Well, I believe for just about everyone. The transition from summer to fall seems to feel as if it happens after Labor Day. Summers go fast, But fall is definitely a great time on the rivers. the days get a little shorter and cooler, and the fish seem to know its time to eat before the winter slow down. You can find cool overcast days with mayflies coming off. Or still plenty on warm hopper days.
The later is what the next 10 days are looking like. Everything seems to have come a little later this year, hatch wise. Hopper’s didn’t really seem to be in full swing till the 3rd week in August. And Trico’s started around the beginning of Sept. Possibly due to the better flows and cooler than average water temps.? It’s all just an educated guess, I guess.. But what is for sure is that it has been a really good season. Fishing wise, and continues to be good.
The days of needing to be on the water at 6am are behind us. Hopper fishing seems to be the best mid-day. Peach and yellow producing the best. A good starting fly in the morning has been a darker chubby. Probably imitating a nocturnal stone. Dropping a rubber leg is always a good call. For some reason really outperforming the worm this year.?
On the Bitteroot a big Mayfly pattern is a great searching pattern. As a stray Hecuba can be found here and there. Where on the Clark Fork smaller Mayflies and Hopper droppers are the call. The Blackfoot seems to have been a better than average year streamer wise. So if that’s your flavor pick an overcast day and give it a shot.
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