" This Halftime report has been brought to you by Simms Fishing Products."
Not sure why but this little line has been ringing in my ears every day I'm out on the water these days. When I look at the radar map of dark green in the morning, then suit up with every piece of Simms gear I own to fight off that rain, there's no way not to be thankful for that classy layer of warmth and rain protection. Simms is the best and with new jackets and waders in preparation for Canada next month it's like Christmas came early. Big Thankyou to Simms every day for keeping us fly flickers happy and mostly dry on the scuzziest of scuzzy days! But I digress. . .
Waders, Pants, And Jackets Oh My.
Fishing continues to be strong this fall on Missoula area rivers. Friends and clients alike have been enthused by the consistent dryfly and bugger action the Clark Fork, Bitterroot, and Blackfoot have been producing of late. The overcast from this past week has been a blessing with consistent hatches of mohogs and the occasional Hecuba still hanging around. Sporadic BWO's have been spotted along with the last dregs of Tricos on some mornings. Still no October Caddis to speak of but their nymphs are staged and ready to go when the weather cools a little further. If you just can't wait for those giant lumbering orange flies to get to hatching just start throwing their imitations now and start the hatch off early. Surprise those trout with their first fluttering orange mouthful of autumn!
Also heating up this fall is the always awesome Mighty Missouri River. We West Slopers don't get many chances to drive over the divide during a packed summer fishing schedule but this time of year brings a change. The BRG gets a slew of autumn guide clients searching for blanket BWO hatches on the winding flats of the lower Mo' along with a handful of layman's holidays getting to throw at those pods for ourselves. I always stop and see the helpful folks at Headhunters (Headhunters) for piles of sneaky dry flies to please those finicky fish. Sometimes the shade of greenish olive really does matter over there and I like having options popping out of my flybox. Cracking those pods is what its all about, bust out the smooth-shooting Winston and let it fly!
As for the aforementioned big bug / streamer / junk / brownie candy, what should you throw and when should you throw it? Well to put it in the most superstitious terms possible, it just depends on what you have the most confidence in. Confidence Is Key. I tie a ton of my own streamers and fish them through hell and high water with the smug confidence that all flytiers posses regarding their own bugs. These last few weeks, however, have seen me skip my personal tried (tied?) and true patterns in favor of the generic store bought goodies that got me into the streamer game in the first place. Flashy, sparkly, jet black bugger, and olive rabbit have been doing the business for me this past week and now that I BELIEVE in these flies again they will be getting the call out of the bullpen for the foreseeable future.
Streamer For The Win!
No comments:
Post a Comment