THE REEF FLY SHOP REPORT 2012:
FOR MORE UPDATED REPORTS AND PHOTOS- VISIT THE REEF FLY SHOP ON FACEBOOK!
1/11 After days of really nice weather we are finally back in the snow and cold. Yesterday I sat at Grey Reef Dam and watched Brad put hammer on some fish-courtesy an amber scud. He was the only one on Grey Reef at the time, catching fish and enjoying the 40 degree weather.
1/5 We will not be attending the shows in Denver, CO this year. We are traveling the country giving presentations to various fly fishing clubs and tu chapters. A few us will be attending the shows just to check things out.
1/3/2012 It's shocking the nice weather we have been having!! You gotta love when your have temperatures above freezing in January!!! Fishing continues to be goodon Grey Reef, Miracle Mile, and Fremont Canyon.
1/1/2012 HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!! Thank you to everyone for your continued support-looking forward to a fantastic 2012!!!!
12/25 MERRY CHRISTMAS!!! Well we have had a little more winter on the North Platte. Regardless, the fishing remains good if you can handle the cold. We are starting to see some ice build up downstream of Ledge Crk. on upper Grey Reef. The Miracle Mile road is a little icy and drifting in spots, so if your headed that way-USE CAUTION!
12/14 Just returned from giving a presentation to the TU chapter in Jackson, WY. Great turnout!!! As for the Platte, fishing continues to be good on Grey Reef, Fremont Canyon and the Miracle Mile. Got a text from Brad...he went fishing yesterday afternoon and had a lights out day. A 24" brown and a 23" rainbow.
12/9 Finally got the chance to sneak up to Fremont Canyon for a few hours. Small bugs were the ticket! Reef worm, hunchback scud a a brassie(red)...all size 18 and smaller. Lots of nice fish 16"-20" and putting up a fight. If your planning on fishing Fremont PLEASE PINCH YOUR BARBS!!! It is a small fishery and with the increasing pressure it is a must!!! Thanks!
12/6 Apologies for the delay! We have had some seriously cold weather move into Central Wyoming the past few days. With temperatures well below 0 at night the lower river has begun to freeze in certain sections.
12/1 Had a couple of really nice days earlier this week but we are back to snow/cold this morning. Managed to get out and fish around the Cable Hole-Outhouse yesterday afternoon. Fish were pounding an olive burgin bugger. Had two big rainbows over the 21" mark.
11/28 Lot of folks out and about over the weekend!! All the reports we have been hearing are good. Grey Reef, Miracle Mile, and Fremont have been fishing well. Nymphs are the bread n butter setup. Leeches, worms, scuds and midge stuff are working on all three tailwaters. As for streamers, they continue to work well on a little slower strip. Try trailing a pine squirrel leech behind a goldie or olive burgin bugger.
11/24 HAPPY THANKSGIVING!!!
11/23 Miracle Mile is fishing well. The water color is still a little off for this time of year but fly fisherman have been doing well on nymphs and streamers. Bulk of the fish are coming out on the soft edges and seams-as well as tailouts. Nymphs-egg patterns, leeches and worms.
11/22 Seth had a great day with the McNeil group yesterday-chucking streamers on upper Grey Reef. Goldie with a PSL (pine squirrel leech) trailer.
11/20 Had a little snow and wind move into the area over the weekend but we still had trips out of the shop. Fishing remains good on Grey Reef, Miracle Mile, and Fremont.
11/16 Yesterday was a gorgeous day! High 30s and very little wind! Managed to sneak out on Grey Reef for about two hours in the afternoon. Had several really nice fish pound a streamer (stalkup's dad) on a slower strip. Brad nymphed and managed to do well on worms and midge stuff.
11/13 What was I talking about... Rick and the Medina boys had a lights out day streamer fishing upper Grey Reef. I guess the fish were pounding the big bugs!!! As for the weather...it is WINDY!!! The last two days I think we have averaged winds in 30-40mph range with gusts to 65mph. Miracle Mile and Fremont continue to fish well but have been crowded.
11/11 Still picking up fish on streamers but the fish are not as "grabby". Consider slowing down your strip with the colder water temperatures. Nymphing has been very good on the standard bugs...leeches, PALs, etc.
11/7 A little more wind and cold on Grey Reef yesterday but from what our guides reported-the fishing was still good. Just got Seth and his boys on the river this morning and it looks like it's going to be a beautiful day! No wind and pretty comfortable temperatures!
11/6 Seth and Rick had a great day on the upper river yesterday!! Ended up being a beautiful day and the guides on the rod never even froze.
11/2 It snowed all day yesterday and it's finally clearing out this am. Road conditions are poor, so if your thinking about heading this way...be careful! Our guide boats yesterday, despite the snow and cold, had a lights out day!! 10 brown trout hit the inside of their nets....pretty impressive!!!
11/1 Well, we have had guide boats all over the countryside the past week. From what we are seeing the fishing remains good and we have been the only ones on the river!!! The lower stretches of Grey Reef (Sechrist-Glenrock) are starting to experience some serious shifts in water temperature. We put on Sunday and the temperature was 37.5F and when we took off it was 48F. It was a nymphing game in the morning and the fish were sluggish. The past two days the boys have been on the upper river stripping streamers and nymphing with great results!!
