A twelve month breakdown of the Platte’s tailwaters
January-February
January to February
Grey’s Reef
As the year starts out we obviously find ourselves in cold winter conditions. Bundling up and having the proper clothing is key. Fish for the most part of holding in deep slow holes. They are in the meat and potatoes of the runs. As one would expect nymphing with bobber rigs is the normal gameplay for these days. Longer leaders with a good amount of weight is standard. Some guides frequently use 8 to 9 foot rigs with up to .8 grams of weight (or a AAA split shot). I personally use all ten foot rods when guiding this time of year to help with these longer leaders. While these wrecking ball rigs are effective they are not the only way to catch fish. Fishing 4 to 6 feet deep with just a BB (.4 grams of weight) can be just as effective. Worms, leeches, eggs, scuds, & midge patterns are pretty much all you need to catch fish. Wade fishing below the dam all the way down to outhouse hole (campground Pete’s Draw) can be good. Some fish will be in the riffles and shallow water especially the top of Junk Hole on river left, but most of those fish are in the meat and potatoes. Once again being on a boat makes fishing these holes considerably easier. Throwing in at the tops of these runs and holes and LEAVING IT IN THERE, is crucial. You do not want to be recasting every 10 seconds, if you are, YOU ARE NOT DOING IT RIGHT. This is where having a good oarsmen is of the utmost importance. Holding a line with your boat and rowing the drift till you hit a fish or the bottom (of the river) is the name of the game. Longer extended drifts allowing your flies to cover as much of the bottom of the run will produce more eats then anything else. Sure you might have to recast a few times while getting these extended drifts and covering the entire run but unless that bobber moves don’t recast for the sake of recasting. At the same time fish are lethargic and cold, their metabolism isn’t as high as in summer months so hitting the fish in the face with your flies will produce more eats. Sometimes the eats will not be very aggressive. Soft or subtle takes can be common. You ideally want to balance being trigger happy without sacrifice your drift, because long drifts are crucial. And yes you can get plenty of aggressive eats where the trout hammers it. As always its a day by day thing. Yeah you might see a couple of fish rise but the chances of catching those fish aren’t very high usually.
The streamer fishing can be unbelievably good this time of year. Heavy streamers with intermediate sinking lines (fly lines that only sink 1 to 2 inches per second) is probably the most preferred method of streamer fishing in these cold months by the few guys that actually do it. Heavier sinking lines that sink 3 to 4 inches per second or heavier work but don’t seem to be as effective. Essentially what you want to do streamer fishing this time of year is let your heavy streamer literally scrape across the river bed. Once again how you row your boat when doing this makes a big difference. You basically have to row like you are rowing a nymphing drift. You want your boat to be on one side of the river NOT in the middle. We are not casting streamers to the bank this time of year. We are on the side and dredging our streamers across and down as much of the run as possible, not banging them against the bank. Granted there are exceptions to this where the banks will produce, but for the most part Im trying to cover the meat and potatoes of the runs going LOW AND SLOW. And I mean ssssllllloooowwww. Short small strips with your rod tip down to retrieve your streamer while staying in contact with the river bed bottom can produce 40 plus eats a day (I’m not exaggerating). Yeah you get stuck on bottom sometimes and get a lot of pump fake eats but this method 100% works. Ive had days where it works better then nymphing. Now as always with streamer fishing some days it just doesn’t happen, but Ive had a couple of January’s where this method is laughable how oddly well it works. Since your always or as much as possible in contact with the bottom sensing and differentiating takes can be a bit confusing as first. Ive had plenty of clients laugh and say “I think that was one!” And you never know but eventually if you keep hammering you will start to feel the eats. The biggest obstacle to this method and streamer fishing this time of year is that sometimes its just too darn cold. Constantly retrieving your line when your streamer fishing causes your rods guides to freeze up fast, so try to find a warmer day.
The biggest advice I have to catch fish time of year is depth and hitting the fish in the face. If your too deep and just dredging bottom and having to recast every 5 seconds your too deep, but if your just not catching fish in the meat and potatoes of the runs and not hitting bottom at all, slide your bobber up and go deeper. It can be annoying how much moving your bobber 6 inches can make on this river. Same goes with the streamers, fish the bottom without getting caught on it.
Most years you can only count on being able to float what we call the top section of the reef. From Grey’s Reef Dam to the public access at Lusby. This float is a little over seven miles. It is mostly through private property but there are several public areas where you can get out stretch your legs and wade fish. Floating below Lusby can get you into large areas of private property with nothing around and big ice jams, something not worth dealing with. The more downstream from the Lusby boat ramp you get the more the river ices up, honestly I hardly ever go below Lusby these months cause most of the time you can’t. Not trying to keep anything secret down there , I wouldn’t bother with any of that stuff till end of February closer to March. Another big tip I have is not getting your feet wet if your going hardcore and its below freezing. Don’t get your feet wet, they’ll already start freezing at the start of your day and only get colder from there. I usually don’t even wear waders, I wear bibs and muck boots with more layers and I stay in the boat.
