Fall fly fishing??

[Bob-WY]

STarted strong in spring into early summer, died off as water levels dropped and temps went up. Now cooling down and water levels coming up thanks to a freak snow storm.

I have 2 weeks in beginning of October where almost all our hunting tags aren't open.

Is fall fly fishing any good? Bighorn Mountain area

 

[denverteacher]

Browns will be in spawn mode, so throw streamers and you should get into some for sure

 

[Trial153]

Our season here started ...king's been running a bit, cohoes, browns and steelhead to follow

 

[Jeremyc_1999]

Fall fly fishing is great, I just don't do it much because I'd rather be hunting. It's arguably the best time to fly fish

 

[JohnCushman]

Cast tight into overhanging branches with terrestrials. Dave's Hopper and Chernoble (sp) Aunt or parachute aunt with a dropper is always a good choice. I've had good luck with copper john's and prince nymphs as a dropper.

 

[Little Canyon Creek]

I have fished a fair amount in the Bighorns in later October while we aren't hunting. Towards late October it can be real hit or miss depending on how cold it has gotten, but if it is warm enough it can be really good fishing. That time of the year will have a lot of Blue-winged Olives (BWOs) in smaller sizes flying around, and probably sz 16-18-20 will have you covered. This should be ubiquitous for all of the streams in Bighorns.

I have also found that the stream on my families ranch also has smaller hatches of Mahogany Duns (sz 12-14) and October Caddis (sz 10-12). I don't really know how widely these hatches are found in the Bighorns, but it is good to keep an eye out for them. The hatches aren't anywhere near as prolific as the BWOs on our creek, but you can use bigger flies and do just as well. I would have some Adams and Purple Haze in sz 12-14 and some orange stimulators in sz 10-12 for these hatches.

I agree with Cushman on terrestrials. Depending on your elevation there will still be some hoppers around. Chubby chernobyls are fantastic, as are a lot of other patterns. Since there will be a lot of BWOs around, you should have pheasant tail nymphs ready. This could be the old style, or newer styles like the Frenchie, either is good.

 

[NSDQ MT]

@Little Canyon Creek and @JohnCushman nailed it. Hoppers and other terrestrials will be good until a couple of freezes. There should be a few decent fall hatches (BWOs, mahoganies, and Caddis). Streamers should be good for bigger browns.

 

[turk870]

We just got back from WY, drove up to the Big Horns and fished for a couple hours one day, in a stream next to the road, done very well no longer than I got to fish. An ant and elk hair caddis produced well.