10/31 HAPPY HALLOWEEN!
10/27 Had a good afternoon stripping streamers and nymphing the upper. Fished an olive beldar bug with a obs behind it and the fish were in the mood to chase!! Pretty much everything we landed was 17"-19".
10/26 So much for the snow. Got a little bit but it's much pretty gone already. Have some trips going out this afternoon so we will keep you posted...
10/25 7:46 am. It's snowing!!! Dime-sized flakes are pounding down in the Alcova area. Looks like it's going to be a good one!! The boys had another great day on the water yesterday. They all headed down low and from the sounds of it the big fish were on the feed. Lots of fish, 19"-22".
10/24 Pretty busy weekend up on Grey Reef! Had guides out over the entire weekend-from primer trips to full day floats. Fishing was pretty awesome from the reports I gathered. Granted it's a mix bag...fish from 10" to 22"...but lots of them. The water below Grey Reef is pretty off colored due to the flucuation of Grey Reef Res. but it clears up nicely once you get below Government Bridge. As for Miracle Mile and Fremont Canyon-they both are fishing well but continue to be crowded.
10/21 What a nice week!!! Weather has been beautiful the past few days. Miracle Mile, Fremont Canyon, and Grey Reef all continue to fish well. Our guides/guests have been catching some really nice fish the past few days. I would have to say streamer fishing has been the ticket for the big ones. We have been seeing a good number of baetis below Grey Reef-the guys are managing a few fish on top.
10/18 Had a pretty good rain event yesterday but as of this morning the river is back on track!! Had guides stretched out all over the countryside....Miracle Mile to Glenrock. Fishing remains good and streamer fishing has been excellent. Congrats to Kirk and guide Rick on a 26.5" brown.(pic posted on TRFS facebook page)
10/14 Grey Reef is looking great from Alcova to Glenrock. Have had guides on virtually every piece of water the past few days. They have been catching big numbers nymphing crawdads, leeches, worms, and baetis patterns. Streamer fishing has yielded the larger fish.
10/11 River conditions are improving below Grey Reef...clarity downstream to Casper is good. Had a nice day off yesterday...finally a day without boats on the water. Have guides out again today on several stretches of Grey Reef. Nymphs and streamers have been the ticket from Grey Reef to Glenrock. Getting fish to eat streamers on a fast strip. Miracle Mile continues to fish well but is choked up with antelope,deer, and elk hunters. Fremont has also been fishing well but has been extremely crowded the past few weeks.
10/9 Grey Reef is blown out downstream of Lusby. Yesterday's all day rain event got the best of the river. From what our guides are saying every access from Gov. Bridge to Glenrock is a nice shade of mud. We will keep you posted!
10/8 Rain/snowed pretty much all night in the Alcova area. Grey Reef is pretty off-colored below Bates Crk. Other than that, the weather is ideal for a little streamer fishing. Mid 40s, overcast and light rain. We still have boats on the water today-they have the river to themselves.
10/7 The boys had a great day down low yesterday til the weather hit. It went from calm and 60, to blowing and 40 in a matter of minutes. As I write this report I am watching waves roll over the top of Grey Reef dam...we canceled our trips today. It looks like tomorrow may shape up to be a nice one.
10/5 The Miracle Mile got off-colored again. It looks like our reservoirs are turning over. Grey Reef is clear below Gov. Bridge and the fishing is good all the way to Casper. We have been having some really good streamer fishing the past weeks, catching some big fish.
10/3 Everybody went down low yesterday. It was a real quite day up on Grey Reef with a few folks wadefishing around the dam. Our guide boats did well nymphing (san juans,PSLs) and managed a few nice fish stripping streamers. Looks like we will have some weather moving in towards the end of the week so we may start to see some more baetis.
10/1 All the guides and guests continue to come back with good reports. There are alot of small fish being caught but they are managing alot of nice fish as well. With the water falling to it's winter levels it's neat to see the changes to certain runs on Grey Reef. Gravel and sand have shifted making new gravel bars as well as taking some away. It will be a different river to some degree by spring 2012. Alot of the silt/sediment load as been moved away, making for a clean bottom. The fish population is incredible from what we've seen-representatives from every possible age class-4"to 24". This fishery is only going to get better in the years to come.
9/28 The boys had a great day one the water yesterday. Floated Bessmer down and fished leeches and worms all day with great results. They also did well throwing streamers across the runs and to any bank structure with current. Congrats to Bill Cogdall and Grey Reef guide Seth on a 7lb bow!
9/26 Sorry for the little bit of a delay, we have been swamped with trips. Had guides and guests out from the Miracle Mile to below Casper over the weekend. Lots of good reports and everybody was doing something a little different. Hopper/dropper, nymphing and streamers are all productive methods right now on the North Platte. Congrats to Dave Murphy on a 24" rainbow.