Recommended Flies
Pine Squirrel Leech: natural, black, purple, olive and egg sucking variations
San Juan Worms: red, purple, wine (maroon), olive
Annelids or “Reef Worms”
Zebra Midges: black, purple, red, olive, cream sizes 16 to 20 I like gold deadheads and gold wire on these
Eggs: chartreuse, orange, yellow
Mayhem midges: black, olive, tan, gray sizes 16 to 20
CDC quill emergers: gray, black sizes 16 to 20
Scuds: flashbacks or ones with some shine to em orange, tan, olive (orange is my favorite) sizes 12 to 16
Barr Emergers: b.w.o. color size 18
Kreelex, Goldie, Rusty Trombone, Dali Llama’s: white, sparkle minnow’s
Miracle Mile January-February
First and foremost during these cold months is, can you get there. The roads to the mile from either Alcova or Sinclair can be treacherous after large snowfalls. With the common strong winds this time of year snow drifts can make getting to the mile a nightmare. If snow is not an issue then the mile can a blast to fish during January and February. The river will be at its base level of 500 CFS. This makes wading very easy but at the same time this can cause people to wade WAY to far out and be wading where they should be fishing. Like the Reef, fish will be holding in the meat and potatoes of the runs. With low winter flows of 500 though you can successfully wade fish most of the spots on the mile. Fishing deep and heavy is usually the way to go. Leaders up to 8 feet are used by boaters but when wade fishing I usually stick around 3 to 6 feet deep depending on what run you are fishing. Get you flies to the bottom of the river and get as long of a drift as you can. I use my 11’ 6” switch rod when wade fishing the mile. Swinging the mile can be good this time of year too. I use tips up to 3 IPS but rarely go heavier. Basic marabou Hohbo patterns work the best for me, tan, white, and olive are my go to’s along with pine squirrel leeches. Big brown trout are usually still lurking around the mile this time of year, most of the juvenile’s have gone back to the lake so if your going all the way out there in the cold your usually rewarded with your effort with nice mile sized fish. Streamer fishing can be excellent too. Scroll up and read the low and slow method mentioned in the Grey’s Reef section in January. Scraping bottom and small short strips while maintain contact with the bottom is great for big browns and rainbows. Just stay in contact with the bottom!
Recommended Flies
San Juan Worms: red, purple, pink, olive
Annelids & Reef Worms
Eggs: Charteuse, orange, yellow
Mayhem and Zebra Midges: black, gray, tan, purple, red
Pine Squirrel Leech: natural, black, purple and egg sucking variations
STREAMERS: Kreelex, Goldie, Rusty Trombone, Dali Llama’s: white, sparkle minnow’s
Fremont CaNYON January-february
The meadow section and canyon can fish very well during the winter months. This section more then the others usually has the best bug activity producing the possibility for good dry fly fishing. But usually nymphing is the ticket. Over the years this section has seen more and more pressure from out of state anglers. Its great that its popular because its a great wade fishery but fish have become a little bit spookier and pickier as a result. You can still have days where you wail on fish standing nice and close but if your going for the big boys approaching from downstream and casting further you have a better chance at a bigger fish. Its flowing at its base level of 70 CFS, so remember the fish can see you. The cool thing is when the fish really start munching they don’t always care if your standing fairly close to them, making for some cool sight fishing. I have noticed that people tend to upstream mend too much when fishing the meadow. Remember match the speed of the current , downstream mend and keep your drift moving. Fish suspend a lot in the meadow and canyon, you don’t always need to upstream mend and slow your flies down causing them to sink. Get your rig set up so its fishing the middle of the water column and keep it moving.The canyon can be really fun to fish, but be careful the snow covered rocks can be treacherous. Its usually worth hiking in there just don’t be in a rush when rock hopping, the canyon is a bad place to get hurt in the winter.
Recommended Flies
Zebra and Mayhem Midges: black, grey, purple, red, cream, olive
San Juan Worms: red, purple
Annelids & Reef Worms
Pheasant Tails: sizes 16-18
Hares Ear: size 16 to 18
Barr’s Emerger: b.w.o. colorado size 18
Split Case B.W.O. size 18
Pine Squirrel Leech: natural, black, olive egg sucking variations too
March & April
March & April
grey’s reef
Once March hits weather usually warms up a bit and more people are on the water. River is still flowing at 500 CFS. More and more fish move up into the top Reef section (Greys Reef Dam to Lusby) and the spawn begins. Since the river is mostly rainbow trout once the spawn begins, there are a lot of fish on beds. These are the white circle shaped spots you see in the river. Please try to avoid walking on these and fishing on top of these. Its not very sporting to fish for spawning fish and call it sight fishing. The argument can be made that the entire river is a spawning bed and hooking spawning fish is inevitable. While this is true, there is a point where people can abuse this situation. The most important thing is to not walk on these spawning beds, that is damage done that can not be reversed.
Fish for the most part are still sitting in the guts of the run so fishing it the same as you would in January or February is the ticket. Basically we are still winter fishing. Long leaders of 5 to 8 feet with .4 to .8 grams of weight. Long slow drifts and rowing the entire run while having anglers recast as little as possible is still important. Most guides are relying heavily on eggs, worms and leeches. Bacon and eggs rigs really are all you need. Most of the time I see people not catching fish its because of the rower. Holding a line and chasing that nymph rig all the way from the top of the run to the bottom while recasting as little as possible is still the ticket. If you are behind a lot of boats, fishing long heavy riggs of 8 to 9 feet with up to .8 grams of weight can help you play clean up crew, focusing on the deep slow water. As April approaches bugs do start to work better, midges, pheasant tails, scuds and craneflies on top of the egg, worm leech rigs are the only thing you might add to your setup.
