Time: 9:00AM – 1:00PM

Location: Fremont Canyon then Grey Reef section below dam

Fish Landed: 7

North Platte River 03/27/2013 Photo Album

A good night’s rest at the Red Butte Ranch Bed & Breakfast performed wonders on our weary bodies, and we awoke anxious for another day of fishing. Two new guests arrived the previous evening from Fort Collins and they were preparing for a day of guided fishing on the river with Greg. Apparently it was their fourth consecutive year of booking a guided float trip with Greg at the end of March. We chatted with them over breakfast and made our plans for the day. Greg suggested giving Fremont Canyon a try as it was between Pathfinder and Alcova Reservoirs and above the flushing flows. He told us that it was smaller water with flows at 75 cfs and the guide shop reported some clients landing monster trout the previous day. Originally Steve and I planned to fish downstream from the B&B and then migrate to the area below the dam; however, we decided to accept Greg’s advice and drive to the Fremont Canyon stretch to start our day. Greg steered us in the right direction on Tuesday, so why not continue to follow his suggestions? Our plan for Wednesday was then to drive west to Fremont Canyon and fish there for awhile or all morning depending on our success. If it did not work out, our default was to return to the area below Grey Reef dam where we’d experienced success on Monday and Tuesday.

High temperatures were forecast for the mid-50’s on Wednesday so I was less concerned about keeping my hands warm, but I cracked open a pack of handwarmers nonetheless just to be safe. I placed them in my down vest so I could thrust my hands deep in the pockets inside my wader bib should my hands become cold. Steve and I packed up all our belongings, paid for our lodging, said our goodbyes, and hit the road for our drive to Fremont Canyon. We missed the left turn initially, but did a quick U-turn and recovered from our mistake. A five mile drive on a side road off of 220 led us to a parking lot overlooking the North Platte River in Fremont Canyon just below Pathfinder Dam.

Fremont Canyon Stretch of North Platte

We quickly grabbed our rods and descended the steep path from the parking lot down a bank to the river. As Greg described, the river was much smaller in this area but discolored to an olive brown hue. We immediately began drifting our eggs and worms in a nice run below the parking lot. Three or four fishermen were above us in some runs and riffles closer to the dam. I elected to start in the midsection of a long run and Steve began at the top. On perhaps the tenth drift through the soft water on the opposite side of the run, my indicator dipped and I set the hook and felt the weight of a decent fish. Unfortunately it wasn’t as large as it felt because I’d foul hooked the 13 inch rainbow in the belly. I skimmed it up over the surface of the water and brought it to net and released it.

Steve and I continued to prospect the pea soup colored water for an hour or so with no sign of fish other the foul hooked experience. After hooking a fish on practically every drift the previous day, it was difficult to adjust to this new lack of action situation. Finally after an hour of futility, I met up with Steve and we agreed to retreat to the stretch below Grey Reef since we knew that was yielding fish. We ascended the bank and placed our rods in the car and in a short amount of time we were parked in the parking lot below the dam. Quite a few fishermen occupied both sides of the run and pool created by the outflow from the pipe where water was being released from the bottom of the dam.

Steve decided to try the near side of the river first where we fished on Monday, but I was intrigued by the idea of crossing the dam and exploring the far side. Greg told us that we could cross on the walkway that spans the dam, and I discovered this to be true. Once on the opposite side I hiked down a well worn path to a spot just above and across from  the boat launch area. I had a fuzzy orange egg fly as my top fly and the chocolate San Juan worm on the point. I flicked a cast or two into a short pool and run in front of me and in a short amount of time I hooked and landed two twelve inch rainbows, one on the egg and one on the worm. I was pleased with the instant action after many fruitless casts in Fremont Canyon, but I was spoiled by the size of the fish landed the previous day.

