Snow in the mountains, overcast/rainy days, leaves turning colors and Ginormous Trout in the River! Fall is just the best in the Madison River Valley! This week was full of Fall surprises; from the weather (cold in the morning and high 70’s during the day with touches of thundershowers and the big “W” bringing in the cold front by the end of the week) to the Really Big Trout coming out and making their presence known! What wasn’t a surprise this week was that the ladies really came out on top with the Most and the Biggest catches of All!!
Most of this week we saw very productive Dry Fly fishing and consistent Nymph and Streamer fishing. With the weather turning by the end of the week the Dry Fly fishing became more challenging but opened doors for more productive Streamer with trailing Nymph fishing. Dead drifting streamers has been the most consistent method but as the water temperature continues to drop twitching and stripping will become the way to score a Whopper!
This coming week look for Dry Fly fishing, especially October Caddis and BWOs, with the warmer weather predicted for most of the week. Additionally, don’t give up on the Hopper just yet, they don’t die till the second hard freeze, and they should be hopping around this week! Best of Luck out there and if you’re struggling out there come on in; we have free coffee in the morning, entertaining advice, and all the flies you could possibly desire!!
Nymphs: Geppert’s Green or Black Machine #18; Delektable Curved Hook Ranch BWO #18; Delektable Orange Juice Caddis Emerger #12-#16; SBH Zebra Midge Red, Black #18-#20; Wire Worm Red #6-#10, BH Mo’ River Pheasant Tail #16-#18; Delektable Jig Hook Spanker Holo Orange, Black #14-#18; Formerly Known As Prince #10-#14; Two Bit Hooker Light Olive #16-#20; Delektable Lil’ Spanker Blue, Pheasant Tail #14-#20; Delektable Black/Orange Stoner #8; Pat’s Rubber Legs Olive/Brown, Black, Black/Brown #8-#12; Tungsten Split Case BWO #20; JuJu Baetis Flashback Purple #20; and Epoxyback Tungsten Copper John Copper, Red #14-#18.
Dries: Delektable Lil’ Chubby Royal, Cinnamon, Rainbow #16-#18; Delektable Twisted X Orange/Brown, Rose/Gray #14-#16; Parachute Madame X Peacock #10-#14; Royal Wulff Cripple #16-#18; Olive “X” Caddis Elk Hair #16; Carlson’s Purple Craze #16-#18; Delektable BWO Teaser #18-#20; Etha-Wing Dun BWO #20-#22; Q’s Loopy Cripple Stacker BWO #18; Delektable Flying Ant Red #18; White Cloud Hopper Tan #12-#14; and Hi-Vis Tan Thunder Thighs #10-#14.
Streamers: Lady Gaga White, Rainbow #2; Murphey’s Miracle Mile Olive Peanut #4; BH Flashabugger Black #8; Yo Dali Llama Black/Olive, Olive/White, Tan/Natural #6; Trevor’s Sculpin Olive #4; Kyle’s Egg Head Olive/Yellow, Natural #6; Slump Buster Squirrel/Copper #6; Zonker Natural/Tan, Natural, Natural/Copper, Dark Olive #6-#8; and Delektable Single/Double/SS Olive/White, Black/Olive, Purple/Black, Black, White, Yellow, Badger #6.