In mid-July I was lucky enough to spend an entire week in Wyoming. My family and I stayed at a ranch on the North Platte River just outside of Encampment, Wyoming. The North Platte was flowing high due to significant snow melt. The conditions were great and we were able float the river three times.
Tackle and Techniques are slightly different out West in comparison to the East coast. We were mostly fishing with five and six weights where on the Gunpowder we typically use three and four weights. On larger water a larger rod is necessary. Big flies and large trout are easier to handle on a five weight rod rather than a three weight rod. I fished a nine foot Thomas and Thomas five weight matched with a Bauer M2SL for most of the week. My weight forward five weight SA Sharkskin line was perfect for shooting large hoppers to the banks of the Platte. We also used a Winston LT 8 foot 9 inch five piece, five weight rod. These pack rods are easy to travel with and are ideal for your next trip out west.
Throughout the week, bug activity was tremendous. My Dad and I hit a prolific green drake hatch on the Encampment River one morning. On the Platte, pale morning duns in sizes #12-14 were coming off in the early hours of the day. The caddis hatch in the evening seemed to bring almost every fish in the river to the surface. The caddis were in sizes #12-20. If a size #12 elk hair caddis didn’t produce, than a smaller size #18 would get the job done. Many large and small stoneflies such as yellow sallies were abundant throughout the week. Each day I found large stonefly shucks in the size #4-6 range on boulders near the banks of the river. In between hatches I fished large hoppers tight to the bank. Some of the more productive patterns included the Rainy’s Grand Hopper, the Schroeders Hopper, and the Joe’s Hopper. Three and four-x leaders were as light as you could go when fishing large dries. A Copper John or Caddis Pupa dropper accounted for many of the fish we caught during the middle hours of the day. We landed many rainbows and browns in the 14-17 inch range throughout the week.
My friend, Will Simmons, from Houston, Texas, was lucky enough to nymph up a 29 inch wild rainbow below the confluence of a large tributary on the Platte. It was easily the fish of the trip. Also note, a bigger net comes in handy for larger western fish. We carry a rubber mesh catch and release Wolf Moon net with a 15 inch handle and a 18 by 8.5 inch frame. All in all the fishing was superb!
Author Archive for a mccrickard
Last week I spent three days fishing the Savage River with my friends, Robby and Bryan Lepczyk. Bugs were abundant in pocket water stretches and in riffles. On any given night, I saw numerous species of Mayflies and Stoneflies.
Lime and Yellow Sallies in size #14 combined with hatches of Caddis, Sulphurs, and Light Cahills in size #16 made for some exciting fishing. Midges and BWO’s were hatching in the middle hours of the day. However, in the evening, lots of midges swarmed in clumps above the river. Throughout the mornings and afternoons, Robby, Bryan, and I had success fishing attractor dries. We often skated Elk Hair Caddis’ through the riffles and runs, while an Ausable Wulff was a great go-to dry fly for fishing pocket water. A standard size # 16 bead head prince nymph worked well in deeper water. We caught lots of nice brown trout throughout the trip ranging from 9 to 13 inches. However we saw some bigger fish and were able to catch a couple. Robby Lepczyk landed a nice 16 inch brown on an attractor dry fly right before dark on our second night. We also found some nice brook trout during our trip.
It’s really nice knowing that the Savage is only a three hour drive from Monkton Maryland, and that it is still a wild trout fishery with regulated sections.
Alex McCrickard’s Gunpowder River Stream Report
Published by June 14th, 2008 in fishing report. Closed I fished the river last Monday for the majority of the day. I fished in the Upper Catch and Release section and started at around 8 in the morning. As sunlight seeped through the trees and reflected over the water, the Gunpowder River seemed to be an excellent place to be prospecting for wild brown trout. All morning, Caddis were sporadically coming off in size #16 as the sun warmed the water.
