A Few Tips for Fall Fishing Success

Fall fishing can be a little frustrating at times (sometimes downright irritating). If you're getting a little red in the face due to refusals and overall tough times on the river, here are a few quick tips to get you on track. These are the Trout Lie 'cornerstones' to successful fall fishing.

Stealth

Make yourself invisible – avoid standing over or in front of rising fish. Move a little slower to avoid ‘being made’ by fish holding in the vicinity. If you have to move a good distance, get out of the river and cover ground on land. Don’t walk up or down river right on the edge of the bank.

Observation

Thoroughly scout the river before flogging the water. Scout the edges. Look under tree limbs. Pick out ‘nooks’ where fish can hold and feed comfortably. What’s hatching? What stage are they on? Does it matter?

Patience

Don’t accept the first offer (unless it’s the best fish of the day). Sometimes it’s best to let a run fill up with fish. If you get to a spot and find one or two fish up, wait a few minutes – especially if they’re dinks. In some cases, bigger fish will move in and push smaller fish out of prime feeding lies as hatch activity picks up. Likewise, if you stick the first fish you see, it may clear out the run.

Efficiency

Start the day with the odds in your favor. Have a game plan and prepare. Rig your leader and tippet to the right size and length. Stock your boxes with productive patterns (and stages). Organize your vest. On the water, make your casts count. Forget all the Brad Pitt BS. Reduce false casting and make each cast count.

Along with tactics, long, light leaders are an absolute must this time of year. Shorter leaders cause drag, and drag is typically the most significant contributor to refusals. There's really no rule of thumb on length, but a safe bet fishing dry flies is somewhere between 12 - 15 feet (leader and tippet) sized down to 5 or 6X. In some cases you may have to go a little lighter.

See you on the water!