This October is shaping up to be a fishy one. The cool weather has fired fish up, which has resulted in some amazing fishing, so go test your skills on some happy fish.
Fall fishing has been fair on bright and clear days, but has been exceptional when we get a day of cloud cover and wind. The bugs have been active, but we are coming up on a cold snap, so make sure to get in your last good week of dry-fly fishing. After the cold snap, expect to see fishing change over to more subsurface. Be careful of spawning fish on redds (spawning beds). The brown trout will start to spawn soon, so be cautious wading and avoid stepping into cleared, clean gravel areas.
Silver Creek still has good Mahogany Dun hatches when the weather is right. October caddis has been prevalent in the evenings. Try using a size smaller than your typical big October caddis bugs. This can help any finnicky fish that aren’t too confident to smack the big bug. Get out there soon; the weather will be changing and the surface activity will start to diminish. Watch out for moose on the creek—there are a lot around and during the rut they can be ornery!
The Big Wood is fishing well in the lower river and a little better higher up near Ketchum. Traditional patterns like the Rusty Spinner and the H and L Variant have been working lately if you are wanting to throw bugs on top. If you are fishing subsurface, make sure to have some small nymphs and big rubber legs on you.
The upper Lost is fishing well, so make sure to bring your best dropper nymphs. Try and find some deeper holes where fish are congregating. If you find the right hole, you can pick plenty of fish up on streamers or nymphs. Cover a lot of water. Once you find some fish, work hard over them… you can end up with some extra strikes if you do.
The lower Lost River is tough fishing and low, so approach the water slow. Those fish are closer to the bank than you may think. If you can get up close and make some good presentations, you’ll be rewarded. You will also find some Fall Baetis bringing up a few fish and remember to go small and trick those big rainbows.
Happy fishing, everyone!