Did you get a chance to hit the river in the last week with the cooler weather, lower flows, and rain? Man, good stuff and now you can feel we’ve turned that corner a bit towards Fall.
Late August and early September are always a transition period; PMD’s are waning but still present, mutant stoneflies are present but generally stop hatching when we get the first freeze. Blue wings will hatch on the colder cloudy days but if it’s sunny you probably won’t see them. Hoppers, ants, and beetles are a good choice for a few more weeks. Lots of options!
I really like this time of year as the Jackson Hole One Fly is just more than a week away, a pro tip is to pick flies from the top performing flies from past years. Check out this list. The great thing is you aren’t restricted to just one fly! I’d probably start my day twitching a Barret’s Stone, if they aren’t chasing that stone down I’d add the Rusty Nail as a dropper. How about a rusty spinner in a foam line? Big overhanging bush? Time to put a Double Bunny under there and see what comes out. You get the idea! Don’t forget if none of the above work two top performing flies that didn’t make the list, but should have, are a size 8 Cheater Belly Stone (simulates a mutant stone nymph) trail that with an E.T. (Ed’s Tungsten, aka Tungsten Thread Midge) that combination will catch fish when all else fails.
Have fun out there, enjoy the sun while it lasts. If you need any of the above flies stop by the fly shop and see us.