Part 3
This trip was different in a lot of ways but the beauty and the fishing was amazing on both occasions. We stayed at a cabin that was owned and operated by Cowboy Drifters Outfitters. We also hired guides from there as well. We did the same thing a couple of years ago and we are already talking about a return trip in the future. Both the guides and accommodations have exceeded our wildest expectations on both occasions. The cabin was clean, neat, and organized on every level. The scenery from the front porch was beautiful and all you had to do was cross a gravel road to get to the North Platte.
As for the guides, Wendy's step dad, Mark, fished with a guide named Adam on the first day. Mark had nothing but great things to say about Adam at the end of the day. He said Adam was extremely helpful, patient, and relaxed the entire time. Mark ended up boating more fish than Wendy or I and he hasn't fly fished in over a year! I believe that is a testament to Mark but Adam deserves a lot of the credit too! Fly fishing this river is NOT easy. It isn't like Lake Taneycomo or a Missouri Trout Park. The fish are more sparse and a little smarter in my opinion. That can make for tough conditions but Adam and Mark really worked well together. I wish I had some pictures from their trip to share but Mark isn't big on taking photographs.
As for Wendy and I, we fished with Dane Szalwinski. We fished with him a couple of years ago and we hit it off right from the introduction. Dane is a young, hard working, and upbeat guy. His passion for fly fishing as well as the North Platte comes through in everything he says and does. We have stayed in touch since we met because Dane is the type of person you want to be around. Sharing a boat with him has brought us lifelong memories and experiences. We were extremely happy to find out that he was available to fish with on our first day on the river.
Aside from being a great person, Dane has guiding skills that are the gold standard that I hold other guides to! His fly selection, techniques, and boat maneuvering put us on fish and kept us on fish. He also worked his rear off on both occasions. If we found fish that were feeding, we would drift the area and then he would row us back upstream to hit the spot again. This was not an easy task but it's what he did to give us as many chances to catch fish as possible. The other guides from Cowboy Drifters do the same thing as well! They are all amazing, but we are a little partial to Dane.
As for the fishing, it was great however, let me define great as that can mean a lot of things to different people. Mark ended up boating 11 fish, Wendy caught about 10 and I landed about 7. While those numbers might seem low to some, the Grey Reef is more about quality than quantity at least in our experiences. We didn't catch many fish under 15-16 inches and most fish were in the 17-19 inch range. Every single fish that hit a fly did it with the strength of a freight train too! They made prolific runs, and bent the heck out of a five weight. We had to use the drag on our reels on every fish but thankfully we were able to use 4 pound test leader. I liked that a lot more than the 2 pound test that you have to usually use here in Missouri.
Mark and Wendy landed most of the fish that he hooked but I struggled some. We were fishing with hooks that were in the size 20 range and I lost some fish as a result. Dane told me that I didn't do anything wrong and that it just comes with using small flies on aggressive, strong fish. That made me feel a little better about my abilities as well as my confidence. Day 2 was a different experience but you will have to wait until tomorrow to read about that!
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