Local angler and TRFS patron Jarrod "J-Rod" Johnson with a N. Platte brown trout caught last Saturday.

Big Water Starting Early It Seems!

Early river releases begin

By JOSHUA WOLFSON Star-Tribune staff writer

The Bureau of Reclamation began releasing water from the North Platte River reservoir system on Tuesday in preparation for above-average spring runoff.

Federal officials want to create space in the already-swollen system before the snowpack that feeds it begins to melt. They hope to avoid the problems experienced last year when late spring storms led to downstream flooding after temperatures rose over the summer.

The bureau hasn’t released water this early along the North Platte since 1998.

“We just don’t have the storage space,” said BuRec Wyoming Area Manager John Lawson. “We can’t wait and expect to release the water later, because if we do, we would have to release water at a much higher flow, and that would create impacts downstream.”

After three above-average water years, the reservoir system that runs from Seminoe to Guernsey is already storing 2.2 million acre feet of water. It normally contains 1.5 million acre feet.

The snowpack that feeds the upper reaches of the system is 136 percent above average. When it melts, officials expect spring and summer flows into Seminoe to rival last year — when runoff filled reservoirs to historic levels.

“We are taking a pre-emptive strike,” Lawson said.

The early-season releases began Tuesday at Glendo Reservoir. Releases from Guernsey Reservoir will follow next week.

The bureau plans to release 400,000 acre feet out of the system in March and April, Lawson said. That’s enough to fill Guernsey Reservoir nine times.

The early-season releases will create higher river levels than normal for this time of year in eastern Wyoming and western Nebraska.

The bureau had intended to start releasing more water out of Gray Reef Reservoir today. But icy conditions and below-freezing forecasts postponed those plans for a few weeks.

Releasing more water now could cause ice jams and flooding, Lawson said.

Postponing the Gray Reef releases will force officials to send more water downstream later on. But those flows will still be well below the volume of the North Platte during the summer months.

Casper Star-Tribune

Snow Goose Migration Has Begun

http://www.wyobraskawaterfowl.com or click the link in the right margin.
JJ Randolph, NPL and TRFS guide and owner of Wyobraska Waterfowl, has informed us that the Snow Goose migration is on and hunting is "spectacular".

Taken from Wyobraska Waterfowl's news page:

Game On!

After many weeks of scanning the northern horizon for the first signs of the migration, the game is on! Yesterday we had many birds move through the area. Small Canadas were moving all day in huge flocks. Even saw a few snows. My father and I hunted the river in Nebraska yesterday afternoon. Saw and decoyed lots of mallards. My new puppy Molly's first retrieve was a big fat greenhead. There were at least 75 birds in the flock. With no wind they were going every which way as they settled into the decoys. As I stood from the blind to make the shot, Molly sat rock steady and marked the drake as he folded in front of the blind. Molly marked it perfectly and delivered her first duck to hand. I was a very proud papa. Stopped by lake at Henry today and it was covered with mallards. No b
Mon, Feb 21 201

Small pic sorry. This this NPL and TRFS guide Ryan Hudson with a big brown that he landed about a half hour ago. Both Stu and Ryan are out...I would suspect Seth is wandering around the area as well. Battling the wind is worth it...
*River Conditions Update* Still lots of ice below Government Bridge. Grey Reef to Lusby is open. Clear water and cold, but the fish are still hot. Miracle Mile is high at the moment and Fremont is low and clear.

Matt's big bonefish!

CLIFF owner Matt Cassel with another big Hawaiian bonefish! Well done Matt!

Winter conditions on Grey Reef.

Lusby access.

Lusby boat ramp.

Old Government Bridge.

Here's a couple shots from this morning. Just wanted everyone to see what the recent cold weather has done to Grey Reef.

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