North Platte River, WY Fishing Report

Fishing has been solid.  Fish are a bit sluggish in the morning due to cold nights.  Clarity has been good to Lusby although the water is looking a little green in the lower sections.  

Fishing as of lately has been pretty silly.  Nymphing has been the most consistent with red rock worms, eggs, leeches and baetis stuff.  There has been some great BWO hatches and a few shots at rising fish as well.  Streamers have been kind of hit and miss but should start to pick up with warmer weather on the way

A busy weekend with lots of great fish brought to the net.  A 3-6ft. nymph rig was the ticket with eggs, leeches, red rockworms and midges as well.  We are starting to see some baetis show up and should see more with the warmer weather.  Fish are starting to make beds and are spawning, please leave these fish alone.

The flushing flows have started and the river appears to be getting better everyday of the flush.  It is estimated that it should be complete at the end of this week.  Nymphing seems to be the name of the game if you want to catch a lot of fish.  Leeches, eggs, red rock worms and midges are all working.  Depending on the time of day try a 4-7 ft. nymph rig with an AB or BB weight.  We are also running are off season rate which is $300.00 for a full day float with lunch included.  Take advantage of this great deal! (307) 234-6905

A good storm that left us with some accumulating snow, finally!  Now we just need about 15 more storms like this and we should be good for summer.

Not a lot happening here this past weekend.  We did have a beginning fly tying class that went great.  It is always good to introduce people to fly fishing and tying.  We did not have any boats out on the river this weekend but, did have some of our guides fishing the Bighorn in Montana and said that the fishing was great.  It seemed that whatever method you wanted to use would catch fish.  Streamer fishing seemed to be the go to set up with lots of fish willing to chase.

It's been cold and some of the river is not floatable.  Wade fishing has been decent.

The upper river below Grey Reef dam is open and the fishing is good.  For anyone who is wanting to float, be advised that some of the river above Lusby is frozen.  Please use caution when floating.  Nymphing is the most productive means if you are looking to catch a bunch of fish.  Egg, red rock worms, Leeches (Pine Squirrel - Natural), Midges - tailwater tinys, bow tie buzzer, juju midge.  A swung or slow strip streamer will also get fish as well.

Given the current circumstances with ice on the river it can make it very difficult or impossible to float.  The good thing is that we have eight private boat ramps above all the ice which allows to float year round.  We also have an off season float special of $300.00 for a full day float for two with lunch included.  It doesn't get a whole lot better, discounted float trip and most times the river to yourself.  Give the shop and take advantage of a great deal. (307) 234-6905

Cold weather is here.  But that doesn' mean that the fishing has gone cold.  This is some of the best fishing that we have seen.  Nymphing is the name of the game for numbers.  Try eggs, red rock worms, san juan worms, orange and tan scuds, midges and leeches for best success.  For the streamer junkies a slow strip or swung fly is also producing great results.

Had boats out yesterday and what a day to be out!  There was not a breath of wind until around noon or so.  We were not quite sure what to do with ourselves.  There was a great mid morning midge hatch that had the fish all fired up and eating dries. Other than that the nymphing was strong with red rock worms, eggs, midges and leeches.  Our clients had got off the river with sore arms from all the fish that they had caught.  It is great to see that the river and fish are such great shape.  Weather reports show cooler weather for the weekend with temps raising to the mid to high 30s.  Put on a couple extra layers of clothing and come out and enjoy some great fishing.

Was able to get out last week with Eric Ishiwata and  Connor Murphy despite the breezy conditions we had a great time.  Eric is very proficient with a 2 handed fly rod or spey rod as they are commonly referred to.  The best part about this trip was Eric took the time to walk me through the techniques of spey casting.  It was shocking to see how effortless and easy this style of casting is.  Needless to say, I am hooked!

The worst part was not even the fact that I am going to have to buy a whole new setup, its that I will need new tying equipment and materials.  I have heard a lot about tube flies and their effectiveness,  but did not know much about these flies.  Well once again Eric opened another chapter for me. For those of you who do not know what tube flies are, they are exactly what they sound like.  They are tied on tube instead of hook.  Tubes are generally thicker than a standard hook.  Tube flies have the most popularity with salmon and steelhead fisherman, but have quickly gained ground with many other species.  Tube flies give the angler more options in the fact that you can change your hooks out long before the fly needs to be retired.  Another benefit of a tube fly is that your fly and hook are two separate parts.  With this set up you have more leverage as compared to longer shank hooks allowing you to have better hook ups along with being able to hold onto fish longer.

Fishing with a two hander has changed my perspective on fly fishing and how I would fish all together.  It seems to me that there is an allure of a swung fly with the hopes of grab that keeps you out on the water looking for your next fix! If you ever have the opportunity to take this up I will caution you that this is very addicting and habit forming.  You have been warned.

