Fishing on area waters remains very good. Cooler nighttime temperatures will put fish on the move and have them feeding in earnest in preparation for fall spawning and the harsher conditions of winter. Now is the time to hunt trophy trout – big browns on Silver Creek, 20-inch cutthroat on the Upper Big Lost River, and the robust rainbows on the Big Wood River are all prime targets.

On Silver Creek, late morning activity will center on small Baetis (BWOs). Have long, light leaders and a variety of emergers, duns, and spinners on hand. The Calibaetis will start to wane with the cooler weather, but we’ll see the Mahogany Dun and October Caddis in stronger numbers as the month progresses. Both these bugs prefer the cooler weather of fall and appear during the most pleasant part of the day – late morning to mid-afternoon. Hoppers, beetles, and ants will still produce on the Creek; don’t put these bugs away until we get a couple of good, hard freezes.

The Big Wood during autumn sees one of our favorite hatches – the Western Red Quill (Hecuba). Large Parachute Adams, Parachute Hare’s Ears, H&L Variants, Ausable Wulffs, and Purple Hazes (all in size 10-12) will fool plenty of fish once this bug appears. Your favorite green and brown drake patterns will work as well. It never hurts to add a dropper nymph to one of these dries; olive Perdigons, Rainbow Warriors, Two Bits, and Duracells are all excellent choices.

The upper Big Lost River system is a great option right now. No need to get there early; hit the river at mid-afternoon and fish your favorite hopper, BWO, and Western Red Quill patterns. For the Lower Lost, keep an eye out for Baetis and Tricos. The nymphing will be particularly good on this water throughout the fall as flows drop.

The Salmon River continues to fish well for both floating and wading anglers. Again, the way to go is with hopper/droppers, small attractor dries, and streamers.

Picabo Angler will be having a Summer Clearance Sale on Friday, September 18^th through Sunday, September 20^th. Here at the Fly Shop, you’ll find screaming deals on select summer apparel, fly rods, fly reels, packs, and leader/tippet. We’ve also got a bunch of new fall apparel from Patagonia, Grunden’s, and Marsh Wear. And we now carry the new and improved Wingworks bird hunting vests. Come in and see us next weekend!

Happy Fishing Everyone!