Louisiana!!!!

Katherine and I traveled to New Orleans last week to visit family. As always I looked at the trip as an opportunity to chase some redfish. I made a quick call to Wes Swank, a client and friend of the North Platte Lodge and we scheduled a trip with Capt. Greg Dini. Capt. Greg Dini, an ex-Tulane University baseball player, grew up in Florida chasing redfish in Mosquito Lagoon. He has since started a guide service pursuing redfish in Louisiana and tarpon in Florida.
We were picked up at our hotel in the morning and we headed south towards Venice and the vast marsh system of southern Louisiana. After a short twenty minute run we were poling our way down a spartina grass island waiting the days first redfish. An extremely high tide made tailing fish a rarity but we still managed to find fish cruising, chasing mullet/shrimp, and/or floating. I know floating seems like an odd word to describe fish behavior but we found numerous fish just floating, not on the bottom, not tailing, floating!!!! These fish were more than happy to assault the sz. 2 tan wiggler pattern or spoon fly making for some exciting fishing.
According to Greg the high tide that day had made conditions more difficult than normal. Despite these strange conditions we still managed to catch some nice redfish. Redfish make for exciting sightfishing without having to cross the globe. If you've never been redfishing, put it on your list! If you've never been redfishing in southern Louisiana, put it on your list! It is without a doubt the most productive redfish fishery in the world! Lots of fish and very few fly fisherman make it a trip worth making. Capt. Greg Dini is great guide with intimate knowledge of this area and an unparalleled passion for his work. Check out his website at www.flywaterexpeditions.com

Getting Political and Picking Trash

Yesterday we participated in a trash collection day organized by the Wyoming Fly Casters. North Platte Lodge and The Reef Fly Shop had a couple boats floating from Government Bridge to Sechrist, Ugly Bug had a couple from Sechrist to Bessemer and Wyoming Fly Fishing had a couple from Bessemer to Robertson Rd. The Wyoming Fly Casters had a good ground crew that focused on the "camping" areas along the river below Government Bridge to the Gray Cliffs.
It is always frustrating to realize a few dirtbags are responsible for so much damage. 4 wheelers being driven anywhere and everywhere they feel like. Beer and vodka containers were the theme on our stretch while the Wyoming Fly Fishing boys collected beer cans and popped air mattresses from all the party floaters towards town. It is now looking very good and we hope, with all of your help, it will stay that way. It only takes a moment to pull over and net floating debris. Unfortunately, it is up to us to take care of the folks who's mama didn't teach 'em right.
The Wyoming Fly Casters were gracious to grill up some rib eyes and put out a great summer spread. Afterward, the guides were invited to share our views on North Platte River politics. It was reassuring to know that there is a genuine interest in taking advice from the people who spend the most time one the river and, frankly, know it better than anyone.
The guides perspectives really focuses around the spawn. We suggested clear signage closer to the access areas that describe what the spawn looks like, why the spawners should be left alone and to stay clear of spawning beds for a time well beyond the end on the active spawn. The signs would also have very clear "no bait fishing allowed" or "Trophy Waters, Flies and lures only" or ? They would also post the limit which is only 1 trout, over 20" in possession. These signs would be located near the water in clear view...similar to what you might find in Yellowstone.
We also wanted more consideration for the spawn when the BuRec alters water flows in the spring. Often times they increase flows in mid April. The trout move in to the "new" shallow areas to build redds. Then the water flows are decreased due to lack of demand and the redds are now left high and dry...killing the eggs and next years class.
We requested that The Cardwell Access Area be fly fishing only and ALL catch and release.
We requested a continuation of the fall flush program.
We requested that there be NO stocking of hatchery fish on the upper 8 miles...from Grey Reef to Lusby. The Game and Fish has determined that the last several years have had poor recruitment and they may need to supplement. We suggested leaving it alone and trying to fix the problem instead of band aiding it. Primarily it would mean educating fishers and having consistent flows during the spawn.
There was some interest in selectively harvesting some pelicans and cormorants.
We suggested trash receptacles in key North Platte River access areas. And this would likely result in camping fees on BLM. But, a nominal fee would be required to provide some of these services.
One of my main concerns with the recent river development is that it might be short sighted. What I mean is that you can build a bunch of toilets, ramps, paths etc. But, now they must be maintained. The new path along the Cable Hole is already getting overgrown, and the boat ramp at Government Bridge is severely overgrown and has been for three years...even after several request to fix the problem.
Check out the new survey. It will focus on Fremont Canyon AKA Cardwell.
Erik Aune