A Fine Rainbow Landed Wednesday Morning

Next I moved down to a nice deep run directly across from the boat ramp and began drifting this area, but nothing was happening. After I’d covered fifteen yards of this run I decided that I wasn’t getting deep enough so I added a second split shot, but this resulted in numerous snags so I pinched off one of the beads and returned to one split shot. Finally I decided that this water wasn’t going to yield any fish, so I returned to the pool where I began and moved up to the next nice area above it. Here I managed to land another moderate sized rainbow. For the remainder of the morning I worked my way back up the river toward the dam. A small long island split the river between the dam outlet and forty yards above where I began, so in a short amount of time I was fishing the smaller left channel.

17 Inch Rainbow Was Wednesday Highlight

Toward the bottom of this channel I hooked a fish and it felt larger than the earlier hookups. I battled the fish up and down the river a bit and eventually coaxed it to the shallow rocks near my feet and netted a fine 17 inch rainbow. I was pleased with this turn of events and positioned it on a rectangular rock for a photograph and then released it to swim again. Shortly after this and just above in a nice deep run I once again hooked a heavy fish, but it didn’t seem to possess the energy to rip off line in a long dash the way the rainbow had demonstrated. Sure enough as I played the fish and finally brought it up to the net, I realized that I’d hooked a monster 15 inch sucker. After days of catching fat rainbows, it was surprising to hook a different type of fish, but a sucker was not my preferred choice.

15 Inch Sucker in the Net

I continued fishing up along the left bank and ended up landing seven rainbows during the morning and early afternoon. Meanwhile Steve had made the walk across the dam, and he was covering the run across from the boat launch with more success than I’d enjoyed. When I reached the pool at the top of the island I was close to a number of fishermen, so I waded back on the bank and walked down the path to Steve. It was now 1PM so we decided to reel up our flies and call it a day since we had a four hour drive back to Denver in  front of us.

It was another fine day on the North Platte River, and I’m looking forward to a return in the not too distant future.

Time: 8:00AM – 4:00PM

Location: Red Butte Ranch downstream three miles and then Grey Reef dam downstream 9 miles.

Fish Landed: 29

North Platte River 03/26/2013 Photo Album

Steve and I were up bright and early on Tuesday morning. Ruth was up at 3:30AM as she worked an early shift, but she prepared breakfast for us before she left. After a light breakfast Steve and I dressed warm for a day on the river and migrated to the heated garage where we climbed into our waders. Greg meanwhile put our rods together and rigged our leaders with strike indicators, split shot and flies. I used my toesies from skiing on my feet even though I was expecting to remain in the boat all day. In addition I broke out the handwarmers I’d purchased at Wal-Mart and placed them inside my ski mittens.

Greg informed us that our strategy would be to float from the Red Butte Ranch downstream for three miles or so and in this way we would be ahead of the flush. Once we took out, we would transport the drift boat back to the dam and float downstream from there for nine miles to another take out. By the time we started our float at the dam, Greg expected us to be behind the flush with water levels essentially down to non-flush levels. Steve drove his Subaru to the morning takeout with Greg so Greg could park his truck and trailer there, and then the two returned to Red Butte Ranch.

Our Guide, Greg

Once they returned at 8AM, I helped Greg guide the drift boat across the shallow riffles to a spot just above a deeper drop off and then Steve waded out to join us. I remembered that I forgot my neoprene gloves, so I waded back to the bank and returned to the garage to retrieve them, and then waded back to the boat again. We began with Steve in the rear of the boat, and I took the position in the bow. Greg rigged my 6 weight Scott with an orange egg fly and a purple leech. Steve started with a similar egg fly and trailed a red annelid fly. It didn’t take long before my indicator dipped and I set the hook and I was attached to a heavy fish. Unfortunately as I got the fish close to the boat I realized that it was foul hooked in the dorsal fin. Greg and Steve congratulated me, but I wasn’t as excited as them. The fish was a nice fat specimen in excess of fifteen inches, but I announced that I don’t count foul hooked fish. Greg and Steve took the position that they did and it was harder to fight and land a foul hooked fish than a fish hooked in the mouth. I still wasn’t convinced and maintain the opinion that it is only fair to count fish hooked in or very close to the mouth.

