Bigfork Montana Fly Fishing Report

A colorful rainbow that fell for a home brewed hopper…

Bigfork Montana Fly Fishing Report

Fall is definitely in the air! Lots of local folks are vacating the rivers to hit the woods with their bows in search of some winter meat for the freezer. The recreation/splash and giggle crowds are all but gone.  The fish are getting rested after a long summer of face poking…they will get dumb again and start to hit the fall feed bag harder as the days grow shorter and cooler. Mayfly hatches(hecuba, BWO, & mahogany) will intensify in the coming weeks making for some good dry fly fishing opportunities when conditions are right(cloudy and rainy). Hoppers, ants, beetles and general terrestrial patterns will still play a role in the trout diet and are effective patterns to fish on warmer fall afternoons. Cool cloudy days are the perfect recipe for dense mayfly hatches and rising trout so don’t be scared of a little foul weather, it usually makes for better fishing. October caddis are always a good searching pattern this time of year too, especially on sunny afternoons when you see a few of them bouncing around the banks. A mid sized orange stimi (#10 or #12) or something similar is a good match. BWOs and mohagany mayflies should start to mix into the hatch schedule so have some smaller(#14 – #18) cripples to throw at risers if you encounter fish that are keyed into the smaller mayflies.