9/22 Things are getting back to normal. We are staying busy but we are back to our normal 4-6 boats a day. Had 5 boats on the water yesterday and everyone came back with happy guests. Throwing dries on the upper, Miracle Mile, wadefishing below Grey Reef-we had the guides stretched out. I headed up to the Mile with Fowler group and had a great day on the water. Can't even guess how many fish saw the inside of the net. PSLs, hh mohair leeches, and san juans were the ticket...even managed a few on the strip. Water color is improving on the Mile, it's tannic but clearing. For updated photos/news check out The Reef Fly Shop FACEBOOK page.
9/20 Grey Reef is at 1,000cfs. Miracle Mile is at 1,200cfs. Had 5 guide boats on the water again yesterday and from the sounds of it fishing was solid. Streamers, dries, and nymphs all produced fish-just depends on the time of day and type of water. Congrats to Darren Sanders and guide Seth on a 25" brown.
9/19 The guides had another good one on the water!!! The one down side...lots of smaller fish. Miracle Mile is starting to improve drastically on water color. Granted by NO means is it clear but it is getting better. Fremont Canyon has been fishing well from what I have heard but the crowds have been ridiculous.
9/17 5:51pm. Our boys have just started getting back to the shop. Fun was had by all. The fishing was silly!!! Seth and Rick and their respective anglers fished dries pretty much all day. JJ floated down low and hammered the fish on nymphs (worms, leeches, crawdads, etc.). As for the rest of the gang...the did well on the upper on scuds and leeches.
9/15 Seth, Stu, Rick, JJ, Ryan and Brad all had GREAT fising yesterday with their guests. They all did floats between Grey Reef and Sechrist. From the sounds of it the fish were really keyed in on leeches and crawdads. The water continues to drop on Grey Reef and it still sounds like we should see 500cfs by the end of the month.
9/12 More good reports continue to come back from our guides. Still seeing fish up on tricos in the morning. Nymphing is really good from Grey Reef to Casper. We are also starting to get a decent number of fish on streamers...depending on the day.
9/8 According to Bur of Rec Grey Reef will be at 500cfs by Sept. 27. As for the fishing all 5 of our guide boats came back with good reports. JJ had really good fishing on the upper in the am with a little bit of a slow spell mid-day. Our guests and guides on the Mile did well on leeches and stones.
9/6 What an amazing couple of days!!!! The weather the past three days has been ideal. 70s and no wind...with a touch of fall in the air. Everything continues to fish good...steady fishing start to finish.
9/3 Had guides from Miracle Mile to Casper today. Everybody is coming back with good reports!!! Stu and and myself, along with the Bresnahan's floated Lusby to Sechrist and the nymphing was solid from start to finish. Mainly crawdads and leech patterns. As for the other groups we had several guests land big fish on hoppers. Granted it wasn't on fire, the fish that ate were solid!
8/31 Managed 16 eats on hoppers yesterday afternoon. There are definetly some fish looking up. Just got off the phone with the Bur. of Rec.-Grey Reef will be dropping to 2,000-2,500cfs by mid-month and we should be back down to 500cfs by October 1st.
8/30 Trico fishing below Grey Reef this morning was nuts. There was a 10-20 fish pod right a the boat ramp. Nymphing has been ok on Grey Reef...our guides/guests have been concentrating on the dry fly activity, especially tricos and caddis. Congrats to Brian Vinchur and guide JJ on a 25" rainbow on a HOPPER!!
8/26 Apologies for the HUGE delay. We have been running 7-10 boats a day for the last week. The fishing continues to be good. Still picking a few on hoppers but nothing crazy YET. We have been on all three tailwaters; Grey Reef, Miracle Mile, and Fremont. Did fish nothing but dries the other day and did very well on tricos in the morning, ok with hoppers, and saw hundreds of rising fish in the evening on caddis and midges. Congrats to Doug McCain on a 25" brown! Congrats to Sean Wilson on a 26" rainbow!
8/21 Had a good day yesterday! Wadefished in the am and then floated Grey Reef to Lusby in the afternoon. Managed a few fish on hoppers, otherwise a partridge caddis and mini impaler were the nymphs of choice. Our boats down low continue to do well on on Pat's rubber legs, crawdizzle's, and hh mohair leeches. Congrats to the Thompson boys and guide Stu on a 21" hopper eating brown.
8/19 Busy day for TRFS. We had nine boats on the water today and from the sounds of it fishing was pretty good. Fish on hoppers, streamers and nymphs. I floated down low (Gov. Bridge to Bessmer Bend) concentrating on throwing streamers to the bank. The few places we tried nymphing were very productive with crawdad patterns and leeches. The fish were not crazy over the streamer by consistent enough to keep our interest.
8/17 Blanket trico hatch this morning on Grey Reef! Saw four of our boats posted up in various spots fishing to pods of rising fish. Report continues to stay the same-few fish on hoppers and good nymphing start to finish. The water color on the Miracle Mile is still VERY POOR but the guys are still managing a few fish.
8/15 Our guides and guests spent their morning at Fremont nymph fishing in the meadow. At around 11am they made their way to Grey Reef and managed to catch fish on hoppers, streamers, and nymphs.
8/13 All of our guides spent there day from Grey Reef Dam to Sechrist. The fishing was really good in the morning but tapered off in the afternoon. We continue to do well on tricos in the morning and then switching over to nymphing for the afternoon with a few hopper grabs mixed in.
