Good times in Punta Allen
Finishing up a good year here. I just got back from Mexico, got to do a little permit, bonefish, snook and tarpon fishing with some friends. We went to Kay Fly lodge down in Punta Allen and it was fantastic. Crappy weather but we had great guides and the best time.
Overall everything was pretty great here on the Platte this year. It was an interesting year watching how many of the stockers are thriving. Some days it was pretty tough to not catch 40 to 50 juveniles. While that was a pain, it is nice knowing we have strong freshmen class. We still have a strong varsity team though, they were just getting swarmed by the little guys a lot of days. We are all pretty excited to see what it’s going to be fishing like in the next 3 years. Most of us are pretty optimistic that it could turn into something special. The streamer fishing was awesome this year, lots of nice browns being caught and good numbers days. And the dry fly fishing had its moments too. September has great Trico’s and there were some spectacular days with hundreds of fish rising on several different sections. Usually my favorite time of year, the fall baetis hatch which usually happens mid October didn’t really get going to late October through early November with the great weather we had. Carp fishing was top notch with the exception of sweet water arm being dirty most of the season. The rest of the lake fished great and the carp were very grabby and hungry this year. We had several 30 fish days early season. The Mile fished just fine but it wasn’t a great year. It still had plenty of good days but flows were low, and with the exception of a few evening floats, we only had a couple of banner golden stone sessions on big foam flies. But we did get to see some magnum rainbows go for the water walkers and hoppers. Fremont fished well as usual too. Most of my great days were in the canyon and we did get to see a 10 plus lbs rainbow (we caught every fish in the run except that one lol). Goes to show there are still monsters swimming around in there.
Coach Steve with his first permit!
Winter has finally set in since thanksgiving and there’s snow on the ground. We were hoping to do some floats on the upper mile since it will be closed to boating starting January 1st this coming year. It’s so sad to think that we will never be able to do that again. My opinion is that the entire decision is bullshit and ignores a lot of facts about usage on that river. Bottom line, out of state anglers are being prioritized over residents. The over crowding issue is a bullshit argument too. The river really only gets busy during the spawn. So it’s ridiculous to implement regulations “protecting” fish and ignore the fact the the river only gets crowded when non residents come to our rivers to fish for spawning fish. I could go on and on but most of us are really disappointed in the decision but we will make the best of it.
The reef and mile are both fishing well. The mile is particularly fun. Be careful as the road will start becoming dicey after it snows. Don’t be a dumby and get stuck halfway there, it’s not worth it. But if ya can make it out there, the fishing’s good. Big browns and some shiny rainbows are waiting for you. The wind has been bad but this can be a great time to Spey fish it too. I caught one right off the bat on the lower river but my rod split in two the next cast. I ended up nymphing all day with my other rod and it the fish were happy to play around. The lower sections of the reef are locking up. In town it was freezing up pretty good already so it’s looking like the lower is done for the year. The upper reef will be fishing well and the streamer fishing can be good for big browns.
We were planning on doing a big bon fire and cook out as late in the month as we can to try to be the last people to float the upper section of the mile. I would be floating that as much as possible right now seeing as we won’t ever be able to do it after next year sadly. If you have an interest in coming to the party we don’t have a date yet but everyone is welcome and we are going to try to make it a rager.