So far this year January has been on the brutal side of things. Very cold weather and lots of wind has been the norm. I am in Jackson Wyoming, till early February but I just went back home to Alcova and I was surprised to see the Reef, frozen over at the Lusby take out. If this is the case anglers should be careful if your venturing out to float the Reef. While our past two January’s had plenty of nice days for floating, this one is being kind of a pain. The weather is harsh and not cooperating. On the flip side of this coin we are already at 100% snow pack so our water levels are going to be good. Lets just hope Nebraska doesn’t flood again this year!
Until it warms up, be careful floating the Reef. There are multiple big ice jams as of right now. I would recommend NOT FLOATING THE REEF. Pushing boats around and through these ice jams is dangerous and not worth it. I would go fish Fremont, or the Mile right now. For suggestions on fishing these two sections now, look up my suggestions under the Time Of Year tab for some helpful info!
A couple of guys have been fishing the Mile and it is fishing well. Be careful driving up there and once you get there pick your spots wisely. Snow drifts are very common up there and its easy to get stuck up there. Remember not a lot of people go up there this time of year so if you do get stuck don’t count on being able to find anyone for help. But the Mile can fish great this time of year and seems like it has been. Streamer fishing with the low and slow method is getting them. I love the streamer fishing there in January targeting the big brown trout this time of year. Keep your fly slow and on the bottom (same goes for the reef)! Charlie and Tony fished this past couple of days and got a couple of really nice big browns.
Recommended Flies for Reef & the MileHuevos: green, orange, yellow size: 6mm to 8mm
San Juan Worms: red, purple, wine
Annelids (reef worms): red, purple size: 12
Pine Squirrel Leech: black, natural, olive
RS2’s: chocolate, grey, black, olive, purple size 14 to 18
All Day May: olive, purple, black, cream size 14 to 18
Pheasant Tail: size: 12 to 18
Scuds: tan, olive, orange size: 12 to 18
Streamers: Goldie, Kreelex, Rusty Trombone, Sparkle Minnow, Ice Minnow, Dali Llama’s (white & olive/white, black)