It felt like early winter out there today in Montana. The morning air temperature was around 40° and it got a little bit higher, but not much. Almost no bugs.
I threw jig streamers again, hoping to get another strong morning, but the fish did not cooperate. The water temp had dropped about 15 degrees overnight.
I figured the trout were hugging the bottom and so I decided to put on a drop shot nymph rig. I wanted to fish small flies, including midges, and I did not want to put on a weighted sacrificial nymph to get the rig down.
I would not say it was lights out, but the action was episodically consistent. Nearly all of my hits were on a size 20 midge with a small glass bead on it. I show photos of it below. It is Forrest Dorsey’s Manhattan Midge with the magical wing bud material.
I did a lot of walking today and explored new stretches. After throwing nymphs all morning, I stubbornly threw big dry flies and got some eats but not many. At some juicy spots, I went back to the drop shot and I’m glad that I did. A beautiful 18 inch brown showed itself after a tussle. It was the fish the trip so far for me given its size and its beauty.
After eight hours of fishing and a lot of walking, it was time to head back. It looks like temperatures will be going back up, and I’m eager to see some rising fish.
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Pays to be versatile! Nice fish!
Thank you!