As this is being written, it is a cool 65 degrees in Casper, WY. The dog days of summer have come and gone. Our river has also dropped to winter flows. This can only mean one thing- Fall fishing is here, folks.
The Grey Reef
The Reef is moving at 500 CFS. There is still some grass in the system, so be prepared to clean off your bugs. Cooler temps and a little time will start to clean this out. We are pleased to report that we have seen some heads up the last few weeks. They have been keying in on Trico’s in the morning, and have even been sipping some Caddis in the afternoon. As usual, things are fishing most consistently off the nymph rig. Caddis have been the ticket- specifically the White’s Caddie Shack in tan. We had some rain the last couple of days, which has made things murky. The river is cleaning as we speak, but we have been having luck on main protein sources like leeches, worms and crawdads trhough this time. We feel that things will be back to normal operating procedures by the weekend.
Miracle Mile
The Mile is also down to winter flows and moving at 500 CFS. The Mile has been a bit of a slow burn the last few weeks. After flows dropped to 500 CFS in mid August, we backed off that stretch due to concerns of water temperatures. With things cooling down, the fishing is starting to fire up. Grass is starting to move out of the system day by day. With even cooler temperatures on the horizon, coupled with the winter flows, conditions are starting to align. We are looking forward to seeing the Mile through the fall. Caddis are coming off on this stretch as well. It is fishing most productively sub-surface, filling your rig with midges and main protein sources.
White’s Caddie Shack
Ugly Bug’s very own and full time guide, Dustin White, curated this pattern after hundreds of days on the water, trying to find the perfect bug for a caddis hatch!