Had Craig and his son Kevin from Ft. Collins out on Tuesday in the wind.  It was a great day!!  Lots of doubles and some big Browns were brought to the net!  Kevin caught this nice 25 1/2 inch brown today on a JRs emerger size 18.  Biggest fish he has ever caught!  Also Craig caught this nice Brown on a leech pattern.  Even with the wind we still had a great day and it was not blowing near as hard at the ranch as in town.  End the season with great trip to help get through these cold and long winter days.

Its hard to believe that Thanksgiving will be here in just a few short days followed by fist fights for Furby and 4 a.m. door buster deals.  Whats the best way to avoid all this?  Book a float trip with us!  This way you can sleep off your turkey induced coma and take advantage of some great fishing with our off season rate of $300.00 for a full day float.  Dont want to go fishing?  We also offer upland bird hunts on our 2,000 acre shooting preserve.

The fishing as of late has been down right silly with lots of healthy fish along with many browns to.  The streamer fishing has been fairly good along with some limited dry fly opportunities.  The nymphing  game has been the best way to post numbers and quality as well.  Eggs, red rock worms, san juan worms, leeches, midges along with anything else in your fly box should catch fish.  Weather reports show the temps to be fairly warm (for Wyoming standards) through the next week.  Give us call (307) 234-6905

Had two boats out yesterday and they had a great day!  Weather was a little cool but the wind was low and the fish were active.  31 degrees out when the boats hit the water but the sun was out and things warmed up quick.  David caught this nice brown in the second hole we floated into.  David and his sons all caught really nice fish all day long.  I think from smiling and laughing all day their faces and stomach muscles are going to be just as sore as their forearms from bringing in fish!  Caught several nice bows and many of the fish were the biggest fish they had ever seen!  It was a fun day!

As the temperature has started to fall, along with the leaves changing, The Brown Trout are becoming extra active in preparation for their fall spawn. The last few weeks have proven this fact. On multiple personal fishing trips and on multiple guiding trips I have seen an increase in the number of big and small size Browns. Whether nymphing or throwing streamers it hasn’t seemed to matter. The browns and rainbows both are very aggressive eating very steadily throughout the days. However as the month progresses and the water temps fall, that aggressiveness will also. So before the icy conditions happen get out there and try your luck at some amazing fishing.

Well it is officially windy and cold today.  This is the first time this year that I have seen the river very slushy like.  Fishing still remains great, had a bunch of boats out Friday and despite the breezy conditions the fishing was pretty silly.  The weather was bearable until the late afternoon when we watched the mercury drop almost 30 degrees in less than 10 minutes it was quite the change that we were not expecting. Nymphing was the name of the game but streamer fishing was also very steady as well, just more ice in the guides to contend with.  Between the two groups that we had out both had multiple browns to the net which is really great to see, maybe the browns are on the rebound.

The weather that we have experienced the last few days has been a real treat not something that we are used to this time of year.  It seems that the fishing is only getting better everyday.  Thanks to Nate and Jordan from Utah.  They had never fished the Platte and I had the pleasure of taking them down the river.  Judging by the smiles on their face and a memory card full of great pics and video I would say that they are already planning there next trip here!

Of course nymphing is the name of the game for numbers.  Red rock worms, PSL in natural and brown, mayhem midges and baetis stuff as well.  Streamer fishing and dries are all still solid as well its more pick your poison and have at it.  Breezy conditions for the next few days, but nice weather until the start of the weekend with cooler conditions and chance of snow.  Give us a call and take advantage of some great fishing.

Another busy week has slowed enough for a fishing update.  Had boats out the last few days with same reports of great fishing.  This weekend the wind and the cold had things a little slow in the morning but really turned on in the mid afternoon with constant hook ups.  The baetis activity has been pretty consistent everyday providing anglers with some shots at good fish on top.  Nymphing has been the name of the game as far as numbers and quality are concerned.  A 4-6ft nymph rig with either and AB or BB shot set up with mayhem midges, pine squirrel leeches, gray rs2s, downey nymphs and bat wing emergers.

We were greeted will the first real cold weather this morning.  Despite the frigid conditions we do have a boat out today.  The fishing lately has been nothing short of amazing.  We have been spoiled everyday with some great hatches of BWOs and many eager fish willing to eat them.  The nymphing has been solid with a midges in the mornings and switching to more baetis stuff in the afternoons.

It was cloudy and overcast yesterday which means that our clients were treated to some great dry fly fishing.  It has been really nice to know that just about everyday you can expect to have a shot at fishing drys to pods of great fish.  The main hatches have been a mixture of pseudos, BWOs and midges.Of course everyone who knows the Platte is aware of what a treat it is to be spoiled with great surface activity.

All of our boats were below town yesterday.  Streamers were picking up fish, but dries were the most consistent producer.