Ol' Blue

It seems that in every circle there is a piece of equipment named Ol' Blue. Most of the time it is a treasured (if not abused) truck or car. In this case it is a drift boat. Owner/Operator Seth Kapust put her into service in 2001. There is no single boat that has logged more miles on Grey Reef than Ol' Blue...not even close. Seth guides at least 180 days per season. When he isn't guiding he is fishing or sleeping...he doesn't sleep very much. Seth's boat has been down many rivers. The latest were the Roaring Fork and the Colorado. Click on the images to see facial expressions.
Erik Aune

One last look before dropping in


View of the dark side


Ol' Blue taking care of business


Seth smiling after a fun ride

North Platte Fly Fishing-Summer Session

Well, it's been a pretty impressive year thus far on the North Platte. This year has produced some of the biggest fish and most exciting fishing we've seen. Let's just say this, we ran out of 25" club hats (we give out hats to clients who catch fish 25" or greater) about three weeks ago! Not only have the fish been big, the fishing had been exciting...hopper/dropper, stripping streamers, sight nymphing, etc. Tricos should be here soon making for some of the most exciting dry fly fishing of the year and the fall streamer fishing is just around the corner...stay tuned!

Reason #1 we love the summer on Grey Reef!

Granted you can still run the river just like you would in the spring, summer fishing offers a change in tactics, making for exciting fishing and some impressive catches. Yellow sallies in the riffles, tricos on the bank, or tossing the big junk...there is a reason our guides live for the summer.

Well, we've had weeks of moisture with just a few days of sunshine mixed in. Reservoirs are filling and the ground is saturated. The fishing, as always this time of year, is nothing short of phenomenal. Here are some pics over the past few weeks...enjoy!

Carp Poll Results and project CARP JON

Thanks everybody for participating in the carp poll. Pretty evenly matched between slayers and nay slayers. 19 Reefers really enjoy carping and look forward to it, while 9 or you think they are disgusting. I can't blame either group although I am on the Hell Yeah! end of things. 6 of you would rather stick to trout and 2 will carp for a change of scene.

Carping is a funny thing. For me it is as much about kicking the shoes off, wading around in the shallow sandy areas and enjoying a couple adult beverages as it is about catching fish. Casting to cruising fish is pretty hard to beat though. I don't think I would spend much time doing it if I was wading through mucky black mud (in my waders) with the outside temps in the 40s...like I would for trout. I associate carping with warm weather and warm water (although neither are need to catch them).

I enjoy it so much that I am in the process of modifying my jon boat with a jet outboard to be a more proficient carping tool. I have a 16' welded modified v hull Alumacraft jon boat that I originally bought for this very purpose. It is an awesome craft because you can drag it up on the rocks to beach it and I can also run the river for quick access to wade fishing spots(trout). I even have a fish finder and pedestal seats for a poor mans walleye rig. We really suck at walleye fishing, but it is fun to try sometimes.

My boat has a side console and a meager 6 gallon fuel tank and battery in the rear compartment. Last night I removed the console and the side panel so I could run some long battery cables from the rear to relocate the battery up front. This will help distribute the weight better and allow me to get on step a little quicker. It will also allow me to install a 12 gallon fuel tank (which I've had for 3 years, but have been to lazy to do this project).

I also had to enlarge the opening under the front casting deck to make room for 2 Optima marine/cranking batteries mounted on their side. Yeti Coolers just sent me an 80 qt Roughneck cube which will be used for the casting platform. The cooler will be strapped to the deck to secure it. I am a little worried about the height of the cooler it is a tall 20". By the way Yeti Coolers are available by special order at The Reef Fly Shop.

I have already put together a 19' Mangrove graphite push pole. These are also available at The Reef Fly Shop. They come in 4' sections with ferrules and a point and a foot. They can be cut for custom lengths, but I chose to put mine together full size. If we feel it is too long we can cut one end off and epoxy a new point back on. These poles are easy to build, light and tough. There are lots of positive reviews out there. I haven't used mine yet so I can't really say. Putting it together was a breeze...sand the inside surface of the pole and the outside surface of the ferrules, clean with acetone and epoxy it together.

The last item will be building a poling platform. This isn't a dedicated carp rig, so the platform will have to be easily removable. I haven't decided if I will make it with 4 legs that sit on the rear deck and is strapped down to secure it. Or, weld or bolt receivers to the transom where a 2 legged platform will slide into place and be secured by a pin or 2. The 4 legged version would be able to be transferred between mine and Trent's boat with little fuss. But the 2 legged version would require no tie down points thus less crap on the rear deck.

It's fun doing it and I hope the outcome will be rewarding. This boat has done the job pretty well for the last 5 years without going to this extreme. I am taking pictures as I go and will post a "build up" thread as I finish. I'm not sure if anybody will really care about this project, but while searching the internet I found lots of guys who wanted to convert their jon boats to flats skiffs. There is very little info on it, and what info there is are mostly ghetto conversions.
Erik