We continued on and I landed a second foul hooked fish, but Steve was having better luck in the rear of the boat as he landed quite a few fine hard fighting rainbow trout with several in the 15 – 17 inch range. Eventually we found a spot where I hooked and landed a couple twelve inch rainbows and then added a third as we got closer to the take out ramp. My mouth hooked fish were interested in the top egg fly during this morning drift. The air temperature registed 25 degrees when we began our float at 8PM. I placed my handwarmers in my mittens and kept them beside my seat at all times. Every time Greg rowed the boat from one choice location to the next I inserted my hands in the mittens and grabbed the handwarmers and made a fist. They proved to be lifesavers.

Steve Shows a Nice Rainbow

By 9:30AM we arrived at our take out location so we aided Greg in securing the boat in the trailer and then we drove west on 220 to the boat launch below the dam and we were back on the water fishing by 10AM. Steve and I switched positions so I began the late morning drift in the rear of the boat. There were quite a few other guides and drift boats along with wade fishermen in this area and Greg knew two of the other guides as they operated out of the same guide service. The first couple of miles below the dam were very attractive with more runs and riffles giving the water more character and making it easier to spot likely productive water. It didn’t take long before Steve and I were hooking and landing fish. One memorable location was within a half mile of the boat launch where a deep run split the river in half and several wade fishermen were on the left side as we faced down river, and three boats were maneuvering along the right side. Each boat would drift the right side of the run and when they reached the bottom, the guide would row back to the top and repeat the same drift. We probably hooked and landed eight to ten nice rainbows from this area.

We Pass Another Boat Near the Launch Point

Eventually we grew weary of this scene and moved on down the river. Greg worked the oars and pulled ahead of the other boats, and we continued to find sweet spots in the river where we made multiple drifts and landed many fish. Quite a few of the productive areas looked nondescript to Steve and I, but Greg’s 20 years of guiding on the North Platte River paid dividends as he knew where all the troughs and drop offs were. During this period of the day my line offered a yellow plastic egg fly and a rabbit strip leech with a purple body. Roughly 1/3 of the fish were hitting the leech and the other 2/3 went for the egg.

At around 1PM Greg pulled the boat up on the muddy shore and declared it was time for lunch. Our lunches were enclosed in plastic and we munched them down in the boat. After lunch Steve and I once again switched places, and I resumed my position in the bow of the boat, and shortly after we began my indicator dipped and set the hook and I was connected to a larger fish than previously experienced earlier in the day. The fish began to charge below the boat and then surged back toward me and repeated this several times as I maintained a taut line. On one of these cycles Greg spotted the fish and announced it was a large brown trout. I really wanted to land this fish as we had landed only rainbow trout on the trip up until this point. The brown made a hard run up the river above the boat by twenty yards or so and then as I maintained pressure, the line released and fell to the water in a limp state. I reeled up my line thinking that a fly broke off only to find that both flies were in tact and somehow the large brown had managed to work its way free from the fly.

Needless to say I was quite disappointed with this turn of events, but I continued to focus on my line and within the next half hour I hooked but failed to land three more rainbows. These also felt like decent fish, probably in the 15-18 inch range. Finally I broke the losing streak and landed a 14 inch rainbow and my fortunes improved from there. Between 1 and 4 we floated the remainder of the nine miles to the take out. The fishing remained quite good and we found numerous troughs and runs that we drifted through repeatedly and caught fish on nearly every drift. Amazingly the average length of the fish we caught was probably around 14 inches and we scoffed at 12 inch fish. At some point Greg swapped out my leech for an annelid worm, but the egg was really my top producer.

