting to get away from the nymph program we have been moving some good fish on streamers, as well pitching foam flies to the banks.

MIRACLE MILE-  Although we have seen very few adults, golden stone nymphs are on the menu.  Pat’s rubber legs has been our number one fly on the Mile for the past few weeks.  Other than that, worms, pheasant tails and foam-wing RS2s are producing as well.  FYI 2,400cfs is a wade fishing friendly level for the Mile.

FREMONT CANYON/CARDWELL-  If your familiar with Fremont, then you already aware that the flows are up, way up.  Minimum flow is 72cfs.  That being said, if you’ve never fished it at a higher flow, prepare yourself.  It’s a different animal.  The canyon will be more or less inaccessible and crossing the river is not an option.  As we posted before you will want to concentrate on the inside.  Find the soft water!  San juans, leeches, craneflies, crayfish and caddis…be prepared to adjust length/weight from spot to spot.

Well, thats what we’ve been seeing on the North Platte Tailwater’s.  Weather is really starting to get nice around here and the best fishing of the season, in my opinion, is yet to happen.  Please stop in if your in the area!