Fall Fly fishing in Montana
This year fall was a great time to be fly fishing in southwest Montana. Lots of big fish hit the net and there was no shortage of really nice days to be on the rivers and lakes. Fall and early winter are one of my favorite times of year to be on the water. The cotton woods and willows are turning yellow, the light is low and beautiful and the big browns are out of there summer haunts. Without a doubt October and November are the best times of year to hunt for that brown trout of a lifetime. Lake fish that are uncatchable in the summer move into our rivers where anglers actually have a chance at them. Never knowing what you might hook into on the next cast is exhilarating through the fall even after having seen a seasons worth of Montana trout on the fly.
The Madison river near Ennis Montana fished really well this fall. As the summer crowds faded and the weather cooled the fish really seemed to start feeding on bigger flies with the kind of recklessness that we usually see in the spring. The Madison is performing well into the late season, depending on the weather there might be a nice enough day or afternoon to get out.
As always the best spot this fall was the Land of the Giants, section of the Missouri river. The big rainbows were and still are in the river thick and feeding well. They are normally lots of fun on nymphs and streamers through the late fall and seemingly until the weather is simply too cold to be tolerable. This fishing should be great for awhile... hopefully the weather warms enough that we can really enjoy it. The real draw of the Land of the Giants this time of year is the chance at some really huge lake run brown trout. This year the beautiful October weather seemed to push the brown trout fishing back a bit. We really did not start seeing much action on them until very late in October. If November produces some fishable weather, there is a chance that the biggest brown is still waiting to be caught.
The Madison river near Ennis Montana fished really well this fall. As the summer crowds faded and the weather cooled the fish really seemed to start feeding on bigger flies with the kind of recklessness that we usually see in the spring. The Madison is performing well into the late season, depending on the weather there might be a nice enough day or afternoon to get out.
As always the best spot this fall was the Land of the Giants, section of the Missouri river. The big rainbows were and still are in the river thick and feeding well. They are normally lots of fun on nymphs and streamers through the late fall and seemingly until the weather is simply too cold to be tolerable. This fishing should be great for awhile... hopefully the weather warms enough that we can really enjoy it. The real draw of the Land of the Giants this time of year is the chance at some really huge lake run brown trout. This year the beautiful October weather seemed to push the brown trout fishing back a bit. We really did not start seeing much action on them until very late in October. If November produces some fishable weather, there is a chance that the biggest brown is still waiting to be caught.
Montana Fly Caught Rainbow
Huge land of the Giants bow
Land of the Giants brown trout
A little Montana fly fishing scenery
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