3 Tips for late season river trout fly fishing success!

The last few weeks of our river trout season provide excellent fly fishing opportunities which are surprisingly, often ignored by many anglers. This early to mid autumn period is when brown trout often go on a feeding binge as temperatures cool and they prepare for spawning during late autumn when fishing has ended. With this in mind, here are three great tips to help you make the most of late season: –

1. Increasing appetite and territorial aggression during this period make trout prone to mistakes. Some of these fish will respond well to a larger fly. A shrimp, caddis larva, large bushy and/or foam dry fly, streamers (where allowed) can all trigger epic takes, often from larger fish. Try working deeper runs, areas with plenty of cover, faster broken water.
2. Terrestrial bugs get a lot of press these days for summer fishing and rightly so. Using them in autumn is often even better! These insects are often dopy late in the season, especially in cooler weather. They will often end up plopping into the water very enticingly for the trout. Everyone knows about crane flies, so do fish them. Also make sure you use beetles, ants, wasps, bees, moths, etc as many anglers completely ignore them and that spells opportunity!
3. Should you face low, clear water conditions with mild weather, be prepared to use smaller flies, lighter outfits and longer leaders to refine your presentation. By late season trout have seen a lot of anglers, flies and tricks. Be prepared to take it to the next level.

Bonus Tip: – View the late season as an opportunity to set wheels in motion for next season. Fishing to wise fish now can show you what needs work during the off season to be even better for the next. It’s also one of two great times in the river trout season to catch your fish of a lifetime!

If you would like additional help with any of the above and more, please take a look at our guided river fishing.

Thanks for reading!