smarty140
Well-known member
Note: will add some more pics once I get them off my SD card... new laptop doesn’t have a reader so have to figure out what to use!
A friend and I took our annual trip to Wyoming last week. Normally we hit the Bighorn in Montana on the way out, but this year headed south first and only fished Wyoming.
After meeting south of the Twin Cities, MN and dropping a vehicle at his cousin’s course, we drove as far as Wall, SD on Friday night. Saturday morning we drove to Casper (nope, skipped Wall Drug!), got our licenses and food for the week, and headed to the Grey Reef section of the North Platte. We wade fished on Saturday and each had some action, but nothing spectacular. There was a ton of surface activity right towards dark with fish eating caddis, but didn’t land any late in the day. We camped at Pete’s Draw campground.
On Sunday we rented a drift boat and floated a section below Government Bridge. We were delayed in the morning by a flat tire on the truck - put the spare on before launching and getting fishing. The trico activity right away, right out in front of the landing, was great. We caught a couple fish straight out in front of the landing before heading downstream. Unfortunately, that was the most intense surface activity of the day! We found a few other spots with rising fish, and also got a couple on hoppers or nymphs through the day, but the first hour was definitely the best!
Unfortunately, we had a bad surprise when we reached the landing... another flat, this one on the other side of the truck! So now we were at a landing with a rental boat to return, a flat on the truck, and another flat in the spare tire holder... fortunately there was actually cell service at the landing, so we were able to call the fly shop so they could come pick up the boat (not sure if I’m getting a bill for that or not...) and a tow truck to come take us to Casper. By 8:30 the next morning my buddy’s truck had 4 new tires and we were headed to the campground to get our gear and pack up camp to head to the Miracle Mile.
We fished the Mile for 2 days and had a good time. There was a bit of dry fly activity early and late in the day, and nymphing and streamers caught some fish during the day. We both had encounters with what appeared to be big browns from the lake, but never got them to commit to our streamers. We fished all the way from as close to the dam as you can get without going over steep cliffs, and downstream to what looks like the beginning of the lake section in higher water.
Wednesday morning we packed up and went to the Fremont Canyon section. It was a beautiful morning!
The fishing was, in a word, frustrating! The tricos were so thick it actually got annoying with them getting in my face, mouth, etc! The fish were gorging themselves on these tiny bugs, but the currents and weeds made it really tough to get a drag free drift. I finally managed to hook a nice rainbow on what must have been my 30th cast to it, but it immediately bolted upstream and snapped my tippet.
Once the surface activity stopped, we went farther downstream and fished in the canyon for a while. My buddy got one on a hopper, but I was skunked.
From there, we headed to Lander and fished a local river. I think this was the lowest flow I’ve fished on that river, but the fishing was spectacular. I landed a couple 20” class bows, and lost a couple others in that range.
After enjoying burgers and beer at the Lander Bar that night, we headed towards Thermopolis the next morning to fish that area... and the excellent fishing continued. In terms of numbers of big fish, it was the best day I’ve ever had. I landed 5 fish in the 20” range, all but 1 were rainbows. Before this trip, I’d only had a fish take me to my backing once... it happened 3 times in a couple hour span on this day. The fast current and difficult wading certainly give the fish an advantage, but these were strong, heavy fish also! This was a brown that hit a hopper for me - not as big as the bows I was catching, but an exciting fish!
My buddy didn’t have as good of a day in terms of numbers, but stuck to hoppers most of the day and caught some nice fish, including the best fish of the trip for either of us - a 22-23” brown that followed his hopper downstream 15-20 feet before finally eating it! It was a beautiful fish!
Oddly enough, the next morning was terrible! We both fished hard until about 1pm, and got completely skunked! I’m not sure what was so different than the day before, but it sure wasn’t how we thought we’d end the trip!