8/10 Had North Platte guides from Fremont to Casper yesterday. Once again everyone came back with good reports. From the sounds of it the guys are seeing lots of hoppers down low but the fish aren't really looking up quite yet. The Miracle Mile continues to fish well but water clarity is poor. Congrats to Jim Taylor and guide Stu on a 24" rainbow!
8/8 JJ and the Prussia boys had, according to JJ one of the best big fish days of the year. "More fish over 20" then I could even count!" JJ said. HH mohair leech and PSLs all day long on Grey Reef. Trico's continue to be THE early morning hatch to fish dries on the upper. As for the hopper's, we continue to pick up fish here and there but it is not yet in full swing.
8/6 BUSY couple of days on the North Platte. Lots of folks out and about this Friday and Saturday on Grey Reef. Our guides/guests continue to do well throwing tricos in the am, then nymphing mixed in with some hoppers in the afternoon. Pretty much everyone that has fished with us the past few days have re-booked for next year. Gotta love fly fishing on Grey Reef-Miracle Mile-Fremont Canyon this time of year!!!!
8/3 The guides continue to come back with good reports. They did well fishing dries yesterday morning. There was a thick blanket of tricos on Grey Reef along with overcast skies, perfect ingredients for a dry fly start to the day. I slipped down below the lodge for a couple hours in the evening and watched fish hammer caddis until it was too dark to see.
8/1 We continue to have boats on the water daily and the fishing has been excellent. Starting to pick up fish on dries with some consistency. Tricos in the early am and caddis,sallies, and/or hoppers in the afternoon. As far as the nymphing goes it's been borderline silly. Congrats to Jim Hayden and guide Stu on a 25" rainbow.
7/29 Yesterday was a well deserved day off. What did everyone do on their day off? Seth and Erik chased carp at Pathfinder, JJ floated his folks down Grey Reef, Ryan and Brad went after walleye, Stu hit the Middle Fork, Rick went camping/fishing with his kids and Katherine and I fished Fremont. As for the fishing today...we had five boats on the water and everyone reported "lights out" fishing. Stu and his boys landed four browns over 20" on the Mile along with many others. The boats on Grey Reef caught fish all day nymphing the banks and seams. JJ reported as being one of his most fish days of the season. That's saying something!
7/27 Grey Reef is going down. As of this morning Grey Reef flows are at 6,500cfs. It should continue to go down over the next several days until they reach 4,500cfs. As for the fishing...it has been awesome the past few days!!! Lots of big fish being caught and we are catching fish daily on dries.
7/24 Went up to Fremont with guest Buddy Williams for a few hours yesterday. Caught some really nice fish on purple san juans and mini impalers. As for the rest of our guides we had 5 boats below the Bridge and one stayed up top. The lower river group did very well pitching worms and pmd/caddis/sallie stuff to the banks.
7/23 Grey Reef is still flowing around 7,500cfs. It should start to lower this coming week. Starting to see a fair number of hoppers along the bank, a few of our guides and anglers are managing some hopper eats in the afternoon. We continue to be VERY busy...to be honest the phone has been ringing off the hook...and for good reason. July fishing on Grey Reef, Miracle Mile and Fremont Canyon has been extremely good. Congrats to guide JJ and angler Dave on a 24" rainbow! Check out THE REEF FLY SHOP facebook page for updated photos.
7/20 Yesterday we had boats from the Mile to Robertson rd. in Casper. The folks at the Mile reported good fishing start to fish. Stones, worms, and a hot head leech seemed to be the ticket. As for the rest of the fly shop guide boats, it was a little slow to start but got really good in the afternoon. Congrats to Don Barnard and guide Rick on a 25" rainbow.
7/18 Rumor on the street is GREY REEF will be dropping this next week. Flows are projected to go down to 4,500cfs. Did check Seminoe inflows this morning and they are down below 10,000cfs. We will keep you posted!
7/16 Sorry for the delay...we have been swamped. Fishing has been good the past couple of days. Fished the upper and it was great fishing to the banks with san juan's and pmds. Yesterday we sent 4 of the 8 boats down low (Bridge-Bessmer). Was pretty tough in the am but was great in the afternoon. Guide Rick and NPL guest Mike Owens fished streamers with great results. Pounding the banks with a goldie produced lots of fish, 18"-22".
7/13 Yesterday's overcast and calm conditions brought lots of fish to the top on PMDs. As for the nymphing it was steady all day...not on fire, but steady. Did see my first batch of tricos and there were a few fish coming up early in the am. Should only get better. The lower river did experience a "burp" of mud from last nights rain event.
7/10 Fishing continues to be good. Have boats on the water from Grey Reef to Casper and trips up at the Mile every couple of days. Still sticking fish on dries at the Mile. The nymphing on Grey Reef is best with worm patterns and pmds and/or sallies.
7/8 8 guides out today spanning from Fremont Canyon to Grey Reef-Sechrist. Fishing was steady pretty much all day. 4-6ft, 1-2ABs and a worm/sally/pmd rig. I have to say the yellow sally hatch down low is off the charts. Had a little more wind yesterday therefore the dry fly activity was a little slow. Congrats to Don Maloney on a 23.5" brown trout.
