September is one of our favorite months to fish. The nights have really begun to cool down, the bugs are starting later and so are the anglers and guides. We’ve been noticing wonderful water conditions alongside some fishy weather moving in. Hopper fishing remains solid during the warmer, sunnier afternoons and the cloudy days have started bringing our early fall Baetis. The bigger fish we search for all season are finally starting to show themselves more readily.
Silver Creek is beginning to shine in the afternoons. The fishing is really picking up as of late. Anglers are starting their day around 9-10 a.m., as the best time to be on the water will be the warmer part of the day. We are still finding a great Callibaetis spinner fall in the heat of the day, and if there’s wind, terrestrials like Ants, Beetles and Hoppers are still on the menu. Mahogany duns will begin to hatch as the cooler weather continues. Fish the emerger patterns of this insect, until you see the duns start showing up in numbers. Every day we are seeing an abundance of Baetis with the continued low-pressure systems, which also has enticed some aggressive fish to take streamers.
The Big Wood, this time of year, is much more challenging than what we saw early season. There are definitely nice fish around, but they may take a bit more work. The Wood is beginning to fish better with the cooler weather. Keep an eye out for the large mayfly, Hecuba, also known as the Western Red Quill. If you see one flying, tie it on and blind fish it.
The afternoons will be the best time to fish the Wood for the remainder of the fall season, if you want to move some of those larger fish, consider tying on a Sculpin pattern, then cast and swing!
The Lost River is fishing great right now. For the lower river below the reservoir, we are seeing an awesome Baetis hatch with the cloud cover, and they are big Baetis! Swinging a small black or olive leech is another great fall trick for the lower Lost. When fishing the upper, the cutthroat are searching for Hecubas identical to the Big Wood insect. The fishing at these higher altitudes is starting much later in the morning, as well, with the bugs showing up just before noon.
Happy fall fishing, everyone!