By 4PM we arrived at the scheduled take out and Greg’s truck and trailer had been shuttled to the parking lot. Once again Steve and I helped Greg crank the drift boat up and out of the river on to the trailer bed. We jumped in the car and returned to Red Butte Ranch where we took hot showers and then drove back to Casper for dinner at Jay’s.

As I reflect back on the day I realize it was one of the finest days of fishing I’ve ever experienced. I landed 29 fish in total with perhaps 5 additional foul hooked fish and another 15 hookups that I was unable to land. Over the course of the day I hooked nearly 50 fish and Steve estimated that he hooked in the vicinity of 60. It was rare that I made a drift with my flies and didn’t have some sort of action. Steve and I estimated that we experienced at least 15 doubles where we were both playing fish at the same time. In addition to the nice quantity of fish, the average size was also a nice surprise. Most of the fish were in the 14 to 15 inch range, but I also landed several in the 17 – 18 inch range. These fish were all rainbows and hard fighters and they featured wide girths making them quite heavy for their length. The weather was very tolerable in the late morning and afternoon as the temperature climbed to the high 40’s and when combined with the periods of sunshine was quite pleasant. Once we moved ahead of the other boats we pretty much had the entire river to ourselves.

Greg was an expert guide and coach. He was adept at reading the water and worked hard to provide multiple passes in areas where we were having a lot of success. The North Platte River will remain a destination that I hope to return to in the near future.

Location: Between Grey Reef dam and boat launch ramp

Time: 4:00PM – 6:00PM

Fish Landed: 3

Each year on the first weekend of January the Fly Fishing Show visits Denver, CO and this year I gave my friend Steve Supple a call and asked if he was interested in joining me. He agreed and we met inside the doors shortly after the show opened on Friday. We browsed the various booths at the show and agreed upon a series of presentations to attend. One of the presentations that piqued our interest was the one on the North Platte River in Wyoming and specifically the Grey Reef stretch just west of Casper. Neither of us had ever fished this water in spite of it being only a four hour drive from Denver. Four hours may seem like a long trip, but it isn’t much further than the Frying Pan River and shorter than destinations such as the Conejos River, Rio Grande and Green River. The guide service at the show was offering a special of $300 for a guided float trip if booked and taken prior to April 1. Steve and I agreed to talk closer to March and possibly book a day of fishing on the North Platte.

As February flashed by I kept trying to remember to check back with Steve to see if he remembered the presentation and if he was still interested in joining forces for the float trip.  I got caught up in skiing and Brady and Kara’s wedding and pretty much gave up on the idea when I discovered an email in my inbox from Steve. Apparently Steve had made plans for another fishing trip, but it fell through at the last minute, and he was interested in doing the Grey Reef trip. I quickly replied back that I was in, and Steve went ahead and contacted the guide service and booked the guide and lodging near Casper. Steve selected the Red Butte Ranch Bed & Breakfast as it was associated with the guide service and offered river access.

We made plans to drive to the Red Butte Ranch on Monday, March 25, departing Denver at around 9AM. This would enable us to check in at the guide service and the bed & breakfast and then we could potentially spend a few hours wade fishing the river. The guided float trip was booked for Tuesday and Steve and I decided to do some additional wade fishing on Wednesday before returning to Denver.

As the trip approached I kept a close eye on the weather and unfortunately a storm moved into Denver and dumped 10 inches on Saturday March 23. After the storm moved out, the air temperature high hovered around 32 on Sunday and the forecast for Monday was highs of 32 again. I checked Casper, WY on my weather app and learned that Casper could expect a high in the upper 30’s. This was moderately better, but still quite cold for fishing. Highs on Tuesday were projected to be upper 40’s near Casper.

