Fall Fishing

It is still summer in Southwest Montana, but fall creeps closer and closer. This year I’m not at all looking forward to the shortening of the days and the cooling of the weather. If you like me, are lamenting the things still to be done this summer, take heart. Fall brings with it a host of new activities to occupy our time. Among those is fall fishing. During the fall, the fish get more active, hunting for food to bulk up for the cold months of winter. Some of the really big fish, the ones that had carefully hidden under rocks all summer, get careless, and are more likely to bite. Brown trout get more aggressive as they get ready for the spawn in November, and Rainbows flourish in the late season hatches.

What with bow and bird hunting, Saturday football games and the end of tourist season, the rivers in Montana are surprisingly empty. The days are cooler and crisper, which can make a nice change from the hot and mosquito-y days of summer, and the rivers of Southwest Montana turn gold as the cottonwoods and willows change color. True, the peak fall fishing season is still a ways away, but it is better to make plans early, especially if you want a guide. Many guides move on to different work after Labor Day when the summer season winds down.