7/6 The guys are starting to see a good number of fish on top. The Grey Reef sally hatch has been one for the books. Ran the boys shuttles down to Bessmer yesterday and the air was thick with sallies. Also, still seeing a good number of goldens on the Mile-with plenty of fish still eating on top!
7/4 HAPPY 4th of JULY!!! More great reports continue to come back from our guides and guests. With Grey Reef at 7,500cfs the guys have been heading down low(Gov.-Casper) and doing really well. Worms, leeches, pmds, and sallies have been the bugs of choice!
7/2 6 guides out today and the fishing was unbelievable. Many of our guests were speechless when we asked how the day was, and many of these guests have a significant history of fishing Grey Reef. We did have a few guests fishing the Reef for the first time and they were tickled. Dry fly fishing is on at Miracle Mile and so are the holiday weekend crowds! Fremont has been largely abandoned due to high water. The fish at Fremont are as hot as they get! Nay sayers and big water skeptics aught to come and see what your missing. You won't be disappointed!
6/28 The guides are reporting seeing some adult golden stones on the Miracle Mile. The water is still very off-colored but the fish have been hammering worm and stone patterns. As for Grey Reef the fishing continues to be very good on various worms and pmd/sally/caddis patterns. Congrats to Lee Parks and guide JJ on a 23" bow!
6/26 What can I say...the fishing continues to be excellent. Have had guides on the big three the past several days- Grey Reef, Fremont Canyon, and Miracle Mile. Stu and his guests wadefished Cardwell access with great results. Seth and Rick did well on a dry/dropper rig on the Mile. As for Grey Reef it's producing lots of really nice fish...worms,pmds, and sallies.
6/24 Really enjoyed the films at the film tour last night! Thank you to all that attended! It was a really good turn out. Same things going on out here, fishing's great on both the Miracle Mile and Grey Reef. The water out at the Mile continues to resemble a shade of chocolate milk but by no means has it had a negative impact on the fishing. The golden stones are just starting to show themselves.
FLY FISHING FILM TOUR! Join us tommorrow evening Thursday the 23rd at the Iris Theater in the Old Yellowstone District of downtown Casper, WY. Doors open at 6PM and the show starts at 7PM. Reverve a $15 advanced ticket or you can pay $20 at the door. Beer and Wine will be available. Visit us before the show and during intermission. We will have plenty of free stuff available at our table as well as in the free raffles. This is a really fun event and if you haven't been to one now is as good of a chance as you will get. See you tomorrow eve!
6/21 All is well in Alcova. Grey Reef has cleared up nicely and the fishing is back on track. Had six guide boats on the water today and everyone reported good fishing. San juan and PMD patterns in the morning and worms in the afternoon. Lots of really nice fish!!!
6/20 Yesterday's rain event has turned Grey Reef a nice shade of mud! We will keep you posted as conditions change!
6/19 HAPPY FATHER'S DAY!!! The gang had another bang up day on Grey Reef. A short (6ft) rig to a single 3/0 split was the rig of choice along with a mini bugger, hot-head leech, san juan(purple), san juan(red), and poxyback. I am not going to spout out numbers....but our guide boats have been having AWESOME fishing on Grey Reef and Miracle Mile. The Mile is still pretty off-colored and the goldens have yet to show themselves but it is only a matter of time. Posted up some new photos on The Reef Fly Shop facebook page. Every NPL/TRFS guide boat on the water yesterday boated a fish over 22"...so congrats to everyone!!!
6/17 Been hitting it hard the past couple of days. Had TRFS guides/guests on everything from Grey Reef to Miracle Mile. Miracle Mile has been fishing really well with worm patterns and stonefly nymphs. Keep in mind if your headed that way, water conditions are high and murky. As for Grey Reef it is still awesome...lots of fishing eating pmds and little red worm patterns. Congrats to Micheal De Maria of Pheonix, AZ on a couple of 22"+ fat Mile bows.
6/15 Had guides on both Grey Reef and the Miracle Mile today. From the sounds of it the fishing was really good. Same program on Grey Reef, worms and pmds. As for the Mile, it was worms and leeches. Not too much longer and the golden stones should be coming off on the Mile. We will be back at again tommorrow so as always we will keep everyone posted.
6/14 Seth just stopped in the office this evening after a long days work. It was another Wyoming June day-70 and very little wind til this afternoon. When asked about the fishing he replied with one word, "ridiculous". He fished 6.5ft, 3 BBs, and worm/pmd combo to get the job done.
6/13 The fishing was was on fire today! All of our boats on Grey Reef caught lots of really nice fish with several hitting the 23" mark. Worms were the ticket! Purple, red, tiger...you name it they ate it!
6/11 Talk about beautiful weather-the past couple of days have been off the charts. 70 degrees and no wind...to top it off, the fishing has been solid. All of our guides have been reporting great fishing. There has been a little after lunch slow spell but other than that we have had lots of happy guests. John of Yakima, Washington and guide Ryan landed a 24" rainbow yesterday. Congrats! If anyone is having any doubts about fly fishing Grey Reef in the high water, come and see for yourself!