This time of year there really aren’t any other fisheries that produce like the Platte. The Missouri in Craig Montana is probably your only other option in the Rockies for such good float fishing. So this is the main reason we see a lot more anglers on the water. However there are so many fish pushed up into the top section from Grey’s Reef Dam to Lusby or even down to the next boat ramp at Government Bridge that it doesn’t really matter. Fishing this time of year is social and most people are just excited to be fishing again after winter. Its not uncommon to be surrounded by a couple of boats all day and watch everyone catch a lot of fish. If it is crowded be mindful of not rowing over other peoples lines, and just be patient there are plenty of fish for everyone.
THE FLUSH
Recommended Flies
San Juan Worms, Annelids & Reef Worms: red, purple, pink, olive
Eggs: chanteuse, orange, yellow 6mm to 8 mm
Pine Squirrel Leech: black, natural, olive
Pheasant Tails: size 14 to 18
CDC Quill Emergers: black, gray, purple, olive sizes: 16 to 20
Midge Pupa Patterns UV or Gloss coated: black, gray, olive, tan, red sizes 18 to 20
Zebra and Mayhem Midges: black, red, olive, tan, brown, gray, purple sizes: 16 to 18
RS2’s: chocolate, grey, olive, black size 16 to 18
All Day May’s: black, green, brown, grey, purple sizes: 16 to 18
Miracle Mile MArch & April
The Mile is an extremely migratory river. Once March arrives the spawn begins here just like the Reef or Fremont Canyon. Bigger fish start pushing into the river from Pathfinder Reservoir. Browns become rarer and the river becomes mostly rainbows again. Anglers can expect big hard fighting fish that will text your fish fighting skills. The river is still at 500 CFS and wade fishing is still excellent. Again like the reef we start to see more pressure on this tailwater. Please be curtious of wade anglers if your boating, and if your wading let boats do there 2 or 3 laps and they’ll be good. Remember neither wade or boaters own the river. I recommend 10 foot or switch rods for wade fishing the mile this time of year. Long leaders with lots of weight with long extended drifts are again the key. Only recast if you have to or set. See a pattern here to winter fishing on the Platte? Fish 2X to 3X tippet, fish here are not leader shy and you never know when your going to hook that monster.
The Mile is a very moody river, a lot of the time if its not fishing, you might change flies and get a couple of fish but sometimes the Mile just doesn’t fish good. Theres usually a point in the day where it just becomes easy to catch fish, they start munching and you never know how long its going to last. Once I start catching I usually tell my guest lets hammer on this as long as we can and make the most of that window where fishing are eating. If this means pushing lunch back I usually tell my guest we should, sometimes this window can only be an hour, so make the most out of it! I try to never be in a rush when I fish this river. Fish hold in very consistent stable spots on this tailwater, if you have caught fish there before, there are still probably fish there they just might not be eating. Just keep hammering wait for that window for fish to start eating and make your day. Some of my best days on the mile for lots of big fish have started slow and ended up being amazing.
Streamer fishing can be good
Ive had plenty of trips where fishing is slow for a bit and I have guest in the boat asking me to change flies. I usually stick to my guns and just wait for the fishing to turn on, now obviously theres a point where if its been a few hours and if your not catching fish, then yes be pro active and change your rig go to a different spot, go see if someone else is getting any love. But my point here is that I usually play with my depth before I change my flies. Another big tip on the mile is covering water, sometimes above the bridge is fishing great and sometime fishing below the bridge is way better, this changes day to day and over the course of the year with flow changes and weather changes. I never understand when people stand in one hole all day and don’t do that well and don’t change spots. I run around like a maniac on my days off out there, i try to fish at least 4 or 5 spots before leaving. I’m all for being patient but I’m trying to hit home the point that sometimes some spots on the Mile just aren’t fishing. Be a go getter this time of year and go get em. Im always excited to be able to guide on the Mile this time of year, it is work in the winter, but if you stick it out it can be awesome, you will catch great fish and have some awesome scenery & solitude.
