Fishing Report
Stay tuned for weekly fishing reports throughout the season. We will provide you with current conditions, hatches, and suggested fly patterns.
October, 2022
October is a month of transition for the North Platte River fishery as it prepares it’s long haul for winter. Warm days will still offer decent hatches and productive fishing until ice-over. Brown Trout and Brook Trout are spawning in the clear cold riffles in all bodies of water. If you are quiet and careful where you step, observing an active redd from the streambank is a miraculous sight. Please do not fish to or disturb a redd; trout are extremely sensitive to disturbances during their spawn and one wrong step could damage a redd and jeopardize all the hard earned fertilized eggs.
General Entomology
The major insect hatches consist of stoneflies, caddis, and mayflies. There is also an ample supply of terrestrial insects, aquatic worms, and native minnows that make up much of a trout’s diet.
Hatches generally begin mid-morning, and at times will last the entire day. Spring offers a diverse range of caddis, stoneflies, and mayflies. Terrestrial insects are most abundant during the heat of the summer—July and August—and will survive until the first hard frost. The most notable mayfly hatch in the upper North Platte River watershed is the trico mayfly, which usually arrives late-July and August. In the fall, and especially with a little moisture, blue winged olive mayflies may hatch the entire day.
Throughout the year trout will feed subsurface on the aquatic stages of many insects. Spring is often a time when lots of terrestrial nymphs and aquatic worms are flushed through the streams. It is also a time when stoneflies and caddis hatch, attracting the attention of many trout. In correlation with the seasonal hatches and as stream levels drop, trout will shift their focus to smaller mayfly and midge nymphs later in the season.
Trout are opportunistic feeders, and at certain times territorial. Streamers imitate the various life stages of fishes and leeches, and can be an effective method of fishing the entire season. Streamers are usually large and flashy, which make them a great option during the early season when water levels are high and off color. They also work well in lakes where trout sometimes ambush their prey.
General Hatch Guide
Mid-June to July
- Caddis
- Stoneflies (golden, salmonflies, yellow sallies, and little black)
- Mayflies (pale morning dun, green and brown drakes)
- Terrestrials (grasshoppers and ants)
- Aquatic worms
July to August
- Caddis
- Stoneflies (yellow sallies)
- Mayflies (trico, pale morning dun, callibeatis, and mahogany dun)
- Terrestrials (grasshoppers and ants)
- Midges
August to September
- Caddis
- Mayflies (trico, blue winged olive, and blue quill)
- Terrestrials (grasshoppers and ants)
- Midges
