Fishing the North Platte River, Wyoming

When the snow and cold weather finally moved East away from the mountains that are north of Las Vegas, we headed for Wyoming.  After an overnight stay in Colorado Springs, our next stop was Rawlings, Wyoming.  The campground host provided some good fishing tips and directions to the "Miracle Mile" section of the North Platte River.  The directions included a 50 mile drive over two mountain ranges.  The trip through the passes was beautiful.

The approach from the high planes.

Lots of wildlife to be seen.  There were frequent small herds of antelope.

Wyoming still has "real" cowboys herding cattle to spring pastures

These two cowboys had four dogs helping out with the work

An overlook at Seminoe Reservoir (local spelling)  This dam was in the middle of the first range we drove over.

Seminoe is the first dam we came to on the North Platte.  There are at least four.  There was a great campground on this lake.  Only one camper in residence.

The sign said "steep grade"! Big Understatement

This road had multiple basic campsites, right on the river.  Most were open, with half dozen campers scattered along the river.

Getting ready is the best part of fishing.  Lots of choices to make about which fly will work best.

Ready, set, go.

A drift boat passed by several times.  It was impressive when he rowed up stream against the current.  This guy made it look easy.

While Marlin fished, I hiked around.  I had taken this picture of the eagle with our small Cannon camera.  When I went back, three times, to get a clearer shot with a longer lens, the bird was no where to be seen.

Have to be satisfied with two fuzzy pictures. 

Lots of mule deer around.

The swallows have not returned yet, but this must be a favorite nesting site when they do come back.

It would be interesting to see the birds building these nests

As you travel up the river, the canyon walls climb higher and higher

There are also warning signs that the water level can change abruptly when there is a call for increased power.

The Kortes dam  is at the end of the road.  We did not drive around to check out the reservoir above the dam.  It turned out to be 25 miles on a poorly graded road.  Fishing at the "Miracle Mile" was more interesting.

Three warm and sunny days here, with great fishing, scenery, birding, and hiking.  Catching, not so good.  The water is still too cold for the fish.   Time to move on to the Wind River to see how the fish are biting there.