Spey fishing late April can be awesome. Big pods of stacked up rainbows can give spey casters good opportunity for awesome swing fishing. From Late April to early June is
Recommended Flies
Rubber Legs: brown, black, olive/brown sizes 8 to 14
Eggs: Chartreuse, orange, yellow sizes 6mm to 8 mm
San Juan Worms, Annelids, & Reef Worms: red, purple, olive, tan
Zebra Midges and Mayhem Midges: Black mayhems are my favorite for the mile, gray, purple, red, tan, cream all work
RS2’s, foam wing and original CDC ones work great I really rely on the foam winds though: chocolate, black, grey, purple, olive
Pheasant Tails and Hares Ears: size 14 to 18
Scuds: flashbacks in orange, tan, olive sizes 14 to 18
Split Back & Crack Back B.W.O & P.M.D.’s: sizes 14 to 18 First couple holes below the bridge that PMD one usually works great, the rest of the river I rely on the BWO color
Zurdle Bugs: orange/green, natural/yellow, brown/natural
STREAMERS: Kreelex, Goldie, Rusty Trombone, Dali Llama’s: white, sparkle minnow’s, Olive Wooley buggers, Black Wooley bugger with pink heads, swimming jimmies, mini olive sex dungeons, ice minnows
Fremont Canyon MArch & April
Always a good wade fishing option if you don’t have access to a boat. Flows can be variable here depending on the year. Sometimes flows are at 500 CFS sometimes they are at 70 CFS. I can’t generalize because the power plant and water management have different plans year to year. But overall the flows are usually still 70 CFS but later in April flows can be significantly increased. Fishing lighter tippets of 4 and 5X of fluorocarbon will usually increase your catch rate, these fish get hammered on by people “sight fishing” spawners on beds. Its hard not to fish for spawners here since the whole upper meadow section is bank to bank beds. I usually don’t fish this section this time of year because of the crowds and the fact that almost all the fish are spawning. But if you can come up here not on the weekend that helps. Its still a great wade fishery and an awesome spot to bring young little anglers.
There are huge fish that push up past the power plant into Fremont Canyon and the upper Cardwell meadow section. Biggest trout I ever landed was here in this meadow. This tailwater seems to go through cycles where some years theres not as many monsters and other years where its like Jurassic Park. Anglers have the shot at these fish in the meadow and the canyon. The canyon is particularly fun to fish this time of year. Its like fishing a pinball machine where once you hook that fish thats a lot of boulders to get roped around. If you can stand a little further away from the spots your fishing you like always have a better shot at not spooking your bigger fish. They might not spook but they easily see you, wearing bright loud colors is not the way to go. And once they see you they usually become more difficult to catch.
Midge and BWO hatches can be found here, maybe some caddis at the end of April. Swinging soft hackles in tailouts is effective and dry fly fishing can be terrific. Once again 5X and long leaders are the ticket. Not lining fish, and start downstream casting upstream of these rising fish is your gameplay. Start with the furthest downstream fish and work your way upstream. I like bringing my boat net here it makes landing these fish on light tippets much easier then having a small net.
Recommended Flies
RS2’s foam wings & cdc versions: grey, black, chocolate, olive & purple size 18
Soft Hackle Pheasant Tails: sizes 16 to 18
Guides Choice Hares Ear: size 16 to 18
Barr’s Emerger BWO: size 18
Green Machine: PT, purple, brown, olive sizes 16 to 20
Lil Spankers: purple, PT, silver, red sizes 16 to 20
Mayhem Midge: black, grey, brown, olive size 16 to 18
San Juan Worms & Annelids: red, purple
Pine Squirrel Leech: black, natural, olive & egg sucking variations
Prince Nymph: size 14 to 18
MAY
May
Grey’s Reef
I always get excited for May. Rivers flows get bumped up and the spawn is finally over. Fish move into the heads of riffles and shelves and the time for shortening up your leader and fishing the “fishy” looking seams and structure become amazing. Fish are feeding recovering from so much expended energy from spawning and the bugs are happy with more water and warmer weather. Concentrating on more shelves, riffles, and more feeding water are the ticket. The river is flowing higher somewhere around 1,000 to 2,000 CFS (usually) and the fish really begin spreading out. Bug emergences have fish feeding in eddy’s, banks, and heads of runs. Instead of back rowing the big runs and lapping them over and over again, I prefer doing longer floats and covering water. The river is flowing higher somewhere around 1,000 to 2,000 CFS (usually) and the fish really begin spreading out. Fish are still in the meat and potatoes of the run and holes but I think its more fun to shorten up leaders to 2.5 to 5 feet with .2 to .6 grams of weight and concentrate on feeding lanes and water. Not only is this more entertaining to fish, its where your feeding fish are and you will catch more fish. Fish are so piled up in these riffles and shelves I tell my guest to be trigger happy. Theres a lot of food available to these fish this time of year, and in this fast water trout aren’t always going far out of their way to eat. So set, set, set, set and if your rower says 20 feet cast 20 feet NOT 30 feet. I use cork indicators to help with the more subtle eats, this isn’t crucial but theres usually a handful of fish that get caught on those tiny takes, and those add up over the course of the day. Sometimes the biggest fish of the day is on a tiny eat, that has us saying “Oh that was a fish!”
I start moving away from worms, leeches and eggs and primarily rely on bugs. While the wrecking ball rigs and tactics some people fish in the winter months still work, I really just fish two bugs most of the time. A lot of people call these mini rigs. Short leaders of 2.5 to 3 feet fished in the feeding water with minimal weight of .6 grams or way less are my choice. The PMD’s really start coming into play. This is no secret most guides are fishing PMD patterns, twitching and lifting these nymph with aggressive mends and jigs can be very effective. Especially hard down stream mending.
Dry fly fishing becomes more doable with the warmer water. I usually nymph most of the time because thats where most of the trouts food is at this time of year, but I do usually prospect a few spots especially between the ramp at Lusby and Government Bridge in the slow water sections. I can never guarantee results this time of year for dries especially when the nymphing is so impressive but there are usually a few days of the month that can be very good.
