The Jefferson bumped some this week and will drop some with the cold weather but it is likely to bump again. If you like making longshots and don't mind if the House wins, the Jefferson might be your cup of tea right now. Otherwise, there are much better shoo-ins to choose.
While not the best option for fishing right now, the Jefferson River is a river in Montana, and it is a river that does hold some fish. If you want to go to a river where catching fish is a distinct possibility, there are rivers better than the Jefferson. If you do head to fish the Jefferson River, concentrate on the bigger runs below riffles and experiment until you find the right water speed and depth. Nymphing will be the best producer, and as a rule, expect very slow and subtle strikes, so make sure to set the hook on even small disturbances to your indicator. Slowly swimming a streamer across these runs can also produce some monsters, but probably less overall action. A big sculpin or woolly bugger is a good choice as a top fly when nymphing, and a prince or pheasant tail will do just fine as a dropper.
The Month Ahead:
Still not ideal. Wait till April.
Long Term Fishing Forecast:
The Jefferson is not known as a great fishery, but some good spring fishing over the skwala stonefly can be had in the early spring.
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