As air and water temperatures continue to drop, fishing will remain steady. The dry fly fishing is beginning to slow, but as always, you’ll find great Baetis (BWOs) and a few straggling Mahogany Duns throughout November. The occasional attractor October Caddis can get a few eats in the wind as well. Late starts on the Creek are the way to go as we move into November. The afternoon bite will be the best time to be out on the water, especially for the Baetis. Bugs will be small, with a size 16 being large; most bugs will be in the size range of size 18-22. Mahogany Duns are size 16 and will continue to get smaller. Stop by our fly shop to see our selection of bugs. Some of the typical patterns are beginning to change, and our shop employees will know the latest, hottest bugs.

As we transition into November, we are seeing more brown trout spawning. Please do your best to avoid fish on or near active spawning redds. Redds can be identified as oval-shaped depressions on the stream bed, which appear “cleaner” and lighter in color. During low light conditions (dawn and dusk), fishing your favorite smaller streamer or big leech pattern to the deepest, darkest, juiciest water can produce a trophy pre-spawn or post spawn brown trout.

Please remember that the S-Turns on the Nature Conservancy Silver Creek Preserve remains closed, and that there is no public access to Kilpatrick Pond. Also, a reminder that the Nature Conservancy Silver Creek Preserve will be closing on December 1st.

The Big Wood River can be special this time of year. Again, as dry fly activity slowly dies down, we are seeing your go to nymphs and sculpin patterns shine in the deeper, winter pools. Before the water temperature drops drastically, these fish will be looking for a few final big meals. Try re-surfacing your early season patterns like a small pats rubber leg, or a streamer against the wood for that native, lurking, Big Wood River brown trout. If there are warmer afternoons present this November, there should be Baetis and midges convincing fish to rise in the foam eddies and slower tailouts. Big Wood Baetis are sized 18-22; a bit smaller on average for it being a freestone. We are starting to see less of the Hecuba around. Running your standard, late summer dry-droppers, standard nymph rigs, and streamer fishing are all great ideas on the Big Wood as well. Don’t be afraid to experiment with different nymph droppers; show the fish something new. For fall, we like fishing nymphs in red.

For the upper Big Lost River system, keep an eye out for road closure on Trail Creek Summit. The fishing is really slowing down as the high elevation streams are seeing winter conditions sooner than we are down here. Look for deeper, winter water to cover with a purple haze, October Caddis, or a big parachute Baetis.

The most consistent fishery our guides will continue fishing on will be the lower Big Lost River. The flows will remain around 50 – 100 CFS all winter long. The fish will be spooky, but congregated. You can always nymph those deeper pockets, pools, and heavy runs. Don’t be shy to look for those sneaky shelves and present these fish a subtle dry dropper. Often on a warmer day, they’ll make a mistake rising up to those attractor dry flies too; split flag, purple haze, parachute Baetis, etc. On the Lower Lost, excellent hatches of BWOs, and soon to be those winter midges, can make for awesome dry fly sessions, even through these colder months. Since the Lower Lost is a tailwater, water temperatures will be consistent, and the fishing also should be. Zebra midges, Diabetis, small rubber legs, and micro perdigons can fool those trout when they’re in their feeding lanes.

It is still worth a last float on the Salmon River downstream of Stanley. Again, no need to be on the water early. The hatches of BWOs can be all-time on this river at this time of year. And nymphs and streamers are highly effective as the Westlope cutthroat will be after a few bigger meals before this freestone gets very, very cold. Look to find fish in slower, deeper lies. A sculpin pattern like a mini dungeon in olive is a great bet this late in the season. Once again, don’t sleep on the small pat’s rubber leg behind a deep boulder or along a consistent side seam.

November can be a wonderful time to fish our local waters as crowds slowly disappear, the fish are present in obvious water, and big fish are looking for those final meals of the season before winter. Keep an eye on the weather for those warm, low-pressure systems to get fish to leave their sneaky lies and get caught being in a fishable spot. Keep in mind that flows are low, so fishing long, light leaders are often necessary, and a stealthy approach is required. Please, once again, keep an eye out for spawning Brown Trout this time of year. Focus on fishing hatches, and targeting deeper winter water to avoid interrupting any fish on shallow gravel. Make sure to dress in layers, as mornings and evenings are very cool, and the middle of the day is absolutely gorgeous.

As always, please feel free to stop in the shop or give us a call for more information.

Happy Fishing Everyone!