6/9 Had six guide boats out yesterday and everyone floated Grey Reef to Government Bridge. Sounds like the fishing was on fire in the morning then tapered off in the afternoon. The boys have been doing very well on worms and various pmd patterns. Fishing 5-8.5ft and 1-3BBs.
6/8 5240 bridge upstream of Sechrist has about 3 feet of clearance. We would strongly suggest not floating to Sechrist...it could be hazardous to your health!
6/6 Was on the water again today with longtime friends/guests Mike and Bob from Chicago, IL. Floated Grey Reef to Whitetail access (downstream of Gov. Bridge) and the fishing was really good in the morning and slowed down in the afternoon. Red or purple san juan worm with a Mercer poxyback trailer were the flies of choice.
6/4 Water on Grey Reef continues to go up and the fishing is solid. We had three different groups run up to the Miracle Mile yesterday. Showed up to some pretty cloudy water conditions...but it did not effect the fishing. Wadefishing all the spots along banks, we managed alot of solid fish...pretty much all on a san juan worm(red). Congrats to Ron Gard on a 25" brown!
6/2 Our guides on Grey Reef continue to report excellent fishing. Brad and Bill took a day and fished the Miracle Mile...from the sounds of it the fishing was good. Worms and stones. With all of this high water we think worms will continue to be on the menu almost daily. I took a couple of hours and stripped a streamer up at Fremont Canyon(Cardwell). The fishing was good! Pretty much everything ate the goldie on a fast strip/swing. Landed three browns along with a few solid rainbows.
6/1 Yesterday was one for the books. 70 degrees, no wind, and great fishing. From the sounds of it all of our guide boats reported really good fishing on Grey Reef from start to finish. John Sias, another North Platte veteran reported some of the best fishing of his North Platte Lodge career. Once again, worms and baetis. Congrats to Tim and guide Stu on a 25.5" rainbow!
5/30 A couple days of big wind in Central Wyoming. We have been getting hammered by the wind and rain the past few days. The fishing continues to be AWESOME and the guides and guests are still managing a FULL day on the water. Grey Reef and Miracle Mile are both fishing very well. We have been seeing alot of really large fish. Congrats to Taylor and Doug along with guide Stu on two 26"+ rainbows. Congrats to Scy Thomas and guide JJ on 22" and 23" bows.
5/28 Had guides on both Grey Reef and Miracle Mile today. Weather ended far better than previously forecasted...wind went dead this afternoon. As far as Grey Reef was concerned, it was the standard BIG WATER fare, worms and baetis. The Mile fish were also on the worm but the guides reported plenty of fish in the stones. Congrats to Taylor Kirkpatrick and guide Stu on two 23" rainbows!
5/27 Guides and guests had another bang up day fly fishing Grey Reef. All seven of our boats floated from the top to either Gov. Bridge or Whitetail. Fish were all over the purple san juan and foam wing RS2(grey).
5/25 The boats just got back in and reported another awesome day on the water. The Kramer group, who has been fishing with us for 8 years can not stop talking about the how many big fish they've caught. Ben West was quoted saying, "this has been the best fishing trip of life...anywhere!". Congrats to Denny Landers and guide Seth on 2 20"+ browns.
5/23 PATHFINDER RESERVOIR is spilling! If your out and about you should check out the spill. As for the fishing it continues to be great...Stu and his guests wadefished the upper river and mangaged TWO 24" fish.
5/21 Fly Shop Creek is running and the Afterbay (Grey Reef Res.) is muddy. We have canceled all of our trips for the day and we will get back to it tommorrow.
5/20 Lots and lots of rain. We have had a pretty rough streak of weather across Central Wyoming over the past several days. Rain, snow, sleet, etc...we have seen it all. Despite the weather we have been running full bore and the fishing. has been great. Our guides having been working hard to make a day of it with muddy river conditions and cold temperatures. But it's been worth it. Worms and baetis have been the ticket on Grey Reef. Congrats to Jeff Jordan and guide Ryan on a 26" rainbow!
5/17 Had guide boats on everything from Grey Reef to Sechrist. One guide and his guests even decided to float from Grey Reef to Sechrist. They came back saying it was one of their best days ever. Lots and lots of big fish! I have even been guiding the past few days. Yesterday I floated from Grey to Lusby, rigged two rods for each guest and covered every inch of water we could. RIG 1. 8ft, 2 AB's, impaler-reef worm-leech. RIG 2. 5ft, 2 #4s, LAZY, PAL, pulsating emerger. Both setups worked well. But it was really cool to see the "mini rig" working so well in certain spots.
5/14 All of our guide boats had a great day on Grey Reef. We had a lot of happy guests at the end of the day! Same program, nymphing, with lots of big fish seeing the inside of the net. The weather was a little on the cool side but it looks like things will be improving the next few days.
5/12 Just got back from a little fishing trip to the Miracle Mile. After Brad's day yesterday, just wanted to see for myself. Got out there early...around 7am. Road conditions were bad-muddy the whole way out. Aside from the bad roads, the fishing was great. Started out with streamers and the fish were on it. Lots of nice fish, 12" to 22" all on BIG stuff. Once the sun popped out it was nymphing-pat's rubber legs, tung stones, and san juans. Fished well along the banks and on the drops. Probably landed 5-6 fish the went 20"-23".