Guides usually start fishing lower sections of the river this time of year. Floating any of the floats from Grey’s Reef Dam all the way to Casper can be good. Floating any of the river from Government Bridge to Sechrist become especially popular. The top reef section from Grey Reef to Lusby is still great but a lot of times guides are looking for a change of and better scenery on the lower floats.
Streamer fishing is always a fun option, grass and weed beds haven’t begun to become an issue yet so you can still rip streamers across the river and not worry about constantly hooking moss. I start fishing banks and stripping them faster. Basically I start fishing streamers the way most people do on other rivers. The slow and low method still works great but if you want a little more exciting retrieve go ahead and rip those things around. White is usually the most popular color on the Platte (the goldie) or the always reliable rusty trombone (which is olive and copper). I love stripping big double deceivers and 6 inch streamer but small streamers just seem to produce more for me. Putting a small nymph on behind your streamer is always a good idea too. Basically you have a baconator getting the fish’s attention and sometimes they only want to eat a fry. I use scuds and pheasant tail trailers most of the time. I use to do this all the time in Montana on the Yellowstone, it just catches more fish and sometimes it gets that big fish that chases your streamer another tasty smaller side. Stripping two small nymphs in the shallows is very effective too. Sometimes I shorten up, slide my bobber down and lose some of my weight to do this so I don’t have to completely re-rig.
Recommended Flies
RS2’s, foam wing and original CDC ones work great I really rely on the foam wings though: chocolate, black, grey, purple, olive sizes: 16 to 18
Pheasant Tails and Hares Ears: size 14 to 18
Split Back & Crack Back B.W.O & P.M.D.’s: sizes 14 to 18
San Juan Worms, Annelids, & Reef Worms: red, purple, olive, tan (these always work if you can’t tell)
Zebra Midges and Mayhem Midges: olive, black, grey, brown
Blue copper Johns & Batman nymphs: sizes 14 to 18
Green Machine PT sizes 16 to 20
Lil Spankers: purple, PT, silver, red sizes 16 to 20
Prince and Pyscho Prince & Formely Known As Prince Nymphs: sizes 14 to 18
All Day May’s: olive, grey, black sizes: 16 to 18
Pine Squirrel Leech: natural and olive especially
Parachute Adams: purple and grey sizes 16 to 18
Klinkhammers: grey with peacock size 16 to 18
Streamers: Sparkle Minnows, Kreelex, Goldie, Rusty Trombone, Dali Llama’s: white, Olive Wooley buggers, Swimming Jimmies, Mini Olive Sex Dungeons, Ice Minnows, Yellow Sex Dungeons, Peanut Envy’s in white, olive, brown, & black.
Miracle Mile May
Warmer weather has finally come to Wyoming and fishing is good. The trout spawn is over but tons of big fish remain in the river with many fish entering and leaving the river for the lake day to day. The sucker fish spawn begins usually half way through May. This brings scores of suckers into the Mile. A larger age class of trout (mostly rainbows) begin entering the river behind the suckers. The sucker spawn drops truck loads of sucker eggs into the river. Suckers do not build spawning beds like trout do they basically just shoot their eggs out and off they go. Because of this trout have a huge source or protein to feed on. Fishing the mile becomes more about trying to target the trout and not the suckers. The annoying thing is, the trout and sucker do sit adjacent and some times on top of each other in some of the runs. Especially above the bridge staying away from the suckers can become a bit of a chore. The trout are there, once you hook a trout, remember as closely where you hooked it in the hole or run and hammer that spot. These fish are hanging in crowds.
Flows are usually bumped up to 1,000 CFS or higher. I think the mile is way more fun to fish when it is 1,000 CFS or higher, it has a big water feel that is more exciting. Wading in some spots becomes more difficult but you don’t always need to be fishing out in the middle. Leave that water to the boaters who can actually get to it. There are many spots on the mile totally wadable with out trying to wade in the middle of the river. A lot of really good spots, have fish stacked up on the sides of riffles and runs where you barely need to wade to get a drift to the fish. I constantly see people wading out to far and thinking “Your standing where you should be fishing!” Again I recommend 10 foot or switch rods for wade fishing. Its easier to roll cast mile rigs and mend for longer drifts with these longer fly rods…especially if its windy. Some guides still fish with 9 foot leader set ups but thats not always necessary. I usually fish with 4 to 8 foot leaders but with alot of weight. Frequently fishing .6 to .8 grams of weight, and sometimes even more if its windy and i want that drift to sit still. Heavy fluorocarbon tippet of at least 3X and often up to 1 or 0X. I like leaving my guest drags loose and let those fish run, chase that fish whether your on a boat or on foot.
One last thing worth mentioning is weather. Sometimes bright and sunny days can make for some very tough fishing on the mile. This isn’t an absolute, but I think most of guys guides who live here would say “I’d always take a crappy awful day on the mile over a nice bright, sunny and calm day.” I’ve had plenty of excellent days on the Mile in May with really nice sunny weather, but if your having a moody day on the mile remember it might not be you it might be a tough sunny day. But overall, May is when we start catching the really big fish in the Mile.
