Great Falls, Montana Fishing Report 09.20.18
Missouri River
We have definitely moved into fall and chilly mornings with mild, instead of hot, days. It’s an awesome time to be on the water.
Nymphs
The most consistent nymphing is up high toward the dam. It’s really good up there. You won’t be alone if you start between 8 and 9 a.m. in the morning, but you will likely catch a bunch of fish. If you go later in the day, you might just have most of the river to yourself.
Moving downstream, the river picks up quite a few weeds in the drift. Many anglers are choosing to run dry dropper rigs instead of indicators and dual flies. The dry dropper rig is much easier to navigate amongst the weeds and can be very effective when fish are along the banks and spread over relatively skinny flats.
Dry Flies
Plenty of bugs are out and quite a few fish are eating them on top. Right now, it’s caddis, small callibaetis, and lots of baetis from #18 to micro along with a few terrestrials.  Plus, running a tasty ant followed by either a caddis or parachute adams is a solid combo. Not every day is dry fly nirvana, but more likely than not, most days will provide some or even lots of great action on top. Get it while you can!
Streamers
There is definitely some streamer weather in the forecast. You’ll want to look for darker days -focus on the inside turns of the river or lanes where the weeds are less obstructive. If you spend time throwing the big flies, large aggressive browns might be in your future.
Local Streams
Belt is really low and fishing down near the Sluice boxes has gotten a bit tough. Up higher toward Monarch, lots of action can be had. The Sun is in great shape from the mountains all the way down to Sun River. The Dearborn and Smith are definitely worth investigating too.
Stillwaters
Dry fly activity is still going strong on some of the lakes and ponds. Hoppers remain in the picture along with callibaetis and water boatman. Plus, fish are beginning to cruise in close on Holter again and you can catch big trout from the shore if you put in a little time and move about.
The Big Picture
Overall, it will be cool weather and continued fly fishing greatness for the coming week. We are looking forward to October caddis, streamer weather, and fall trout spey sessions.
See past reports from the Great Falls region here, or click here to view all northwest regional reports.