Bigfork Montana Fly Fishing

In Rod we trust! Guide Rod Stultz with some good vibes and a nice local bow for this youngster.

You can feel summer coming to an end… Although it’s going to get hot again, the colder nights and shorter days have that fall feeling in the air. Bow hunters are out freshening up their skills getting ready for the upcoming season that opens Sept 5th.  The rivers will start to vacate with the hunters and school kids heading to the woods and classroom. Hecubas(fall drakes) are starting to pop here and there and will intensify in coming weeks along with October caddis. Mix it up with an over-sized parachute or cripple, there doesn’t need to be many bugs around for the fish to key on the hecuba…Hoppers, ants, and beetles will continue to work throughout the fall on the warm afternoons.

As for the smoke, it’s been day to day. It just started a few days ago and we’ve had everything from dense smoke, to clear skies…The fish think it’s cloud cover so it generally makes the fishing better. It will most likely continue to be day to day until we get some significant rain. You can find air quality info here.

Hoot owl restrictions have been lifted and all of our western freestone streams are fishing pretty good. Water temps are a non-issue at this point and the fishing should continue to improve as the fall hatches and cooler weather build over the next few weeks.

 

Jason Lanier
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