Streamer Fishing as always can be fun but I have found with all the suckers in the river, streamer fishing can be a little tough. Not snagging a sucker can be a major issue. While you can still catch big fish on streamers the by catching of suckers can get old pretty quickly.
Swinging
Spey Fishing. I start sneaking out to runs on the mile more at the end of May to swing/spey fish for big trout. This is when I start hosting mini spey clinics of one to three anglers. The sucker spawn can make spey fishing frustrating and time consuming, but there are many spots where big rainbows sit behind pods of suckers eating eggs, and these fish love eating swung flies. June is when this gets crazy good, but it starts in late May. Biggest heads up I would give to spey anglers is the wind can still be frustrating at times during May. When this is the case I use my 11’ 6” switch rod to nymph the mile so I still get to play with a two hander. Scroll further down and I will elaborate further on spey fishings the mile in June. It is literally the best.
Recommended Flies
WORMS! San Juans, Annelids and Squirmmies: red, purple, olive, tan
Eggs: Chartreuse, yellow, and orange sizes: 4mm to 8mm
Prince and Formally Known as Prince Nymphs: sizes 14 to 18
Rubber Legs: black, brown, olive/brown sizes 8 to 14
Zurdle Bug: olive/orange, brown/natural/ yellow/natural, olive/brown, white/natural sizes 8 to 12
Mayhem Midges: black size 16 to 18
Soft Hackle Pheasant Tails: size 14 to 18
Guides Choice Hares Ear: sizes 14 to 18
Three Dollar Dip/Serendipity: olive, tan, purple, chartreuse, crystal, brown sizes:14 to 18
Pine Squirrel Leech: natural, black, olive
Ice Minnow
Split Case BWO & PMD: sizes: 14 to 18
Crack Back PMD: sizes 14 to 18
Mercers Poxy Back PMD nymph: sizes 12 to 18
Hogan’s S&M: olive size 14 to 18
Fremont Canyon May
As with the other tailwaters the spawn is over and fish are eating bugs. Flows can be variable depending on the year. Check flows before you go they may be a lot higher then your use to. Fish spread out in this higher water and allow anglers to target big fish in spots that are usually dry. Caution should be used when venturing into the canyon at these higher flows. Craneflies, worms, leeches, and crayfish are all being dislodged by these higher flows and Pathfinder dam being close to full. I usually don’t get to fish Fremont all that much this time of year because I’m usually working everyday on the Reef and Mile. Big fish from Alcova Reservoir are still in the river where fly anglers can get to them. There can be monsters in this section from May to June. Fish over two feet are present. Pressure here is hard to gage, somedays you have the whole place to yourself others it can be a bit crowded. Your best chance of dry fly fishing will usually be on this tailwater in May (as opposed to the Mile or the Reef). Fish are feeding mostly on midges, mayflies and caddis that start showing up in greater number with the warmer weather. If I was going to this section I would be focused on big fish on nymphs and streamers and looking for pods of rising fish for some dry fly action. Swinging soft hackles here is excellent as well.
Recommended Flies
Split Case BWO & PMD: sizes: 14 to 18
Crack Back PMD: sizes 14 to 18
RS2’s: grey, olive, chocolate, black size: 16 to 18
CDC Quill Emergers: gray, olive, black, tan/brown sizes 16 to 18
Mercers Poxy Back PMD nymph: sizes 12 to 18
Hogan’s S&M: olive size 14 to 18
Pyscho Prince: sizes 14 to 18
Mayhem Midges & Zebra Midges : black, olive, brown, tan, cream size 16 to 20
Green Machine PT sizes 16 to 20
Lil Spankers: purple, PT, silver, red sizes 16 to 20
Crystal dips: sizes 16 to 20
Prince and Formally Known as Prince Nymphs: sizes 14 to 18 Soft Hackle Pheasant Tails: size 14 to 18
Guides Choice Hares Ear: sizes 14 to 18
Clouser Crayfish: Natural turkey back and green back variations
Soft Hackle Pheasant Tails: size 14 to 20
Guides Choice Hares Ear: sizes 14 to 20
Klinkhammers: sizes: 16 to 18
Parachute Adams: grey and purple sizes 12 to 18
Grittiths Gnat: sizes 16 to 18
JUNE
June
Grey’s Reef
Summer is here! Grab the sunscreen and get on the boat. The Reef’s flows are usually higher this time of year somewhere around 2,700 to 3,500 CFS. Its hard to put a more specific number on June because of modern day water demand fluctuations and snow pack irregularities, but basically she’s up! The weather is lovely and fishing is good. Fishing light nymph rigs and dry dropper rigs become our focus. Increased flows means doing longer floats and covering water. Running and gunning! Catch some fish keep moving. Over the course of the year the Grey’s Reef tailwater changes month to month. Water temperatures, levels and bug life spread fish out to different areas of the river you might not fish lets say in colder months when the river is low. Doing longer floats allows anglers to fish through more hot spots where fish are feeding heavily. Dry fly fishing is beginning to get good but is still more day by day then July where grass hopper fishing and dry dropper rigs become standard. June is still a good bit of nymphing but if your patient the dry dropper fishing can be quite good and this allows anglers to target more areas that big browns are probably hanging in. Pods of fish feeding on PMD’s and other similar mayflies can be a lot of fun but the consistency with which the fish feed on the adult mayflies (dry fly) can be erratic. Some days are good others you don’t see squat.
