Tag: Wyoming fly fishing

WY HUNTING & FISHING: “The Tug Is The Drug – It’s Streamer Time On The North Platte River”

Posted on by wlmeditor

Thanks to Platte River Fly Shop & Mark Boname Photography for our latest installment in our look at Wyoming hunting & fishing!


Fall is definitely known as “trophy trout time” on the North Platte River Tail Waters and it’s one of our favorite times to fish. Because of the heavy snow pack runoff, the North Platte has been high all summer and is finally starting to recede to its normal fall clear low levels.

Photo by Mark Boname Photography

Streamer fishing is probably our most favorite way to fish the North Platte because it produces so many large fish. As the river drops this fall, the lower flows will give fisherman access to classic runs, flat-water glides, and undercut banks that are typically obscured by higher flows during the summer. With this clear water most of the time you can actually see the fish come out of nowhere and eat your fly. Streamer fishing in general involves a little more casting than other methods but the reward is definitely there. It is truly something special when a big fish almost pulls the rod from your hand while attacking your fly on the retrieve.

It can also be said with reasonable confidence that fall on the North Platte offers anglers their best shot at a true trophy. Double digit browns as well as rainbows are caught every year in the fall. On these fall streamer trips you won’t catch as many fish as nymphing  in the spring and summer months but the size and quality will make up for it.

To streamer fish effectively you must cover a lot of water; so fishing from a boat is the most effective way to cover long sections of the river. However, those that wade can also do well by using a heavier sinking line. We recommend a 7 to 8 weight fly rod with a sink tip line for throwing big streamers all day.

Photo by Mark Boname Photography

Don’t forget to bring your dry fly rod and a box of small dry flies as well. Fall is one of the best dry fly fishing times of  the year. We have both a good Blue Wing Olive and Pseudo hatch along with some left over hoppers and caddis. Watch the banks as you float down river as these fish are feeding very quietly and half the time you have to see them to know they are there.

We hope you have a great successful fall fishing season and please don’t hesitate to visit our website at www.wyomingflyfishing.com, our Facebook page at North Platte River Fly Shop, or call the Platte River Fly Shop at 307-237-5997.

Article by the Platte River Fly Shop Guide Staff / Photography Mark Boname

Thanks Mark & Platte River Fly Shop for this column!  Happy fishing this fall season — the weather is still gorgeous, so be sure to get out there!

‘Til Next Time…I’m craving more outdoor activities while the weather’s so beautiful!

Kati Hime, Editor

editor@wyolifestyle.com

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WY HUNTING & FISHING: It’s Hopper Time!

Posted on by wlmeditor

LINK BACK TO OUR WEBSITES:  www.wyolifestyle.com — Read the Current Issue and www.wyovore.com — Coming soon for Fall 2011 — our NEW bookstore version!

All images copyright and courtesy of Mark Boname Photography

Thanks to Mark Boname of North Platte River Fly Shop in Casper for providing us with our first Wyoming hunting & fishing blog!  Mark has some great input as well as remarkable photography — visit their website or their Facebook page, and give them a call for your Wyoming fishing answers…and THANKS Mark for the blog post and great photos!

It’s that time of year again! If you’re a farmer or rancher, you are probably saying some four letter words under your breath, but if you’re a fisherman you’ve got to love it. The Natrona County Extension Agency is predicting another record infestation of grass hoppers this year. By what I’ve seen so far they’re correct, however it seems that there are pockets around the county where the hopper populations are higher than others. Unfortunately for fisherman this year, in anticipation a lot of property owners below Gray Reef Dam have sprayed and we are not seeing as many hoppers in the upper reaches of the river.

Last year was the first real hopper fly fishing season on the North Platte River since I started guiding in 1987. With the culmination of a high hopper population, high water and windy conditions, fishing hopper patterns along the banks has been unbelievable. Watching 20 inch rainbows rise from nowhere to smash your fly is a more aggressive style of fishing and quite thrilling. Half the time it would scare you to death with a reaction that caused you to take the fly away from them.

Hopper fishing on the North Platte is definitely better done from a boat as you can drift down along the banks and cover more of the water. You can wade fish using hopper patterns, but can only present the pattern for so long over a single piece of water before you will have to move on and find a new stretch of untouched water.  In addition, if you quarter your casts up river you will get better drag free drifts.

High mountain hopper fishing is exceptionally good and usually lags a couple weeks behind what we find down along the valley floors. As with any dry fly, it is best to fish hoppers upstream, casting to pockets and seams and letting the fly drift back to you. Just make sure that you’re stripping enough line so that when it comes back to you and you get a strike, you can set the hook more efficiently.

With the introduction of high density foam into the fly tying arena, a lot of great new hopper patterns are out on the market today. These new patterns are not only more durable, but also float higher and longer without the need for putting fly floating on them. Although the old spun deer hair hoppers like Joe’s Hoppers are still just as effective, I’m noticing the hoppers right now in all different colors and sizes – so don’t worry too much about the color as much as the durability and floatation factor.

For more information about fishing or getting a guide trip for the hopper season please contact us at the Platte River Fly Shop — 307-237-5997,info@wyomingflyfishing.com

Thanks again Mark!  Stay tuned to our new blog category for info on hunting & fishing, as well as the other category topics listed…  Our fall issues of Wyoming Lifestyle Magazine and Wyovore will be coming out before long for fall 2011!

‘Til next Time,

Kati Hime, Editor

editor@wyolifestyle.com

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