Now that cold weather has arrived, do you plan on putting away your fly rod until next spring?

Good, that'll leave more elbow room on the river for the rest of us.

While April and May are the most popular months to fish Central Wyoming's Gray Reef of the North Platte River, you'll still find quite a few anglers braving the cold and flinging flies from Alcova to Casper all winter long.

The fact is, the trout fishing is sometimes very, very good this time of year.

But you won't find plentiful hatches of caddisflies, mayflies and other summertime insects enticing the North Platte's trout into a feeding frenzy. Expect the fish to be scuffing around in the deep holes, lazily feasting on worms, freshwater shrimp, teeny-tiny midge nymphs and smaller fish, which are some of the only food sources available this time of year.

If you do head out to the Gray Reef, bundle up and don't leave home without these bugs in your fly box. Here are the Top 10 favorite fall and winter fly patterns of fishing guides and fly-fishing aficionados of the Gray Reef:

1. Platte River Special

Leroy York of Casper came up with the Platte River Special more than 50 years ago. The timeless classic remains one of the most widely used streamer patterns in the region.

"I was just playing around tying flies, just trying to make something that would wiggle like a minnow," York told the Star-Tribune this week. "It's probably about as popular in this part of the country as any fly. I should've gotten it patented. It's a good fly. I still use it."

York originally tied it with brown and yellow gamecock feathers, but it can be tied in a variety of different colors. "I think it's just the action of the fly that does it," he said.

Strip it or swing it like a traditional streamer or just let it drift along with the current.

2. Bite Me Bugger

A variation of the Wooly Bugger, the Bite Me Bugger's palmered mohair body gives it some extra wiggle in the water. This pattern is one of several flies created specifically for fishing the North Platte River by Mark Boname, owner of the Platte River Fly Shop in Casper. Besides the Gray Reef, it also works well at the Miracle Mile.

Strip it like a streamer, swing it across the current or dead-drift it.

3. Vanilla Bugger

Another Wooly Bugger variation, Boname originally created the Vanilla Bugger to be used as a cranefly larvae imitation. But, he said, as he developed the light-colored pattern it "morphed" into a general imitation of a minnow, cranefly or stonefly. It features a cream "furry foam" body and golden badger hackle.

Strip it, swing it or dead-drift it.

4. Orange Blossom Special

Similar to a Platte River Special, this streamer was used for years on the Miracle Mile of the North Platte. Now it's also one of the more popular patterns for the Gray Reef. Ron Strand of Sloane's General Store in Alcova said it's one of his store's hottest sellers and for good reason: "It's a dynamite fly," he said.

Strip it, swing it, dead-drift it.

5. Pine Squirrel Leech

Brown or natural are usually the best colors for the Pine Squirrel Leech. Sometimes black is the way to go. A leech is a big easy meal for a trout.

"We've gotten notorious for having deep, fat, lazy fish in this river," said Blake Jackson, guide for the Ugly Bug Fly Shop.

Tie the leech about 18 inches above a small nymph, sink it deep and drift it slow. Try giving it a twitch every now and then to attract a strike. You can also pair it up with a streamer for a great duo. A Hothead Leech is another good leech pattern.

6. Rock Worm

A very simple fly pattern, the red Rock Worm is one of the most reliable subsurface flies for the Gray Reef. It works pretty much year-round.

"Technically it's a midge-chironomid larvae though we call it a worm," said Jim Sparks of the Ugly Bug Fly Shop.

Pair it up with a small midge nymph and dead-drift it.

7. Scud

The scud imitates a freshwater shrimp. There are dozens of scud patterns and colors. Keep switching colors until you find one that's working. In general, a green one imitates a live shrimp, tan looks like a dying one, and orange looks like a dead one. Some other colors to try are cream, amber, rust and purple. Fish the scud on a long leader at a dead drift.

8. Bionic Midge

Another Boname innovation, the Bionic Midge's Krystal Flash wing cases are on the sides of the thorax so they're more anatomically correct. Most midge nymphs have a wing case on top.

Dead drift this tiny fly below a leech or rock worm.

9. Barb-Wired Midge

Yet another Boname creation, the Barb-Wired Midge is a simple pattern with a bead for a head and a wire wrap on the body. The white tuft at the head made of zelon or darlon filaments makes this pattern appear like an emerging nymph coming up to the surface.

Fish it on a dead drift.

10. Parachute Adams

On the off-chance you spot some rising fish, give a Parachute Adams a try for some surface action. But don't expect to find too much dry-fly activity during winter. Almost all of the feeding is taking place beneath the surface. A Griffith's Gnat is another dry fly you could try.

Dishonorable mention?

OK, let's make it a dozen. Some fly-fishing purists may scoff at the mention of a San Juan Worm or a Glo-Bug, but when nothing else is working, what the heck, give either a try. Try 'em both at the same time - that's called a "Ham and Egg" rig.

The San Juan Worm was originally developed for New Mexico's San Juan River. Laughable in its simplicity, it's just a thin piece of chenille tied onto a hook. The ends are burnt with a match so they look tapered like a worm's body.

A Glo-Bug resembles a fish egg (or a marshmallow, some say). It's nothing more than a little poof-ball tied onto a hook.

Go ahead and snicker at these two so-called flies, but both of them work, especially during winter.

"I almost hate to mention it, but from now until March you'll catch fish on a Glo-Bug," Jackson said, with a snicker. "Anybody who says he doesn't use them is a liar."