We experienced some winter weather this fall which made it tough to get to the water some days and as the water temperature dropped like a rock the fishing got less and less consistent. If you were lucky enough to get out on the warmer days you probably had to cycle through flies catching a fish here and there.
Nymphs are your best bet these days and I wouldn’t expect that to change for a while. Egg patterns and Pat’s Rubberlegs have been the most consistent but you can also expect to pick up some fish on Delektable Mega Princes, Delektable Lil’ Spankers, Bloom’s Tung Darts, Copper Johns, Princes and Zebra midges.
On some of the warmer days the upper river has had some great midge hatches. They’ll be your best shot at dry fly fishing through the winter. Flies like the Goober Midge, Griffith’s Gnats, CDC Midges and Sipper Midges will all be good choices.
Streamer fishing had both it’s ups and it’s downs as well. If you’re into fishing streamers you know you must work for it sometimes. Well, that’s been the case throughout this fall. One day they like the big white, next it’s small naturals and some days it seems like they’re not going to open their mouths for anything but those darn egg patterns. With that being said, we’ve caught some nice fish on Dungeons, Silk Kitty’s, Delektable Screamers, Zonkers and Bow River Buggers.
Some days are good… some days are not as good. When you have a bad day on the river, is it really that bad? Does it ever make you want to quit fishing? Maybe, but probably not. For there to be good days, you must have the “bad” days to make the good days seem “good”. Some people come into the shop and remind me that even the bad days need to be put in the “great days” category, because really, you are still on the river. Now is it really that bad?
The nymph game is picking up to another level with this weather, the fish are eating the larger size Stoneflies that are starting to move more with this weather. They have also been keying in on the shiny patterns. The Lightning Bugs and shiny Nymphs such as the Silvie’s lightning bug, the Silver Lightning Bug and the Delektable Lil’ Spanker Silver are all good little shiny bugs that have been working well with the cloudy weather. Most of those would be in a size 14 or 16. That Crystal Dip in a size 16 on that curved hook are working well. The Pat’s Rubber legs is a tried and true pattern that will get fish in the net for you, but if you wanted to wonder off the beaten path of big nymphs, we have a variety to choose from here. The Delektable Mega Prince Standard in a size 6 or 8 has been a go-to of mine for years and years and years in the fall months. That pattern has fooled so many fish over the years. The Delektable Hurless Stone in the Gray size 6 and 8 is a great pattern for the fall times with the water being lower and a little colder. I would also check out the Delektable Stonefly Candy patterns that work in a number of colors. The Twenty Incher is also a great Stonefly pattern that works well in the size 6 or 8. Mostly, try and get a drag free drift with any big black/brown/olive Stonefly and you will have pretty good luck here on the ole’ Madison with the stones.