The Reef’s moss begins to grow this time of year. This creates some issues. Every year is different but usually this is when the moss can get in anglers way. Knowing the river well is really the only way to stay away from this. July & August are when the moss is most frustrating but it starts in June typically. Anglers can still stay away from it during June. I typically don’t streamer fish this time of year, I usually throw fairly aggressive dry droppers in skinny water and up against the banks for big browns. Large buoyant grass hoppers with thin mint buggers a foot or two below are how I like to target the monsters. But there is still streamer fishing to be had, but remember the moss will start to get in your way while retrieving your streamer. Nymphing the deep main runs can still be done and produce without just hooking moss but sometimes this doesn’t work all that well. The fish really spread out this time of year and sometimes you have to cover more water to find feeding fish on shelves and riffles. This is also where I stop catching as many big fish in meat and potatoes of the deep runs and holes, instead focusing on feeding lanes on shelves, riffles and tailouts. June and July is a good time for families to come, no one will be cold, weather is nice, you can always go swimming and enjoy a good lunch in the sunshine.
Recommended Flies
Rubber Legs: brown, black, olive sizes 10 to 14
Zurdle Bug: green/olive, natural/yellow size 8 to 12
Green Machine PT sizes 16 to 20
Split Case BWO & PMD: sizes: 14 to 18
Crack Back PMD: sizes 14 to 18
RS2’s: gray, chocolate, purple, olive sizes: 16 to 18
Mercers Poxy Back PMD nymph: sizes 12 to 18
Hogan’s S&M: olive size 14 to 18
Pyscho Prince: sizes 14 to 18
Mayhem Midges & Zebra Midges : black, olive, brown, tan, cream size 16 to 20
Lil Spankers: purple, PT, silver, red sizes 16 to 20
Crystal dips: sizes 16 to 20
Lightning Bug: silver, gold, purple sizes 12 to 18
Prince and Formally Known as Prince Nymphs: sizes 14 to 18 Soft Hackle Pheasant Tails: size 14 to 18
Barr’s Graphic Caddis: green, brown sizes 12 to 16
Guides Choice Hares Ear: sizes 14 to 18
Clouser Crayfish: Natural turkey back and green back variations
Soft Hackle Pheasant Tails: size 14 to 20
Guides Choice Hares Ear: sizes 14 to 20
San Juan Worms & Annelids: red, purple, wine
Pine Squirrel Leech: Olive
Chubby Chernobyl: tan, green, red, pink, yellow, purple sizes: 8 to 16
Morrish Hopper: tan, green, red, pink, yellow, purple sizes 8 to 16
PMX: royal, red, yellow, purple, olive sizes 10 to 16
Parachute Adams & Klinkhammers: sizes 12 to 18
Miracle Mile June
The Mile in June is a good time of year for anglers looking to target large rainbows. Theres always some big browns swimming around in there but mostly big bow’s are what your going to see. The flows are usually up, anywhere from 1,000 to 4,000 CFS if not higher. June can be fun because your fighting big fish in big water. A lot of guides, myself included sometimes float it twice in one day because back rowing some of the runs is just too tough. The dry fly fishing isn’t really there yet so we are still nymphing & streamer fishing. Some suckers are still in the river in certain areas but its easier to stay away from them in June. The reservoir is usually not completely full so we start floating lower down by the reservoir. The bottom end of the Mile above Pathfinder Reservoir has excellent swing water and loads of fish piled in there. Early June is by far my favorite time to spey fish this river. From year to year this window of lights of swing fishing can go longer even to July sometimes, but usually early June is awesome. Hard aggressive takes and lots of fish make this the perfect time of year for spey casters. If your interested send me an email or just check my fishing reports! Fishing rubber legs and other basic bugs along with the normal worm platters usually get it done.
Weather is good, the water is up & the fishing is usually lights out. June is a very good time of year for really big rainbows, sometimes the biggest of the season for me. I don’t alter my tactics at all to catch these bigger fish, instead just keep up the intensity and keep fishing. Some of my biggest fish from June in 2019 were still on size 18 black mayhem midges. Get on em and stay after em!
Recommended Flies
Please check out the above list for flies under Grey’s Reef June, its all the same stuff (just trying to make less scrolling for you guys! Only thing I’d emphasize here is big brown rubber legs!
Fremont Canyon
Fremont canyon can have unpredictable flows year to year this month. Whatever the water demands are dictate what this tailwater is flowing at. Anglers have more bug life to fish with, caddis, mayflies and some terrestrials are available to trout so dry dropper rigs can work very well for suspended feeding fish. You don’t always have to nymph the bottom here, most of your feeders are usually suspended. If the flows are high fish can be spread out and anglers can target fish in water that are not usually there during low flows. Be optimistic when the flows are like this, just because its different doesn’t mean the fish don’t like it. Break the river down as you would anywhere else and if it looks fishy, fish it! Don’t just tramp out across the river to where the normal river channel is, these fish can love hanging out in these new spots thanks to the increase in flow. Fish all of it. If the flows are really high (which some years they are, some years they are not), be careful & use caution wading into the canyon! Fishing the Platte’s other tailwaters during the day & coming here at night for spinner falls and more bug action can be a great way to end the day too!
