Well, it’s that time of year year again!  The first week of September and Grey Reef flows are beginning to drop.  As of this morning we are at 1,100cfs below Grey Reef Dam and we should continue to experience dropping flows until we reach 500cfs.  What’s this mean for fishing on Gray Reef?  As if the fishing couldn’t get any better for this time of year…   The dry fly fishing should only continue to get better as will the streamer fishing.  Combined with clear conditions and water temperatures in the high 50s and low 60s we are on the brink of an excellent fall season.  Tricos in the morning, hopper/dropper mid-day, caddis in the evenings and mix in a little streamer fishing when  conditions permit-that should be our fall fishing program.

The Miracle Mile has really been gathering momentum the past several weeks and will only get better.  As with Grey Reef, Mile flows will temper in the coming weeks.  With Pathfinder sitting roughly around the Chalk Bluff area the fall streamer fishing should be top notch.  Now while most people associate the Miracle Mile in the fall with brown trout, the fall lake-run rainbows should not be overlooked.  And with Pathfinder reservoir sitting at over 70% of capacity this will only make lake-run conditions better and the fish larger.  Some of our favorite fall, Miracle Mile streamer patterns are-olive crystal buggers, articulated goldies, sparkle minnows, olive darter, thin mints and flash bunnies.

Fremont Canyon and the Cardwell access area fished great all summer and this fall shouldn’t disappoint. As pathfinder turns over the water will get fairly off color, don’t let this discourage you, Fall is one of the best times to fish this section. Flows will stay at the normal 75 CFS and there will be some vegetation for awhile until the temperature starts to drop. Dry fly fishing has remained consistently good with tricos in the morning, some hoppers mid-day, and especially with caddis in the evening. The streamer fishing lately has produced some nice fish, the Goldie, olive near nuff, or the Crawdizzle have all been wokring. The big stuff is also working, like the Peanut Envy or Sex Dungeon, stripping these around the boulders or off the canyon walls has been a good technique. Nymphing will remain solid with Rs2’s, pheasant tails, and zebra midges all being good go-tos.

 

Fall fishing is our favorite time to fish, we’re excited and we hope you are too!