5/11 Cold and wet would best describe the weather in Alcova and Central Wyoming today. Despite the less than radiant conditions fly fishing reports came back good. Brad guided wadefisherman at the Miracle Mile...they did well hitting the pockets and slack water along the banks. From the sounds of it the good water fished really well with pat's rubber legs, inbred goldens, san juans, and leech patterns. The rest of our boats fish from Grey Reef to Gov. Bridge. Standard Grey Reef fare...baetis and worms. Congrats to Bill Combs of Toledo, OH and guide Stu on a 24" rainbow.
5/9 All of our guide boats on Grey Reef reported more good fishing today. Nymphing was the name of the game...standard spring fare...san juans, reef worms, impalers and baetis patterns. Congrats to Frank Galli III of San Francisco, CA and guide Rick on a 27" brown...it ate a sz #20 pheasant tail!!!
5/8 Happy Mother's Day!! Had guide boats on the water from Grey Reef to Bessmer Bend. All reports came back solid. From pretty much top to bottom the flies were worms, leeches, and baetis. Things are starting to get pretty fun around here! With the increasing water temps and higher flows the fish are starting to become a little more grabby for streamers along the bank. As always nymphing is producing big numbers of healthy fish and our guides are loving the nice days on the water. The 10-day forecast shows more nice weather in Central Wyoming...with the exception of a few days early this week. Now's the time to get here and book a fly fishing guide or rent a drift boat for the day!
5/7 Congrats to TRFS guide Ryan Hudson on putting his TWO FLY angler on the largest fish of the tourney. Guided today along with Rick, Seth, JJ, and Ryan. Fishing on Grey Reef was really good in the am then tapered off in the afternoon. Starting to see some fish slide up into the baetis spots. Light nymph rig...makes for some really fun fishing. Lots of nice fish today with plenty going over the 18" mark. Heard rumors of good friend John Dobson (Wyoming Scott sales rep.) sticking a 29" brown on a dead drifted zonker.
5/6 TWO FLY has gone well. Finally they got some decent weather. A couple of days stacked together with temperatures in 50s-60s and very little wind. Aside from the TWO FLY we have had guide boats on the water both days and reports have come back very good. Most of our boats have been fly fishing downstream of Government Bridge. Big red worms, purple san juans, and leech patterns have hooked a bulk of the fish.
5/4 Seth and Bob fished the Miracle Mile yesterday and came back with some very good reports. Despite the BIG water (9,600cfs) they did very well nymphing along the banks. Stones, eggs, and baetis hammered the fish. They landed 10 fisn iver 20" and even released one rainbow that went 25". We had a little more rain/snow in Central Wyoming today but it has cleared out and made for a beautiful afternoon.
5/2 Great reports from the water today. All the guys got back this evening with reports of really good fishing. To top it off it was a beautiful Wyoming day. Very little wind and temperatures in the 60s. Congrats to John Zep and guide Bob Dye on a 21" brown and a 25" rainbow.
5/1 Did a quick float this morning on Grey Reef. Don't forget Grey Reef is now open from cable to cable. Got on the water around 6am with Kent Johnson of Omaha, NE. Fishing was steady...baetis and red worms...fish on shelves, slow inside corners...standard spring spots.
4/30 Everybody went low yesterday. Nymphing was reallly good, streamer fishing was SLOW. Standard lower river fly fishing combo, leech/worm. We had lots of wet weather in Central Wyoming... suprisingly lower river conditions stayed fishable all day.
4/28 Grey Reef flows are at 5,000cfs.
4/27 Grey Reef Flows are at 4,900cfs. Good reports again yesterday! Suprisingly the bad weather forecasted for yesterday did not make it to Alcova, Wyoming. We had a little moisture last night but nothing serious. It was a worm and/or leech and/or egg pattern kinda day again. Alll of our boats reported seeing good numbers of baetis on the water with a few fish eating on top. Congrats to David and guide Rick on a 24" bow!
4/26 Grey Reef flows are now at 4,700cfs. Our guides and guests had a great day on the water yesterday. From the sounds of it the afternoon was on fire. Same deal, baetis coming off and the fish still wanted the worm/leech/egg pattern combo. I can say the Wyoming spring weather has been tough to beat the past several days. Temps in the 50s and no wind. Had a few friends fly fish the Miracle Mile yesterday...fishing was fair...nymphing with HH leeches, tung stones, and egg patterns.
4/25 Flows on Grey Reef are still holding steady at 4,500cfs. Not sure what day they are planning on raising the water but it should be some time this week. A 500cfs raise like this should NOT have a large impact on the fishing. Aside from flows we've putting lots of guide boats on the water. Our four boats that floated the upper yesterday did well on worms and egg patterns. There was a good baetis hatch but from the sounds of the fish were not super keyed in on the small stuff. The other North Platte guides did well down low (below Gov. Bridge) on leeches, egg patterns, and worms along with streamers. Ryan and his guest put ten or so fish in the net over 20" on Platte River spiders and olive Burgin buggers...one of which was 23" brown that weighed 6lbs.