I saw many midges in sizes #20-24 hatching in the riffle water. Lots of midges were clouding up together over back eddies and flats, dancing above the water. I skated a size #16 tan Elk Hair Caddis through the riffle water in front of me, which accounted for a few browns. As I worked my way through the riffles, I switched to nymphing. I fished a size #14 bead head Pheasant Tail nymph with a smaller Hare’s Ear nymph as a dropper. I attached a small split shot above the Hare’s Ear nymph to attain more depth. I added a stick-on indicator four feet above the Pheasant Tail nymph on my 9ft 6x leader. I worked my way up the riffle and picked up many fish on the smaller hare’s ear nymph. The average fish was a chunky 8 to 11 inch brown trout eager to take a fly. The nymphing was a ton of fun and I was filled with euphoria every time my indicator shot underneath the surface as I found myself tight to another Gunpowder River brown trout.
I fished hard throughout the morning and into the afternoon. Early in the afternoon I ran into Gunpowder River Guide, Bill Wolf. At this point in the day, sulphurs were coming off here and there. The bugs were in sizes #16 and #18. It was a light hatch as the bugs were not incredibly thick. However, Bill and I scanned the flat water and saw a trout nose or two breaking the surface.
We worked the water together and fished Comparadun patterns and CDC emergers. We were able to fool a few fish that were rising and it was satisfying getting some surface action. I consistently caught fish throughout the entire day. The fish of the day was a nice rainbow I caught in the morning. Stop in by the shop and we’ll recommend some effective patterns. The river is fishing well so wet a line!
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Alex McCrickard’s East Gallatin Stream report from Bozeman, Montana
Alex’s East Gallatin River Stream Report from Bozeman, Montana
Published by September 4th, 2007 in fishing report. ClosedEarlier this month, my Dad and I were lucky enough to spend a morning fishing the East Gallatin River, about five minutes away from the Bozeman airport in Montana. The East Gallatin is not a raging western river by any standards but is considered a small stream as it is only a tributary to the larger and well known Gallatin River. The East Gallatin is mostly made up of deep bending pools with long undercut banks.
In between many of the larger pools are small riffles and flats, which provide great feeding grounds for eager trout. The East Gallatin is home to wild brown and rainbow trout. We fished the river at the access point where Milesnick Spring Creek runs in. On the morning we fished the river, many insects were out and about. A few caddis were hatching in size #14-16. We came across terrestrials including large hoppers, beetles, and ants. The trico hatch was tremendous, starting around 10 a.m., as bugs were grouped in massive amounts over the flats and riffles. My Dad and I had some success nymphing deep with small patterns before the tricos really started hatching. I was fishing with a size #20 bead head PT nymph dropped below a larger size #12 bead head prince nymph. I had one small split shot above the prince nymph and then one indicator about 4 feet up. This rig accounted for a few fish before the hatch started, all on the small PT nymph.
Once the hatch started, I was able to pick up a few more fish on the surface using small trico comparaduns in size #20.The fish of the day was this 23 inch brown trout that I caught on the size #20 bead head PT nymph. This fish put up a great fight and I was shocked to land it on 5X. All in all it was a very memorable morning.
The North Platte Fly Fishing Report from Encampment, Wyoming
Published by July 30th, 2007 in fishing report. ClosedThe fishing on the North Platte River during the week of July 8th was excellent. My Dad and I were fishing the river just upstream a few miles from the town of Encampment, Wyoming. The flows on the river were extremely low, making a float trip impossible. However, wading in the low flows of the Platte provided great action.
The bugs were everywhere during the entire week. Each morning I would find at least a couple large golden stone casings on each boulder inthe river.These were about size #6 or #8. Caddis were hatching along with PMDs in #14-16. The trico hatch was tremendous eachmorning while we were there. It looked as if there was a dense fog laying over the river each day at around 10 am. The spinner fall provided excellent action. The terrestrial life was brilliant as well. Large hoppers were everywhere along with plenty of ants. When the tricos were not hatching I was always fishing tight to the bank with a large hopper usually in a size #4 or #6. Some of my favorite hopper patterns throughout the week included the BC Dropper Hopper and the Idylwilde Parachute Hopper. But any large deer hair or foam pattern would get the job done. I also used a variety of large black and tan chernoyble ants that brought many fish to the net. Ipractically fished only dries all week but I did occasionally drop abeadhead off a hopper. A standard size #14 bead head copper john nymph worked wonders.
One morning, a heavy rain left the river slightly off color. My Dad and I fished woolly buggers and had a banner morning with plenty of big browns.