After loading up and finding a good lunch at the One Eyed Buffalo in Thermopolis, we hit the road towards home after another great trip. This time we stayed overnight in Rapid City... then hit Wall Drug for breakfast!
ryan
A friend and I took our annual trip to Wyoming last week. Normally we hit the Bighorn in Montana on the way out, but this year headed south first and only fished Wyoming.
After meeting south of the Twin Cities, MN and dropping a vehicle at his cousin’s course, we drove as far as Wall, SD on Friday night. Saturday morning we drove to Casper (nope, skipped Wall Drug!), got our licenses and food for the week, and headed to the Grey Reef section of the North Platte. We wade fished on Saturday and each had some action, but nothing spectacular. There was a ton of surface activity right towards dark with fish eating caddis, but didn’t land any late in the day. We camped at Pete’s Draw campground.
On Sunday we rented a drift boat and floated a section below Government Bridge. We were delayed in the morning by a flat tire on the truck - put the spare on before launching and getting fishing. The trico activity right away, right out in front of the landing, was great. We caught a couple fish straight out in front of the landing before heading downstream. Unfortunately, that was the most intense surface activity of the day! We found a few other spots with rising fish, and also got a couple on hoppers or nymphs through the day, but the first hour was definitely the best!
Unfortunately, we had a bad surprise when we reached the landing... another flat, this one on the other side of the truck! So now we were at a landing with a rental boat to return, a flat on the truck, and another flat in the spare tire holder... fortunately there was actually cell service at the landing, so we were able to call the fly shop so they could come pick up the boat (not sure if I’m getting a bill for that or not...) and a tow truck to come take us to Casper. By 8:30 the next morning my buddy’s truck had 4 new tires and we were headed to the campground to get our gear and pack up camp to head to the Miracle Mile.
We fished the Mile for 2 days and had a good time. There was a bit of dry fly activity early and late in the day, and nymphing and streamers caught some fish during the day. We both had encounters with what appeared to be big browns from the lake, but never got them to commit to our streamers. We fished all the way from as close to the dam as you can get without going over steep cliffs, and downstream to what looks like the beginning of the lake section in higher water.
Wednesday morning we packed up and went to the Fremont Canyon section. It was a beautiful morning!
The fishing was, in a word, frustrating! The tricos were so thick it actually got annoying with them getting in my face, mouth, etc! The fish were gorging themselves on these tiny bugs, but the currents and weeds made it really tough to get a drag free drift. I finally managed to hook a nice rainbow on what must have been my 30th cast to it, but it immediately bolted upstream and snapped my tippet.
Once the surface activity stopped, we went farther downstream and fished in the canyon for a while. My buddy got one on a hopper, but I was skunked.
From there, we headed to Lander and fished a local river. I think this was the lowest flow I’ve fished on that river, but the fishing was spectacular. I landed a couple 20” class bows, and lost a couple others in that range.
After enjoying burgers and beer at the Lander Bar that night, we headed towards Thermopolis the next morning to fish that area... and the excellent fishing continued. In terms of numbers of big fish, it was the best day I’ve ever had. I landed 5 fish in the 20” range, all but 1 were rainbows. Before this trip, I’d only had a fish take me to my backing once... it happened 3 times in a couple hour span on this day. The fast current and difficult wading certainly give the fish an advantage, but these were strong, heavy fish also! This was a brown that hit a hopper for me - not as big as the bows I was catching, but an exciting fish!
My buddy didn’t have as good of a day in terms of numbers, but stuck to hoppers most of the day and caught some nice fish, including the best fish of the trip for either of us - a 22-23” brown that followed his hopper downstream 15-20 feet before finally eating it! It was a beautiful fish!
Oddly enough, the next morning was terrible! We both fished hard until about 1pm, and got completely skunked! I’m not sure what was so different than the day before, but it sure wasn’t how we thought we’d end the trip!
After loading up and finding a good lunch at the One Eyed Buffalo in Thermopolis, we hit the road towards home after another great trip. This time we stayed overnight in Rapid City... then hit Wall Drug for breakfast!
ryan
