Fly Fishing in the Fall

[murphq]

My buddy who is much more experienced at fly fishing claims that fishing in the fall is not as productive. He claims there are fewer hatches and the fish know this, and if they see a dry fly they know something is up.

However I have a gut feeling that he might be wrong on some parts.

[Adam Taylor]

fly fishing in the fall can be and has been fantastic.
I can't say that strongly enough. Frankly, a couple of warm days in the winter can be phenomenal as well.....

[The Patriot]

I second Headhunter's reply.... fall fishing can be very good.....

On the Farmington (and probably the Hous as well) you have tiny BWO's, Isonychia, tan caddis, possibly some late Anthopotamus (Golden Drakes... I've seen them thru early October above the TMA), and the fact that there are fewer hatches does not keep the fish off the surface. In fact, it only helps the angler, cuz it narrows down the choices... you can fish a caddis, a tiny olive, or a big rusty/olive. Nymphing is still productive, and streamers can be deadly on big browns getting ready for the winter.

I think your friend is misinformed. Fall fishing can be very very good..... and in the salt, the fall is often better than the spring, with surface blitzes of blues, stripers, and possibly tunoids (albies and bonito)..... but you can't prove it by me.....

Then there's Great Lakes fishing for salmon and steelhead, and we have our broodstock salmon fisheries.....

Lots of fall fishing to be done for the industrious angler who puts in his time.... which excludes me.... ;)

[The Fisherman]

If you define fall as September 21-December 20, then I'll say that fishing (for trout in CT) in the fall is generally not as productive as fishing in the spring and summer. But it's certainly generally more productive than fishing in the winter. It's all relative, isn't it?

As far as the dry fly thing goes, I couldn't disagree with your friend more. He needs to come to the Farmington on a cold, raw, damp November afternoon and see trout gorging themselves on the surface on tiny BWOs.

[murphq]

When he told me this I was devastated since I figured the trout fishing would pickup again with the cooler temps.

Thanks guys you made my day...errr fall :D

[Jon]

Small streams tend to fish better in the fall, when it's also safer from a catch and release (and survive) point of view, the water being generally cooler.

Not that it bucks the trend of those above, but I've had my most productive days in fall and winter. Especially since I've got to grips (and frankly love) fishing dry midges.

It really depends on the stream in question.

K

[Freeloader]

hell its the fall I'll stand there just starring at the foliage. If i get a fish on it'll be a plus haha.

[Dave Underwood]

The fall is my most productive time of the year. I catch more leaves than any other time!
Seriously tho, nothing beats a fall day when the fish are coming up. My favorite time of year.

[murphq]

Do you change the way you fish? For example is the afternoon better then the mornings and evenings? Do you fish less drys, and more nymphs/streamers. Or is it just read the water and try whatever.

[The Fisherman]

I depends on the time of year. For example, September 24th is a vastly different animal than December 14th. General rule of thumb: The colder it is, the more active the trout will be during the warmest part of the day.

If I was fishing Church Pool and saw the trout sipping midge emergers, that's what I'd be fishing. Absent surface activity, I'd probably fish deep.

You're asking questions that are good questions, but be advised there may be no simple answers. ;-)

[Kype]

I have to comment that I cherish my Fall fishing. Even here in COLD Vermont we get hatches of small flies that make for excellent dry fly fishing. In addition to our trout fishing there are LL Atlantic salmon runs up this way that can be thrilling; just a tip for those who give this a try. Fall LL Atlantic salmon should not be fished as if you are looking for bottom hugging steelhead. Even with ice in the river pockets LL Atlantic salmon will come to a fly on a slow swing inches below the surface. I fish them exactly as I do sea run Atlantic salmon and at times catch larger LL Atlantic salmon than the grilse we catch in many Canadian rivers. If I had to choose between April & May and September & October it would be September and October hands down. So be optimistic the best of it is yet to come this season.:)

Bobby

[BRK TRT]

Bobby, I totally agree on the landlocks. I fish for them the same way, only we fish in Maine. I have also fished for the in this way, cast the streamer upstream and strip it back very fast with the current. Many times this brings violent strikes.

[labtrout]

Thanks to both of you for those tips. I also treaure fishing for landlocks in northern NH. Last spring, the upper CT River was pretty high in May, so I fished a sink-tip line, but without much success. Sounds like I needed to stick with the floater, despite high, fast flow. A couple of questions:

What size rods do you use? (My biggest rod is a 9 ' 6-weight)
Traditional streamers that imitate smelt or weighted buggers? (BRT TRT, I've heard others say they've had great luck using your method with weighted buggers and muddlers. I've generally fished more with traditional streamers and bucktails)
Do you use any split shot ahead of the fly?
Thanks,

Fred

[BRK TRT]

I don't fish buggers or muddlers. When in CT I fish small streamers, size 8 and10, unweighted. Most of the time I'm fishing Mickey Finns and Edson Tigers. In Maine if I'm targeting LL's I'll fish larger streamers, also unweighted. I've also have had great days in the fall fishing LL's with an EH caddis. A salmon will go nuts for a sick caddis. A simple pattern for salmon is a curved hook, with green or yellow floss wrapped from tail to head, then some peacock herl for a head. When stripped as fast as you can will bring tremendous hits.

