By Patrick Straub EBS FISHING COLUMNIST
Fall is
here. Cottonwoods in the canyon and aspen on the hillsides are changing colors.
Talk in Big Sky’s Meadow Village is shifting from the success of the PBR to
when Big Sky Resort will open for the ski season. As many folks are enjoying a
little shoulder season, anglers are amping up for the next few months of a
highly anticipated fall fishing season.
Blessed with
a wet spring and cooler summer, streamflow conditions are ideal for a season
that could be one of the best in recent memory. But, as with many fishing
outings, being in the right place at the right time is crucial. Here’s some
advice on doing just that—and help on what to use as well.
Madison and Firehole rivers in Yellowstone
National Park. Rainy, even snowy, weather often comes to the waters of
Yellowstone Park before it settles in on our lower elevation rivers and creeks.
With this weather, hatches of blue-winged olive mayflies can be prolific and
brown trout become more aggressive as they approach the spawn.
Rainy, even snowy, weather often comes to the waters of Yellowstone Park before it settles in on our lower elevation rivers and creeks. With this weather, hatches of blue-winged olive mayflies can be prolific and brown trout become more aggressive as they approach the spawn.
The Madison
in Yellowstone Park is a destination for anglers seeking a trophy-sized brown
migrating out of Hebgen Lake. The Firehole, and its gentle runs and glides can
be a dry-fly angler’s dream as BWOs hatch and trout rise accordingly. For the
big browns of the Madison, dead-drift or drag bright orange-colored streamers
through the deeper runs and for the mayflies on the Firehole, a well-presented
olive Parachute Adams in size 18 should work if you see a rising trout.
Missouri River near Craig. A tailwater
fishery known for consistent hatches, the river here is wide and filled with
plenty of fat trout. Surrounded by fly shops all competing for your dollars,
there is no shortage of information on this fishery. And, fall is a special
time of year—gone are the crowds of summer-time recreational anglers and
weekend warrior float-and-party crews. Enter anglers who desire to head hunt to
rising trout or swing two-handed rods on the Missouri’s long riffles and runs,
and streamer-tossing addicts who need the drug of the tug of fish hitting a
stripped Woolly Bugger.
The Missouri
has become the hipster river of Montana’s fly-fishing scene, but with big fish
and plenty of fly shops, success there is now as common as a double skinny
latte on a street corner. Favorite patterns and techniques for fall are size-18
CDC BWO Comparaduns fished through a pod of rising fish; olive and black
McKnight’s Home Invaders slowly dragged across a flat; or, more recently, spey
casting on a favorite run.
The Clark Fork, Rock Creek and Blackfoot
River above Missoula. With the removal of Milltown Dam, the area’s wild and
native trout migrate throughout these two watersheds. As we get deeper into
fall, brown trout from the lower Clark Fork may migrate up into the Clark Fork
and Rock Creek as well as the Blackfoot River.
Above
Missoula there is plenty of water for the many anglers in the area to find some
solitude. A raft is a great tool to cover more water, but much of the fishing
here can be done on foot because there is ample public access through state and
U.S. Forest Service lands. Techniques on these waters vary, but it is always a
good idea to carry some black Sculpzillas in size 6 and strip them through the
faster runs and shallow flats as well as having some size-16 Para Purple Hazes
for the larger BWOs that hatch on these waters.
Our local Gallatin River. Normally, I
try to keep the goodness of this river off the radar. But this fall is
different—our above average snowpack and wet spring led to a summer of normal
streamflow levels on the Gallatin. It is important to mention the Gallatin has
a few different sections, or personalities.
The river in
Yellowstone National Park to Big Sky is home to plenty of fish, most of them
small, but inquire locally and you might get some secrets as to where the big ones
live. North of Big Sky to the Gallatin Valley, the river is very accessible and
defined by boulders, pockets and canyon water. Fish here are also plentiful and
tend to be small, but on a rainy, overcast day, the stretch may serve up some
exciting dry-fly fishing with hatching BWOs. For the river in Yellowstone
National Park to Gallatin Valley always carry some size-18 beadhead Little
Green Machines and size-18 Parachute Adams.
Once out of
Gallatin Canyon, the river is lined with cottonwoods and access is more
difficult. For those anglers willing to put in some extra effort via walking or
a low-water, boat-dragging float using the rivers’ most downstream access
points, some larger brown trout can be had. Here, larger streamers in white can
work for the big browns. A favorite pattern is Galloup’s Circus Peanut.
Mornings are
now crisp and cool and each week brings the potential for snow on the peaks. As
we hear more and more about ski season, don’t forget the potentially best part
of the angling year is upon us. Now is the time to get out and enjoy some of
the reasons we choose to live here—you better, because we’ve spent the past
four months sharing them with others and soon things will be under snow.
Patrick Straub is a 20-year veteran guide and outfitter on Montana’s waters and has fished the world over. He now writes and manages the social media for Yellow Dog Flyfishing Adventures. He is the author of six books, including “Everything You Always Wanted to Know About Fly Fishing” and has been writing The Eddy Line for seven years.