Great Falls Fishing Report Autumnal Equinox Fishing Report
The bad news is the days are shrinking fast. The good news is that shorter days concentrate prime fishing hours into a reasonable window. Banker’s hours. Gone are the days when you have to get up at 4 dark thirty for the pre-sunrise bite. I’ll be home after dark is now well before 11 pm.
Through the compressing daylight hours of fall, the fishing is pretty darn good. Trout know their window of daylight feeding is getting smaller and they want to eat just as much as they did during the longer days of summer. This means they get a bit less picky. Advantage to the angler.
On Top
Dry fly opportunities may dwindle a bit, but they never go away on the Mo. Right now, the midge and pseudo are key players, but they are very small. You can definitely find fish feeding on them if you want to play the tiny dry fly game. A few caddis are out and about. Larger mayfly patterns like the good old Adams or Purple Adams/Purple Haze in #14 or #16 are never a bad choice as general attractors in the fall. Ants can also get it done.
Down Low
Now is a great time for nymphing. Lots of flies presented with a variety of rigging styles are catching fish. The standard 4-6’ indicator to split shot spread is always a good place to start. Getting techy with a Palsa short leash (pinch on indicator a couple feet above nymphs with no added weight) on the flats can also get you in the game.
The sow bug is probably the best all-round regular contributor to nymphing success. The line between sow and scud is often blurred, but the genre is effective. We are talking tailwater sows, gut sack sows, Ray’s and Czechs to name a few. Often fished in a two fly rig with a slender mayfly or a zebra midge, there are times when a sow tied to a Czech is hard to beat.
On the Strip
The streamer is finding favor on the water these days, especially when the clouds have formed. Until the weeds thin a bit more, smaller single hooked flies are a solid choice. It is much easier to rip bits of weed from a 2.5” pattern than a 5” articulated weed eater. Once the water temps drop a bit more and the floating weeds shake out, larger articulated flies will receive more approval.
Flashy flies like the kreelex, skiddish, flash minnow and polar minnow are hard to beat some days. On the other side of the spectrum, black, brown or olive buggers can be the ticket to provoke eats from hungry fish. It pays to try some variety until the key size and color becomes clear.
Get after it
We may be splitting the day with darkness now, but the daylight hours are fishy. Stop in for coffee, flies, lies, truths and all the bits and pieces to make your day on the water a success.