[BRK TRT]

This fly tied as is shown, or with yellow or red floss, when stripped fast will bring the salmon to it.

http://i129.photobucket.com/albums/p235/brookie47/DSCN3118.jpg
http://i129.photobucket.com/albums/p235/brookie47/DSCN3117.jpg

[labtrout]

Cool. I will tie some up. What size hook? Looks like a Tiemco 200, would that be about a 16?

I also fish traditional bucktails with red & yellow in them -- like a Mickey Finn or Warden's Worry. They still work well. I also like marabou ties for Black, Red/Gray and Green Ghosts, as well as the Ballou Special.

[BRK TRT]

Yes, Wardens Worry, a great fly. The hooks are Mustad C53S, I tie them in 10 to 16.

[Kype]

Labtrout

The fish you are fishing for in May is not the same fish it will be in the fall. The salmon experiences a major change in its physiology and goes off feed when it enters the spawning stream. This is when the LL Atlantic salmon behaves as does the sea going Atlantic salmon. The fall Atlantic salmon (sea fish) techniques my salmon fishing buddies and I use for LL Atlantic salmon and brood stock, will not necessarily be right for actively feeding LL Atlantic salmon in May.
BRK TRT pointed out a streamer technique that is better suited to your May fishing than the fall techniques I had described. I do use #III or #IV sink tip lines in the Fall as the temperature drops and the water level rises. The sink tip helps keep the fly down a few inches in the heavy flow. The shape of the Atlantic salmon wet fly hook is intended to keep the fly riding high in the water column. As the water becomes denser approaching freezing coupled with increased flow the fly doesn’t ride well at times in certain locations; the sink tip helps correct this. The fish take a bit better when the fly is a few inches below the surface as well. I do not attempt to fish the bottom however. Years ago I foolishly fished a steelhead sink tip line and I foul hooked a number of LL salmon. I was so embarrassed I couldn’t believe how stupid a thing I had done by fishing that line. Each year I see guys doing exactly what I had done but it doesn’t make me feel any better about just how ignorant fishing LL salmon like that was. My God what was I thinking?

If you take a good look at the head of an Atlantic salmon you will notice that the eyes are set higher on the head than they are on a trout. Salmon anchor themselves to the bottom often in fast tail outs with those large pectoral fins and look up. Their feeding attack is up. I don’t believe they ever tip on their nose like trout do and graze off the bottom. In the sea the salmon gets under a school of bait and attacks from below. This is why salmon are such exciting game fish, they RISE.
Thought I live only 1.5 hrs from the upper Connecticut River area you fish I have never fished it for LL Atlantic salmon. I do know from tying flies for area fishermen headed that way, the smelt are very small, a #12 Olive/Green Ghost tied on the standard Mustad 3665A works in the lakes and in the river below Lake Francis. One guy told me it took him a long time to discover what fly would work there for spring time LL salmon. That isn’t to say nothing else works it is just what some local guys figured out after fishing it for years.

You asked what rod I use for LL Atlantic salmon. I have fished with a 9ft. #5 as did Peter DesMeules one of the best American, Atlantic salmon anglers I know however we both switched to 9ft. #7 rods; the old Tom Morgan era Winston 2 piece 9 ft #7 IM-6 rod.

I mostly use #10 & #8 Atlantic salmon wet flies for LL salmon.

Tight Lines!

Bobby

[labtrout]

Bobby,

Thanks so much for your very informative post. You raised some points I had never considered such as the position of a salmon's eyes, which keeps it looking up in the water column. Of course when you describe it, it makes perfect sense, but I never would have figured it out myself.

My 5-weight is an IM6 Morgan-era Winston, but I don't think I'd ever use it for salmon. I have an old LL Bean (Loomis-made) Double LL 6-weight that handles my T-130 sink tip and streamers pretty well. Guess I'll stick with that.

Your observations about flies for the upper CT are also spot-on. I've had good luck with the smelt patterns I mentioned in the earlier post as well as darker patterns such as a marabou-olive Green Ghost and a local tie called Putt's Favorite, which is a gray marabou streamer tied Thunder-Creek style. Smaller # 10 and 12 streamers seem to work best. I've also done well with a what I call a brookie muddler, which is basicaly a small marabou muddler with a red tail, and white marabou and squirrel tail hair for the underwing.

I hope to be up north casting to landlocks in the third week of September.

Thanks again.

Fred

[Kype]

Labtrout

It sounds like you are all set. A 9ft. #6 is a good choice.
I got word, just after I made the earlier post today, that LL salmon runs have begun! I spoke to a Vermont biologist and he released 9 fish from a fish ladder before noon today. Some were good size females. So far so good. Let's hope the water remains in good shape and this first early pulse of fish is just the beginning of a great season! I hope you do well!

Tight Lines!

Bobby