Recommended Flies
Please check out the above list for flies under Grey’s Reef June, its all the same stuff (just trying to make less scrolling for you guys! Only thing I would emphasize here more is caddis this time of year.
July
Greys Reef July
Summer is in full swing here. Good weather & good fishing. Who doesn’t want to be on the water this time of year. Long summer days have us getting out earlier or trying to catch spinner falls at sunset. Flows are still up usually as high as they are going to get throughout the year so pushing long floats and covering water is still the gameplay as in June. Dry fly fishing and dry dropper rigs become my focus. The biggest difference of July and August from the rest of the year is that you have to know where the spots where the fish are feeding. Nymphing heavy rigs throughout the meat and potatoes isn’t a default you can fall back on….it just doesn’t work and usually ends up getting you a lot of small fish.
While the river is up, our leaders and rigs usually shorten up. Looking for big fish in skinny water is what I try to concentrate on. We’ve been very lucky past few years to have such good numbers of grasshoppers and this is when they come into play. With the fish spread out throughout the entire river this makes for a more “normal" or “conventional” float trip. Throwing hoppers to banks and keeping up a good pace with a search and destroy mentality is usually the most productive. Basically most guides aren’t just back rowing the big runs anymore. Personally I try to find a spot that fish are feeding on get as many as we can and keep moving. Knowing which spots are fishing well is key this time of year. It can be easy to end up spending a lot of time in water that does fish well in other times of the year, but during July (& August) just isn’t producing. This is probably the best reason to have a good guide whose on the water every day. The feeding areas are always changing and while July is awesome with its good weather, the fishing does keep an angler on their toes.
Floating lower sections becomes a fun alternative too. Guest who been fishing these waters for years looking to do something new can find awesome and considerably different water further downstream from Alcova this time of year. I love floating all the way into Casper this time of year. It is REALLY GOOD dry dropper water and really fun streamer water with a lot more structure then the upper river.
Recommended Flies
Rubber Legs: brown, black, olive sizes 10 to 14
Zurdle Bug: green/olive, natural/yellow size 8 to 12
Green Machine PT sizes 16 to 20
Split Case BWO & PMD: sizes: 14 to 18
Crack Back PMD: sizes 14 to 18
RS2’s: gray, chocolate, purple, olive sizes: 16 to 18
Mercers Poxy Back PMD nymph: sizes 12 to 18
Hogan’s S&M: olive size 14 to 18
Pyscho Prince: sizes 14 to 18
Mayhem Midges & Zebra Midges : black, olive, brown, tan, cream size 16 to 20
Lil Spankers: purple, PT, silver, red sizes 16 to 20
Crystal dips: sizes 16 to 20
Lightning Bug: silver, gold, purple sizes 12 to 18
Prince and Formally Known as Prince Nymphs: sizes 14 to 18 Soft Hackle Pheasant Tails: size 14 to 18
Barr’s Graphic Caddis: green, brown sizes 12 to 16
Guides Choice Hares Ear: sizes 14 to 18
Clouser Crayfish: Natural turkey back and green back variations
Soft Hackle Pheasant Tails: size 14 to 20
Guides Choice Hares Ear: sizes 14 to 20
San Juan Worms & Annelids: red, purple, wine
Pine Squirrel Leech: Olive
Chubby Chernobyl: tan, green, red, pink, yellow, purple sizes: 8 to 16
Morrish Hopper: tan, green, red, pink, yellow, purple sizes 8 to 16
PMX: royal, red, yellow, purple, olive sizes 10 to 16
Parachute Adams & Klinkhammers: sizes 12 to 18
Miracle Mile July
The Mile is a great place to be in July. Same as the Reef, weather is good and water is up. Last year in 2019 the flows were above 5,000 CFS, and it was some of the most fun guiding I have ever got to do. July on the Mile is most known for the big bugs…THE GOLDEN STONES. While this draws crowds to the Mile, fishing is usually so good everyone is high fiving each other. The golden stones emergence creates great nymphing and dry fly fishing. Especially above the bridge dry dropper rigs out of a boat are about as fun as it gets. Due to high flows though I always tell my guest ok I can only slow the boat down so much in some of these spots, GET IT IN THERE! But at the same time flows are so high I usually run the whole length of the Mile twice in one day. Its just too fun not to. Big fish are present, I did notice last year in 2019 I hooked quite a few really nice big brown trout too in addition to some monster rainbows. Again same as the reef flows are up but my leader length usually goes down, fish are feeding so you really don’t need 9 foot wrecking ball rigs, you won’t catch as many fish. Its summer time and these guys are feeding. I love the Mile in July and wished it last longer.
Recommended Flies: Please see directly above in Greys Reef July section.
Golden Stone patterns, I rely heavily on rubber legs, but twenty inches and more realistic variations are effective too. For the adults I use water walkers and chubbies