FLOWS:

• Twin Bridges 742 cfs
• Silver Star 573 cfs

VISIBILITY:

Slightly green but good at 3 feet. Some moss as usual.

CONDITIONS:

The Jefferson River has been flowing fairly stable and at a great level for fly fishing. The brown trout on the Jefferson River are in pre-spawn aggressive stage and the rainbow’s are eating hard trying to gain weight, in preparation for a long winter.

DRIES: The hopper bite has been pretty unpredictable. Still some fairly good Trico hatches in the am. We are seeing Beatis in the afternoons and you can expect to find fish rising to them along inside edges and foamy back eddy’s on cloudy days. Hopper/dropper in the afternoon on warm days.

• Try a Parachute Trico Dun, Celophane or Poly wing Trico spinner, size #20-22.
• Griffith’s Gnat or Parachute Trico cluster  size #14-16.
• Parachute BWO’s, CDC BWO Emerger’s, Purple Haze, Parachute Adams size #18-20.
• Morrish Hopper, CFO Hopper, Clodhopper, or
• Panty Dropper Hopper in tan, yellow, pink or peach size #8-12.

NYMPHING: Nymphing under an indicator with two flies is likely  to be your best bet if the sun is shining. Concentrate on the fast water, riffles and deepest buckets and you’ll find fish. Keep your leader short and mend with a rhythm to make your fly jump and fall a little, like a swimming crawdad.

• Crawdad’s are a mainstay food item for trout on the Jefferson River.
• Try a Green Goblin, Moss Back, Turkey Back, or Son-of-Crazy Dad in brown, olive and tan size #8-12.
• The banks are still littered with Nocturnal Stone Fly shucks so a Pat’s Stone is my go to first fly. Try a Pat’s Stone in brown, olive, tan or black and brown size # 4-10.
• Good second fly choices are Copper John’s, Pheasant Tail’s, Beadhead Prince’s, Psycho May Fly, PT Spanker’s size #14-18.

STREAMERS: The streamer bite has been good on cloudy or foul weather days. I like a fast strip and pause technique to get the trout to respond aggressively.

• Try a JJ Special, Crystal Bugger, Trick or Treat,
• Zuddler, Zonker. Wooley Sculpin’s,
• Coffey’s Sparkle Minnow size #4-8
• Check out my Top 10 Streamers for SW Montana.

For more information on the Jefferson River and guided fishing on Montana’s Jefferson River please contact Fishtales Outfitting.