4/22 GREY REEF will be increasing to 5,000cfs in the next several days. All of our guide boats floated downstream of Lusby today. From the the various reports it sounded like the fishing was really good for some and fair for others. Leeches, worm patterns and various other bugs rounded out the fish menu. We did have some fairly stout winds at times but not as severe as other parts of Wyoming. We have a busy weekend ahead with North Platte fly fishing guide trips at Grey Reef and Miracle Mile. We will keep you posted.
4/20 PART II. Unbelievable! Great weather accompanied with great fishing is some to cherish in Central Wyoming-especially in April. Today we fortunate to have both. Spoked with all of our guests this evening and everyone reported great fishing on Grey Reef. Had boats up top and boats down low and everything fished really well. Was part of an brief afternoon fly fishing expedition that yielded a 31", 12lb brown. It was something! Pics to be posted on the BLOG this evening. There were actually two browns caught today in the gigantic class and both ate big black streamers. Also heard rumors of another big walleye caught on fly right below Grey Reef Dam. It has been an impressive 5 days of some really big fish. Congrats to guest Randy Cameron of Creede, CO and guide Seth on a 22" brown! Congrats to Erik Aune on a 31" brown!
4/20 Have had mixed weather in Central Wyoming the past several days. Monday was dominated by rain and snow but the fishing from what our guides reported was on fire! Lots of big fish were caught on a shorter/lighter nymph...small bugs were the ticket to match the baetis and midge hatch that day. As for yesterday, conditions cleared out and the wind of course kicked up. Regardless the fishing was good...but our fly fishing guides did well on the big stuff...san juans, PSLs, impalers, etc.
4/18 Big weekend on Grey Reef and Miracle Mile! Saw pictures of three brown trout caught fly fishing Grey Reef Saturday that all measured over 25". Had three of our guides with guests head over to the Miracle Mile yesterday. Wind blew but the still managed to catch a good number of fish, several browns over 20", and a even a walleye on the fly. Interesting thing is the Wyoming walleye caught on a mohair leech weighed 10.92 lbs and measured 31.5". Checked IGFA and this would beat the existing 12lb tippet world record of 8lbs 0oz. Congrats to Tim Trop of Houston, TX and guide Ryan on a huge walleye. Congrats to Lew Sandler of Dallas, TX and guide Stu on a 22" brown.
4/16 Had seven guide boats on the water yesterday fly fishing Grey Reef. Everybody came back with good reports...not great, but good. They did see a good number of baetis and some fish were feeding on them. The number of bugs is getting better everyday! Stalkup's baetis nymph, jujubaetis, and fb pts were getting the job done...granted they were still willing to eat a red worm. Congrats to guide Ryan Hemkens and guest David Wadsack of Gillette, Wyoming on a 23" brown.
4/15 Had snow and rain in Central Wyoming most of the afternoon yesterday. Our boats still went out fly fishing despite the less than perfect conditions. Had guests stick a couple nice browns on streamers (olive burgin buggers) and as always the nymphing really produced the numbers. I went out and wadefished around Grey Reef dam yesterday evening and did well with 8' 2 ABs and impaler/baetis combo .
4/14 Rick took his guests from Gov. Bridge to Bessmer and said he had good fishing all day. Fished streamers and managed a few fish on an olive burgin bugger. Nymphing was solid on a red san juan. I did a little float into Casper and we managed a few on nymphs but the streamer bite was SLOW. Brad fly fished below Grey Reef this afternoon and did great, lots of fish and 5 or 6 over 20". Did see some more baetis closer to Casper...it's only a matter of time.
4/13 Yesterday was an awesome day...temps in the 50s and no wind. We had four boats on the water and all of them reported good Grey Reef fly fishing. The weather as of 7am this morning is foggy, 40s, and calm. The weather man has not been on the ball for the past month. Got to love spring time in Wyoming. Looks like we have more good weather forecasted for later in the week. If you looking to head up and experience Grey Reef fly fishing give us a call! Miracle Mile bumped up to 6,000cfs.
4/10 Saw my first baetis of the 2011 season today. Never thought seeing a little mayfly could be so exciting. This means it's only a matter of days/weeks before we can shorten up our nymph rigs and really start having some fun. Other than that Grey Reef fly fishing with a hot head mini leech(brown) seemed to be the ticket. Well other than that the season is here and the fishing has been great. The North Platte Lodge season kicks off full time this week and between NPL and TRFS we have boats on the water virtually everyday, from now til October. Congrats to guide Rick and Lee Finkowitz from Denver on a 26" cutbow!
4/9 Yesterday was a big fish day on Grey Reef. We had really calm conditions until 10am...then the wind kicked up. We stayed at it til we reached Lusby and due to the fact we were a little early, we drove back up to the top and put back in. It was worth it...we caught a bunch of fish 8 ft, 2 ABs, and worm/midge combo.
4/8 Wyoming fly fishing. Grey Reef fly fishing is great. Nothing has really changed...soft inside edges and a worm-like fly followed by an egg/baetis/midge. It's been good and should only continue to get better as water temps go up and baetis come off. Guiding again today so I will report again this evening.
4/6 Our guides continue to have great days on the water! Yesterday was a beast of a day...one of those 50 and 50 (50 degrees and 50mph winds) but they still did well.
