As fall eases into winter in southwest Montana most outdoorsmen will move from the rivers to the woods. Hunting season takes priority for most but if you are into giant brown trout, there is plenty of hunting to be done in the river as well. By late October and November many of the fisheries in our area will lack consistency. The water just won't be warm enough for long enough to put together a good day on all of our rivers. Any river that runs into a lake, however is a great target for a big lake run brown. The Madison river above Ennis Lake is a good option but for the really big fish the Missouri River is my favorite. There are not a lot of them and you will surely catch more rainbows overall but the later in the fall the better the chances for a true lunker brown. Most of the fish in our area will not even start to spawn until November. During the spawn the browns will generally ignore your fly as they focus on breeding but all of the fish preparing to spawn are still packing on weight and sporting an angry disposition. Today is October 22nd and I have yet to see any well defined brown trout beds on the Madison or Missouri rivers. The fish below was caught days after Thanksgiving in 2013 and another like it was landed in the same day. The weather was cold but not uncomfortable with the right clothing and the fishing that day was amazing.
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