Steve arrived at the appointed hour on Monday and we quickly tossed my gear in his Subaru Outback and began the journey. The trip was uneventful and we arrived at the guide service by 1PM and checked in with Liz and paid for our day of guided fishing. Our guide was Greg, and he lived with Ruth at the Red Butte Ranch so this was turning out to be quite convenient. Next we visited the fly shop that was next door to the guide service and inquired about flies. We learned that flushing flows were being initiated from Grey Reef dam, and it was important to work around the releases. The surge of water was released in the morning and then worked its way down the river at a pace of three miles per hour. The fly shop suggested driving to the area below the dam in the late afternoon as the flush would have already moved downstream.

The hot patterns were eggs and worms and leeches so I purchased a few of each. The rainbows were in the early stages of spawning so the flush knocked eggs loose and these served as food for downstream rainbows. The high flows of the flush caused the water to go over the bank and dislodge worms, so this explained the success of the worm flies. The worms were referred to as rock worms and annelids. I also purchased a Wyoming fishing license for each of the days we expected to fish, and then we were off to our lodging.

The Moon Above Wyoming Horizon

When we arrived we met our guide, Greg, and he showed us our room and offered the heated garage as a place to put on our waders and prepare to fish. We took advantage of this and gathered our clothing and gear. I decided to string my rod in the warmth of the garage as I anticipated cold numb fingers once we arrived at river’s edge.

The drive to the river was approximately nine miles and we pulled into a nice dirt parking lot next to the river. We were right below the dam and quite a few fishermen were circling the pool created by the torrent of water gushing out of the large pipe at the bottom of the dam. I put on my neoprene fingerless gloves and wore my down vest under my waders. Steve and I moved over to the river and began fishing a series of nice stairstep runs between the dam and the boat ramp. I decided to go with the nymphing setup that Taylor Edrington taught me and added a chenille egg and red annelid below the thingamabobber. Almost immediately Steve hooked and landed a couple fish, but I wasn’t having any luck and after five minutes or so I became snagged to something on the bottom of the river. The water was too deep to wade close, so I ended up snapping off both flies.

I retreated to the bank and labored to replace my flies as the cold temperatures now began to take their toll on my hands. There was a mild breeze as well that enhanced the evaporation and that in turn further chilled my fingers. I managed to tie on another pink egg and a red San Juan worm that I made myself as I’d only purchased two of the annelid style flies at the fly shop. Once again I began casting to the seam and softer water between me and the strong run approximately twenty feet away, and once again I got snagged to the bottom. This time I decided to wade out a bit in an effort to save my flies, but alas, this proved to be futile and I broke off two more flies. I was pretty frustrated at this point, but to make matters worse, I stumbled on a rock as I waded back to the bank, and caught my balance by thrusting my right arm into the river. I prevented a full dunking, but my three layers on my arm were now soaking wet and I gashed my middle finger on my right hand on a rock.

The small wound began to bleed so I walked down to Steve and asked if he had bandages. He told me he had some in the car in a green bag, so I returned to the car. By the time I reached the car my hands were so cold that I could barely feel the scrape, but I found a towel in my bag and dried my hands and placed a bandaid around my finger. I plunged my hands into the deep pockets of my down vest and held them there for quite a while until they were warm enough to resume fishing. I was really regretting leaving my ski mittens in the suitcase back at the ranch.

When I returned to the river, I decided to abandon the area that had created an hour of frustration and moved downstream below Steve. Finally in a nice riffle area the indicator paused and I set the hook and battled a fine 17 inch rainbow that grabbed my chocolate San Juan worm. At least all my frustration paid dividends with a fine fish landed as my first fish of 2013. I continued working my way down the river and managed to land two more rainbows on a chocolate San Juan worm.

The New Zealand Room at Red Butte Ranch

By six o’clock Steve and I were on the verge of shivering so we decided to quit and return to the warmth of the lodge. It was a great move, and after hot showers, we drove back to Casper and ate dinner at the Armor Silver Fox. After dinner we found the nearby Wal-Mart and I purchased some hand warmers. Greg suggested that we get up by 6:30 so we could get an early start on Tuesday. All I could think about was how cold it would be that early in morning on a day forecast to reach a high of 49 degrees.